*TODAY*: A New Thing, According to Me
"Oh no."
Hello! This is Everything Is Amazing, a newsletter about science. curiosity & wonder.
Today I’m launching something new - and who better to introduce it than both halves of myself?
Oh no. What have you done now?
Hello, World-Weary Me! I’m Enthusiastic Me.
Obviously. Just look at how nauseatingly chipper you sound. You’re the guy that drafts this newsletter, right?
And you’re the editor. Yes. We’re a pretty good team!
If by “team” you mean “hacking your relentlessly eager-beaver 8,000 word first drafts down into something readable is truly exhausting, but I guess it’s better than staring out the window at the rain”, then yes, I suppose we’re a team.
Hooray!
Sigh. Okay, what are we doing here today?
What’s the number one request we get from readers?
“Write less?”
No, I mean the other one.
Ah. You mean “how can I write better stories?”
EUREKA! That’s the one. And it’s why I’ve made a new thing, launching today.
Oh dear.
It’s called Get Your Story Straight, and it’s everything I’ve learned about telling good non-fiction stories, on and offline.
A “storytelling” course, then? I hate that word. Doesn’t “storytelling” just mean “good writing”?
Absolute not! A compelling story can pull you in even if you’re not a fan of the writing - and something can be absolutely stunningly well-written and still fail to grab the massive audience it deserves, because there’s no story to hook them.
As usual, too many words. Can you make that shorter?
No.
Have it your way.
No, I mean “no”. That was my shorter answer. But I just made this short, free 4-day course to explain the difference properly.
You mean WE made it. I had to edit that thing down to just 4 emails, remember.
Yay for teamwork!
Oh good grief. Okay. Fine. You’re launching this big new storytelling course. Isn’t this the same one you’ve been running in another Substack for the last few months?
No - it’s the improved and expanded version! And it’s not going to be on Substack anymore.
And why are you launching it, other than pandering to your increasingly monstrous ego?
Because there are loads of writing courses, but hardly any that specifically focus on telling good stories! In fact, I only know of one right now -
’s How To Tell One Story, which is just brilliant, by the way. Can’t recommend it enough.Wait, are you…promoting someone else’s course in the launch email for your own?
Of course!
So you’re a total idiot, then?
No! Because, isn’t this one of the great guiding stories of online creative business that needs to be overturned? That depressing notion that it’s a brutal zero-sum game where we’re all in direct competition with each other, instead of the far more empowering reality that many of us are working semi-collaboratively in broadly the same direction, and the rising tide will lift all the boats?
Uh - no it isn’t. How do good vibes get you anywhere?
So are you saying we both got to where we are today, writing this newsletter for over 31,000 readers, without lots of help and the kindness of so many smart folk online and offline?
Obviously not. Just look at you - you clearly need all the help you can get.
That’s partly why I made this course, to pass along everything I’ve learned directly and indirectly as a professional storyteller…
Ugh.
…okay fine, a professional writer of stories, who is now making a sustainable living from it. This is the sum total of all my learnings, in my own words.
With credit.
Yes, with credit, where it’s due. Nothing I’m doing is wildly original - I’ve just learned from the best, and applied it in my own way. And it’s worked, because good stories usually get good results, sometimes in a way good writing alone cannot, and they can open the door to building a fiercely loyal audience, getting umpteen social media mentions and a truly exciting sense of…
Woah, stop giving me the sales pitch please. I’m you, remember?
Sorry. I do rather get carried away.
I’ve noticed. Look - how can people get this thing?
They can go here. The doors just opened, and it’s discounted by $50 for the next week.
Okay. Also - why do I feel a bit nervous about this?
Yes, I feel nervous too. This is the biggest thing I’ve…we’ve launched, and a lot has gone into it. But that’s the thing - it’s because we care. Caring is a state of necessarily vulnerability, and this is also the key to telling a good story, because if you care, you have a good chance of making them care, so you need to focus on the kind of storytelling that’s driven by deeply felt, sense-driven writing, and the right kind of tension that hooks them so they just can’t stop until they reach the very end, and the kinds of beginnings that…
STOP. Please stop.
Okay.
Just give me the link again.
It’s here.
Good. So, when are we getting on with our next story for this newsletter?
I have a draft almost ready for you! Just trying to get it under 10,000 words…
Oh, I *so* need a holiday.
Would the lessons in your course apply well for non-fiction book writing? The topic I'm writing on is legitimately very interesting (if I do say so myself :)) but it keeps coming out like I'm writing a school paper.
HOW MANY OF YOU ARE THERE, ANYWAY ? ( speaking of hooks & hanging )
There's safety in numbers as well as having poker nights.