Write of Passage Weekly

Hello writers,

Welcome back to Write of Passage Weekly, where we do our darndest to help you transform your life by writing online.

As you learned last week, writing online is the path to owning your time. But what if you’re creatively blocked and can’t bring yourself to hit that “Publish” button? If you’ve diagnosed yourself with a case of writer’s block, don’t fret. This week, we’re rushing to your aid with the cure.

Workshop: How to Start Writing Online

Have you ever looked around at your current situation — your work, your peers, your pastimes — and known you were capable of more? The world is awash with opportunity, but so many people are still following a 20th century playbook. 

In this workshop, you’ll see how writing online uses what you already know to open up new doors in your life. Don’t expect just to sit back and listen. Experience firsthand how:

• Conversations can become your creative fuel
• Your existing knowledge (which feels obvious) can be impactful for others
• Sharing ideas can make you a magnet for life-changing opportunities.

Writing online is your ticket to living a 21st century life. Join us on September 12 at 7 pm ET.

The Cure for Writers Block

A lack of inspiration? Insufficient vocabulary? If you think that these are the causes of writer’s block, then you’re dead wrong.

Writer’s block is not a shortage of ideas or an impediment in the flow of creativity; it is simply the unresolved conflict between your writer-self and your reader-self. You’re worried about how it’s going to read before you even write it. In other words, writer’s block happens when you try too hard to impress your readers (or yourself).

When faced with this internal conflict, it’s often because you care too much about how others will read your writing — after all, isn’t the whole point of writing online to share your ideas? And doing that can certainly make you feel vulnerable. Thinking "This has to be perfect" is what is preventing you from writing well, or even from getting started.

The way to overcome this internal conflict is to — above all else — write for yourself. English literary critic Cyril Connely says, “Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.” You should be more afraid of losing yourself trying to please the audience more than losing the audience.

Write as if you’re the only person who will be reading and judging your work. You can overcome so-called writer’s block by ignoring the possibility that other people might read your writing. Pretend your laptop is a typewriter and that what you write is for yourself, not the Internet. Be the person who dresses to the nines just to dance in front of the mirror at home. You are your intended audience.

There’s a famous saying: What comes from the heart goes to the heart. It means that if you create something genuinely, it will be appreciated genuinely. Do not be afraid of how things will read. Focus on how meaningful it is to you first, because truly impactful writing needs to be significant to you before it can be appreciated by anyone else.

How I Write Podcast

Lulu Cheng Meservey: PR lessons from K-Pop, Jesus, Substack, and Internet Haters

Lulu Cheng Meservey gives a masterclass on non-boring corporate communications, Korean pop culture, and religious fanaticism.

Lulu is currently the Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Chief Communications Officer at Activision Blizzard, and was formerly head of comms at Substack. Her newsletter, Flack, is a new playbook for communications, written to help you win over people who matter, without wasting time or being cringe.

Whether you’re a writer, a communications professional, or simply curious about the intersection of K-POP and Internet whackos, you’ll love this episode, which is a window into modern communication.

Listen Now: YouTube | Spotify | Apple

From Our Team

"Words Made Flesh"

Garrett uses a typewriter to beat writer’s block and resolve the conflict between his writer-self and his reader-self.

Thank you for reading Write of Passage Weekly. Are you bubbling over like an unattended pot of pasta just dying to ask our team a question? Shoot us a reply! We’d love to hear from you, and maybe your message will inspire a future issue of the newsletter.

Happy writing,

The Write of Passage Team

P.S. We are running our next Writing Sprint on September 15, where you will publish an article in one day. Learn more here.