AI Panic Isn’t About AI
There’s a particular kind of tension that settles into a room when someone brings up AI. You can feel the fear. Yet here’s the reality check: People aren’t actually terrified of AI. They’re terrified of what it represents.
The Hard Truth About Book Launch Anxiety (And What No One Tells You)
. Publishing a book is one of the most vulnerable things you will ever do. And launching that book — standing there smiling while strangers judge the thing you built from your insides — is a special kind of emotional chaos. Every author feels it. Almost no one talks about it.
What Writers Owe Their Audience (and Themselves)
We start out believing writing is a solo act. A conversation between ourselves and the page. And in the beginning, it is. But once our words leave our hands — whether they end up in a blog, a novel, a public reading, a stage, or a newsletter — the work becomes relational. That’s where responsibility begins.
The Myth of the Starving Artist — and How to Push Back
The “starving artist” is not a badge of honour — it’s a harmful story that keeps creatives small, silent, and scared to ask for fair pay. To the editor who says, “Real writers don’t do it for money”: No — real writers pay rent. To the gallery rep who says, “We only work with raw, hungry talent”: That’s exploitation, not discovery. To the voice in your head whispering, “Am I allowed to want more?”: Yes. You are. You don’t have to suffer to matter. You can create, earn, and live well. Let’s bury the myth!
Local Stories That Deserve National Attention: Why Media Needs to Shift Its Focus
The more attention we give to reading and sharing local stories, the more we can foster a culture of authenticity and appreciation. If we can shift our focus from sensationalised, clickbait-driven media to the stories happening all around us, we’ll strengthen the fabric of our local communities.
Writing Hard Things with Integrity
Writing hard things with integrity isn’t about confession. It’s about connection. It’s not about shock or revenge or trauma-for-clicks. It’s about shining a light into places that often get left dark. Whether you’re writing personal essays, memoirs, literary fiction with teeth or a raw blog post about what actually happened behind the scenes… there’s a way to do it that’s honest, not harmful. True, not brutal. Clear, not exploitative.
Why the Writing Life Isn’t Always Romantic
The romanticised version of writing — the one where words flow effortlessly and everything feels meaningful — leaves a lot of people out. It forgets the writers who are caregiving between edits. The ones holding down three jobs to afford time for their manuscript. The ones burnt out from writing for clients all day and then trying to squeeze in an hour for their novel at night.