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1 day ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | John Ray Pucay |Michael Thompson
Hey, it's John here, filling in for Darius on this week's episode of The Breakdown!Michael and I dive into personal storytelling and why it remains powerful, especially in an AI-dominated world. Fresh from my writer's retreat in Iceland, we explore the "three bodies problem" framework by Syrian-Canadian author, Danny Ramadan.
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6 days ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | John Ray Pucay |Michael Thompson |Darius Foroux
Hi, it’s John from the Writing to (L)Earn team. Today, I’d like to share one of the best frameworks I’ve learned for writing personal stories that resonate with readers. I think most of us began writing because we carried a story or idea that could only be communicated through the written word. Writing lets us shape significant life moments into something others can use. But an event or memory that is narrated isn’t a story; it’s a journal entry.
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1 week ago | 
opinion.inquirer.net | John Ray Pucay
For years, I had believed that one’s brilliance and relentless hard work, and maybe just a few drops of good luck, could outweigh the burdens and constraints one is born into. In my late teens and 20s, I carried the weightlessness of potential, that marvelous currency of youth that seems inexhaustible until suddenly, it isn’t. Now, as my 30th year approaches, I find myself confronting the one truth I thought I had evaded: we are all, in the end, tethered to our personal histories.
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1 week ago | 
plus.inquirer.net | John Ray Pucay
For years, I had believed that one’s brilliance and relentless hard work, and maybe just a few drops of good luck, could outweigh the burdens and constraints one is born into. In my late teens and 20s, I carried the weightlessness of potential, that marvelous currency of youth that seems inexhaustible until suddenly, it isn’t. Now, as my 30th year approaches, I find myself confronting the one truth I thought I had evaded: we are all, in the end, tethered to our personal histories.
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1 week ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | Darius Foroux |John Ray Pucay |Michael Thompson
Hey, it’s Darius here from the Writing to (L)Earn team. Many writers start their online writing journey as a side project while keeping a day job or some other main occupation. This is completely understandable. Earning enough money from writing does not happen overnight. But this approach often leaves writers stuck in a “paycheck mindset.”Writers who have long relied on the steady comfort of a day job or other major occupation may find that this mindset can hold back their writing business.
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2 weeks ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | Michael Thompson |Darius Foroux |John Ray Pucay
Heyo — it’s Michael here from the Writing to (L)earn team alongside Darius and John. Over the last few years, I’ve worked with half a dozen clients to write book proposals, land agents, and ink deals with publishing houses. After a workshop on book positioning and proposals a few weeks ago, some of our community members asked if I could put together a written guide for future reference.
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3 weeks ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | John Ray Pucay |Michael Thompson |Darius Foroux
Hey there, it’s John here, from the Writing to (L)Earn team. I want to share a comment from one of my pieces outside Substack that I believe captures a concern many writers here share:Let’s break this down. First, there is the pressure to aggressively market your work, especially when you are starting out with no real audience. If you post on Substack or your blog when you have zero audience, you are likely to get very few or no readers.
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1 month ago | 
medium.com | John Ray Pucay
The real reason you’re not getting readsSix months into my writing journey, I stared at my screen in frustration. Despite publishing consistently on Medium, my stats remained flat. That “build it and they will come” promise felt like a cruel joke. I almost joined the 95% of writers who quit before seeing results. What changed wasn’t some magical writing technique or algorithm hack. Most of us start writing while juggling day jobs and other responsibilities.
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1 month ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | Michael Thompson |John Ray Pucay |Darius Foroux
Hi there, it’s Michael here. I began writing in late 2016, and despite raising two young kids and fighting to keep the lights on, I went at it pretty hard. But in September of 2021, I hit a wall. Every time I sat down at my computer, writing felt like work. I hated that feeling. Like a lot of people, I do my best writing when it doesn’t feel like work. I knew I had to step away. So, I took my first extended break since I began writing for a living.
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1 month ago | 
medium.com | John Ray Pucay
Member-only storyA long mountain run taught me something about willJohn Pucay·FollowPublished inIn Fitness And In Health·6 min read·--Me, running in one of my other mountain races. Photo provided by Author. The gun fires, and I start slowly, one small step after another. It is a mountain race through the Ifugao Rice Terraces in the Phillippines. I’m not expecting to finish among the Top 3 runners — or to win a “podium” as they call it — but I want to finish with a decent pace.
