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What I Learned From..

Where sharp thoughts and messy learning collide. For the intellectually restless, the margin-scribblers, the readers and writers who refuse to think in a straight line.

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Pamela Anderson sits cross-legged on the floor, flipping through yellow legal pads from a storage bin, surrounded by clear plastic tubs filled with journals and notebooks. A quiet moment of sorting through a life once lived in the margins, echoing the ess

What’s in the drawer you never let anyone read?

Welcome to What I Learned From…, a curious little newsletter full of essays, advice, and rabbit holes for writers who want to sharpen their craft without losing their edge. If someone forwarded this because they think you're one of us, they’re probably right. You can subscribe here. “For someone like me, it is a very strange habit to write in a diary. Not only that I have never written before, but it strikes me that later neither I, nor anyone else, will care for the outpouring of a thirteen...
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A red brick tenement-style building with elaborate ornamentation and two iron fire escapes zigzagging across its facade. The structure features arched windows, decorative brickwork, and castle-like towers, blending functionality with unexpected beauty. A

[WILF] Urban Walls & Writing in Tight Spaces

Welcome to What I Learned From…, a curious little newsletter full of essays, advice, and rabbit holes for writers who want to sharpen their craft without losing their edge. If someone forwarded this because they think you're one of us, they’re probably right. You can subscribe here. “She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together.” — J.D. Salinger, A Girl I Knew Photo by armağan başaran What I Learned From … You...
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A person wearing a jacket and beanie walks alone down a winding dirt path through a green, hilly landscape. They carry a black-and-white polka dot shoulder bag, and the sky above is overcast with patches of light breaking through.

[WILF] Ursula K. Le Guin & Sharp Pointy Sticks

Welcome to What I Learned From…, a curious little newsletter full of essays, advice, and rabbit holes for writers who want to sharpen their craft without losing their edge. If someone forwarded this because they think you're one of us, they’re probably right. You can subscribe here. “The world is a woven basket. Every stitch counts.” ― A.D. Posey Photo by Lisa from Pexels What I Learned From … What if the first human tool wasn’t a weapon? Not a spear, not a blade, not something to stab or...
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[WILF] Birthday Candles & Blowing Things Up

Welcome to What I Learned From…, a curious little newsletter full of essays, advice, and rabbit holes for writers who want to sharpen their craft without losing their edge. If someone forwarded this because they think you're one of us, they’re probably right. You can subscribe here. “She had a fire inside her. She wondered if the fire was to warn her or destroy her. Then she realised. The fire had no motive. Only she could have that. The power was hers.” ― Matt Haig, The Midnight Library...
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A glass bottle with a cork and rolled-up paper inside lies among wet rocks at the edge of a lake. The shoreline is rocky, with forested hills and misty mountains in the background.

[WILF] Messages in Bottles & Letting Go

Welcome to What I Learned From…, a curious little newsletter full of essays, advice, and rabbit holes for writers who want to sharpen their craft without losing their edge. If someone forwarded this because they think you're one of us, they’re probably right. You can subscribe here. Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes Walked out this morning, I don't believe what I sawA hundred billion bottles washed up on the shoreSeems I'm not alone in being aloneHundred billion castaways looking for a home —...
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A hand holding a spoon over a bowl of cereal with chocolate and peanut butter puffs floating in milk, on a light wooden table.

[WILF] Virginia Woolf & Creative Snacking

Welcome to What I Learned From… a newsletter that offers short essays, resources, and reading suggestions to help writers and essayists improve their writing craft. It's nice to see you here! If someone forwarded you this email because they love your writing, you can subscribe here. Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes “When you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being.” — Chinese Saying Photo by Pavel Danilyuk What I Learned From … I’ve got one hand in the...
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[WILF] Baba Yaga and Monsters

Welcome to What I Learned From… a newsletter that offers short essays, resources, and reading suggestions to help writers and essayists improve their writing craft. It's nice to see you here! If someone forwarded you this email because they love your writing, you can subscribe here. Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes “The monsters of our childhood do not fade away, neither are they ever wholly monstrous” ― John le Carré Photo by Daniele Franchi What I Learned From … Baba Yaga lives deep in the...
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What I Learned From Golden Records About Being Known

Welcome to What I Learned From… a newsletter that offers short essays, resources, and reading suggestions to help writers and essayists improve their writing craft. It's nice to see you here! If someone forwarded you this email because they love your writing, you can subscribe here. Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes “They should have sent a poet” ― Jodie Foster as Dr. Ellie Arroway in Contact Photo by Greg Rakozy What I Learned From … In 1977 NASA launched two spacecraft, Voyager 1 and...
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[WILF] Taylor Swift and Graveyards

Welcome to What I Learned From… a newsletter that offers short essays, resources, and reading suggestions to help writers and essayists improve their writing craft. It's nice to see you here! If someone forwarded you this email because they love your writing, you can subscribe here. Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes “Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change. The sun might shine, or the clouds might lour: but nothing could appear to me as it had done the day...
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