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2 weeks ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | Michael Thompson |John Ray Pucay |Darius Foroux
Hello, hello, it's Michael from the Writing to (L)Earn team. Today I'm sharing the one storytelling technique that made my writing “unputdownable.” And it’s rooted in brain chemistry. Now, have you ever had a 'Eureka!' moment? One of those times when, all of a sudden, something previously confusing just made sense. Well, why is that? It's because you 'closed a door.'When we have a lack of information, we create an 'open door' in our minds. Our brains hate it. We crave knowledge and understanding.
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3 weeks ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | John Ray Pucay |Michael Thompson |Darius Foroux
Hey there, it's John from the Writing to (L)Earn team. Today, I'm sharing five decisions from my early writing days that completely changed my trajectory from confused beginner to earning writer. Over six years ago, I found myself lost in the sea of “find your passion” platitudes and “write every day” mantras. But then I made some decisions that went against everything the writing gurus were preaching.
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3 weeks ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | Michael Thompson
Hey, it’s Michael here, and welcome to episode #26 of The Breakdown!This week, since Darius is traveling and John is tied up with family events, I’ll be mixing things up and going at it solo. Consider this installment a podcast as well as a mini-workshop on writing short personal stories that resonate on Substack.
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4 weeks ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | Michael Thompson |John Ray Pucay |Darius Foroux
Hello, it’s Michael here. Today, we’re going to be diving into the ‘story collection’ process I use for my writing as well as with my clients. But before we get into the actionable exercises, here’s a rant on how I define storytelling and the importance of betting on yourself. The simplest definition of a story is a character faces a challenge and they’re willing to sacrifice everything, even their life, to overcome it.
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1 month ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | Darius Foroux |Michael Thompson
Hey, it’s Michael here, and welcome to episode twenty-five of The Breakdown!This week, Darius and I get personal. We talk about stepping away from writing, losing the rhythm, and what happens when you come back to it. Not because you have to, but because you want to.
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1 month ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | John Ray Pucay |Darius Foroux |Michael Thompson
I have a confession. If you told me six years ago that I'd be making a full-time living from my writing, I would've said, “Of course I would have! So am I a millionaire now?”That guy from six years ago was delusional. He didn’t understand how book marketing or publishing actually worked. But he struggled with one major problem that most new professional writers face: self-promotion. Hey, it’s John here from the Writing to (L)Earn team.
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1 month ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | Michael Thompson
Hello, hello — it’s Michael here. In a previous workshop, we dove into proven ways to win your readers’ attention from your very first line. In our most recent workshop, we continued pulling at that thread and explored a critical tool to ensure your readers stay hooked until the very last line: The Power of Open and Closed Doors.
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1 month ago | 
writingtoearn.substack.com | Darius Foroux |John Ray Pucay |Michael Thompson
Hey there, it’s Darius from the Writing to (L)Earn team. In his Masterclass, German filmmaker Werner Herzog talks about how he often gets compliments about his “first” film. Fans would come up to him and say, “I watched your first film and was really blown away!” Herzog would ask which film they were referring to. When they mention the film’s title, Herzog would reply, “Thank you, but that’s not my first. That’s my eleventh.”The thing is, Herzog created his first film much earlier.
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1 month 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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1 month 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.