How I learnt to write

I learnt to write the slow way.

In my twenties, I did a four-year degree in journalism in Dublin. My journalism career was an embarrassing disaster as I couldn’t find full-time paying work. I scrapped together a few freelance gigs but I'd to supplement my income with a job as a care worker.

But after working a few gigs as a tech journalist, I picked up pointers about writing to a deadline. Ship early and ship often.

Later, I took creative writing classes in the Irish Writer’s Center in Dublin. I never made it as a famous Irish literary fiction writer like Sally Rooney or Paul Lynch. But, I dove deep into genre and storytelling. Mine your personal life, write what you love to read, and you’ll create something authentic.

(That’s more true than ever today post ChatGPT and Claude.)

Later, I fired up WordPress and started blogging. My first few posts were a mess. But once I figured out how to write for the web–think more line breaks, spacing and better headlines–I started attracting readers. When I bolted on SEO, my traffic skyrocketed. I built and sold multiple blogs and sites over the years following that strategy.

I landed a lucrative gig as an in-house copywriter in my thirties. I helped the company sell millions of dollars of boring products by writing ebooks, sales and social media copy.

Towards the end of my copywriting career, I nearly lost the will to live-you can only write about accounting software for so long before it eats your soul-but I figured out how to write words that sell. Copywriting is a great skill for any creator, as you can use it to grow your business.

I self-published half a dozen books along the way, too, including a USA Today best-seller. You can find a few of my books on Amazon. Going from page one to published author taught me how to break down a big creative project, like a book, into small milestones.

Write 300–500 words a day for five or six days a week and you’ll have a first draft in three months. Anyone can do that. On and, invest in a book by hiring an editor, proofreader and designer.

Like practicing any skill, no moment exists when you’re done. They might press a a degree into your hand, offer a promotion or send you a fat commission but what did you create and ship today?

Now, I’m having fun writing this daily newsletter. It’s my equivalent of practising in public. And I’m STILL learning to write by closely following how AI works and tailoring it to my creative projects. I’ve spent hundreds of hours teaching myself the art of prompt writing.

AI is here to stay.

It can help creators amplify their best ideas and get you off the content hamster wheel. I’m opening enrollment for PromptWriting Studio. This is where I’ll show you how to build your sustainable writing system across multiple disciplines using AI. Read more about it here​

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