Hey Reader!

It's the end of the year and the garden needs all kinds of cleaning up. 🍂 And as usual I'm wondering how I've spent years working at it only to have it look the way it does.

Which is to say, terrific - if you're not looking at it through my specific set of eyeballs. 👀

Because while I've been working on my yards (or gardens, or plots of land, or whatever) for 20 years now they don't look, I guess, the way I think 20 years of concerted effort should look.

But the thing is, I'm not A Gardener, one with a plan and a vision. I'm a person who hated the vast expanse of grass she'd been saddled with and wanted to replace it with more interesting things. 🌱

So while I may not consider myself knowledgeable in the way a Real Gardener is, I've practiced a LOT.

And practice makes you pretty good at stuff, even if you're sometimes missing the finesse of someone who has very intentionally taken on a pursuit of some kind.

Like, maybe you've been running for years but your form isn't all that great?🏃🏻‍♀️‍➡️ So you could probably be better at it but you've put the damn miles in and you can get yourself from point A to point B.

Maybe it's not pretty, but you get the job done.

This is how I feel about writing. ✍🏻

You might not consider yourself A Writer, but if you put words on paper or a screen regularly, you are writing.

And that might be letters to your grandmother or descriptions of the stuff you're selling on Poshmark, or it might be journaling, or keeping a diary.

And yes, I have finally accepted journaling as a verb. It was hard.

But the point is that if you practice a thing you get better at it; it's just how life works. So if you doubt your ability to write "well enough" (which is, of course, wildly subjective) then doing more of it is the key. 🔑

I'm going to try to keep this diatribe short. The one about AI and how it's somehow convincing people that they can't really write but that AI can, which is just straight up false. 🤖

AI is a regurgitation machine.

It spits out other people's words. That's the whole point of it.

And while it can be tempting to let a tool do the work for you, it's not helping you in the long run.

Because if you sit down and write newsletters and blog posts and letters to your senators all by yourself you will get better at it. 💪🏻

You'll become comfortable with the exercise, and eventually you'll find it's second nature.

Because that's what practice does; it makes us feel comfortable doing something we didn't feel comfortable doing when we first started.

It's the same whether you're playing the clarinet or throwing pottery or rock climbing.

You can't outsource any of those things, either.

The joy in doing nearly anything comes from practicing until you get better at it. Things are way more fun when you've got even a tiny bit of mastery under your belt. ✨

So if you're thinking of trying to practice this thing called writing until it becomes easier and hence more enjoyable, I'll tell you what I do - every single day I sit down with my coffee and open up 750words.

And write at least 750 words.

This is a simple yet brilliant website that's based loosely on the whole morning pages thing; and please don't tell me that Julia Cameron said those have to be written long-hand because I don't care.

I type. It's fine. 💻

Typing a bunch of words every morning is excellent practice for anyone who wants to write a newsletter or blog posts or a screenplay - anything, really.

It's practice. You can write absolutely anything, it's completely private and it's a really nice way to start your day. You can try it for free for 30 days and if you like it it's just $5 per month.

There are badges and challenges and stuff too, so if you respond to gamification the way I do, gaining badges can help you get solidly into the habit while it's still new. 🏆

No affiliate here, just a huge fan. 😁

So get writing! It's good for you. It's good for your business.

And of course if you need help I'm here for that. I offer private coaching, starting with a single, high-impact Power Hour and ending with a bespoke package that meets you where you are to get you to where you want to be.

Curious? Let's chat about it. 📞

Yours in honing skills,

Julia

PS - Still planning to start a newsletter, but haven't quite pulled the trigger? Want to be part of a coaching cohort? I’m envisioning a small group program designed to get you started: setting up the tech, coming up with names and taglines, setting up and building a mailing list, planning the first few issues, and getting the first one sent.

If this is something that sounds interesting click here and I’ll put you on the interest list.

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​Billie Holiday knows that practice is the key to life, and so does this email. Forward it to someone who wants to do better.

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