Creators' Corner #15 - build your own website, take effective notes and show up every day
Hey everyone 👋. A whopping 15 new people join us this week bringing us up to 146 subscribers. Thanks so much for being an early subscriber. If you enjoy the newsletter, please forward it on. If you have 10 seconds to share a comment or idea, please hit reply.
Line-up this week:
- Website revamp
- New essay: Build Your Own Website (with zero coding)
- Creator in the spotlight: Chris Wong
- Small win: feature in WOP Weekly
- My Favourites (hyper visual): video and thought of the week
1. Website revamp
Big announcement! I revamped my website this week. I finally got around to migrating from Ghost's Edition theme to Ubud and I'm very happy with the result.
Old landing page:
New landing page:
I love the new home for my essays and newsletters.
Please give me a shout if you are curious about hosting on Ghost or if you already use Ghost and need help setting things up. I'd love to help.
Shout out to my writing buddy Janahan Sivaraman for helping me make the move.
2. New essay: Build Your Own Website (with zero coding)
In light of of the website revamp and thanks to questions from a couple of readers (please keep them coming), I have written an essay about how I built my website.
I think more people should start writing online. If you are writing-curious and you don't know where to start with website hosting, click here:
PS: this essay embraces the "document, don't create" mindset.
Every essay you write doesn't have to be profound or highly original. Instead of searching for inspiration, look at the content you’re consuming and the work you are already doing. Then go one step further and document (publish) your learnings. It can often help those one or two steps behind you.
3. Creator in the spotlight
Our creator in the spotlight this week is Chris Wong.
I first met Chris in September last year. He was a Steward in the Write of Passage community who gave me some killer feedback as I was just starting out on my writing journey.
Why is he a big deal?
Chris has reviewed over 300 essays since March 2021. In this Twitter thread ($10k feedback), he explains what to aim for when giving feedback. Don't be a Grammar Nazi, look at the overall picture, look for the core idea.
Chris has an interesting story. He followed the set path of performing well at school and landing a prestigious job in investment banking. He subsequently quit to pursue writing and community building full time. After going all-in on being a creator, he says he prefers his weekdays over weekends now. In one of my favourite essays of his, The Centenarian Compass, he talks about the value of figuring out what you want from life, not what society wants.
He recently launched a course called Newsletter Launchpad with one of my mentors, Louie Bacaj. Chris and Louie invited me to take part in the course and it's been incredible getting feedback on my writing process and newsletters. Sign up here to get reminders if you want to join their next cohort.
Follow and subscribe here:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/chr_iswong
- Newsletter: The Unknown Unknowns
4. Small Win
My essay, The Fisherman's Guide to Writing, was featured in the first edition of WOP weekly – a new newsletter launched by David Perell and the Write of Passage team.
Click here to read the full newsletter and sign up for future editions of WOP weekly. Each week will be jam-packed with strategies that help you improve your writing, find your people, and build your Personal Monopoly.
5. My Favourites:
Video of the week
This is a short 10 minute video on effective note-taking by digital entrepreneur Justin Mikolay.
Highlights:
- You don't need a super complicated personal knowledge management (PKM) system to take notes. You just need to take notes. The only error is not jotting down your ideas when they arise.
- When you take notes, take a moment to write them in your own words. When you return to the note, you are already primed to start the creative process.
Thought of the week
Show up every day. Over time you will have a body of work, which will give you confidence and credibility.
Have a great week and happy creating.
– John
Notes:
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