What other goodies are on offer, for my Christmas Eve Box?

#AD – a review of The Writer’s Job Newletter

Gratitude day is the perfect time to talk about something I love – writing! In this post, you will hear all about why I’m grateful to be a writer.

Today, I will be sharing my thoughts on The Writer’s Job Newsletter. Firstly, I want to share with you why this newsletter had such an impact on me, and in order to explain this to you, we need to step back in time, just a few years.

When my love affair with writing began

Every day I’m grateful to be a writer. It’s in my blood.

I still have a nursery rhyme book I wrote lists in when I was tiny. From the age of 12, I was writing folders full of poetry. I wrote for our local newspaper and still have the clippings. I have a portfolio folder full of the pieces I wrote for work experience and throughout my university days and I one day dreamed about writing a book. I also toyed with the idea of becoming an English teacher.

I still have boxes full of diaries I wrote in during my younger days and sometimes go through them. It makes me feel nostalgic about those days. I really should read them again soon and get some inspiration for the blog. When we moved in together, I told my now hubby I was keeping these to one day contribute towards my book. It’s vital information I needed to keep, justifying the reason for taking up so much space in our storage cupboard.

During the worst times of my life, living through anxiety and depression, I’ve used journaling as the main technique to help me get through it. There is something about releasing the words onto the physical piece of paper. Therapists have taught me to rip them up afterward and complete a breathing exercise. Literally releasing the negative energy from my body and it really does make you feel better when you complete this exercise. If this is something you feel like trying, Zoella talks more about journaling here. The benefits of journaling and how to get started are also discussed in this article.

More on the therapeutic benefits of writing creatively

This Independent article, along with this article discusses the benefits of writing creatively and how it can improve your mental health. Whilst writing in a diary is a form of creative writing because your personal thoughts are recorded on paper, like a story, there are other creative ways you can process your emotions. On the flip side, some believe feeling strong emotions actually fuels creativity. You can read more on this here.

Personality type and how this impacts the way you express yourself creatively

Although I’m grateful to be a writer, it has some downsides. You sometimes become consumed by the creative process and it’s hard to step away when you literally have thoughts spilling out of your head. It can be exhausting at times.

I’ve asked myself this question in the past… Can personality type really impact how we interact with the world and possibly make us communicate in a different way to others? You can read all about my personality type here.

I write about it in this blog post, because interestingly my personality type indicates I am creative and a possible job includes ‘writer’. Is it therefore coincidence that I started a blog?

I remember taking this Myers-Briggs personality test as part of a training course at work and it honestly makes you realise a lot about yourself. If testing your personality to discover more about yourself is something you’re interested in, you can read more in this Hubspot blog.

You can also read more about the Advocate personality type here. For anyone who has read my previous blogs, I think we can all agree this is true – “Advocates may feel that they aren’t allowed to rest until they’ve achieved their unique vision of success, but this mindset can lead to stress and burnout.”

Why are writers so important – using our voice to affect change

Writers are vital, for not only sharing stories or reporting news events but also giving a voice to a cause or a topic we need to discuss in society. For this reason, newsletters like this are invaluable. It’s a quick and easy way for budding and established writers to gain access to people and organisations seeking their services. Everyone benefits.

With the Internet allowing us to make connections all over the world, hitting rock bottom this year meant I relied on the one trusted method I had to express myself – writing. And I felt compelled to start a blog. To use the one thing I was good at to help others. To tell my story and hopefully make a difference in changing the stigma surrounding mental health. You can read more on why I started blogging here.

I am grateful we have writers in the world and respect everyone who is bravely speaking out on the topic of mental health at the moment. Changes in society don’t happen overnight, but collectively we can make an impact.

Making connections and grabbing opportunities

I’ve made connections with some amazing people since creating my social media accounts and starting the blog. One of them being Della and I need to introduce you to the amazing newsletter she runs. 

Just knowing there is a newsletter out there containing paid freelance writing jobs makes me excited. It’s something I hadn’t seen previously and I thought it was handy to have this vital information in one place. It also brought me a sense of confidence. I felt worthy of such jobs and also wondered whether it would be something I would consider in the future. 

I am now actively looking for freelance writing opportunities and starting off small, but still taking action to reach my goals.

At the moment, my blog is there to help others, but it’s no secret I would be overjoyed if I could make a living from writing. The newsletter email also contains non-paid work, but great opportunities to gain experience and exposure for someone new to blogging, like me. 

My review

I’ve now received two Newsletters via email and found the links posted include varied subjects, from gaming to engineering, so there really is something for everyone. I love the fact the newsletter is set out into easy-to-read sections and includes paid jobs, calls to pitch, details of competitions, and other useful information.

HERE are the all-important links you need:

You can find the Twitter account here.

The Newsletter website can be found here. Pay them a visit and sign up – you won’t be disappointed!

Final thoughts

The newsletter will be my go-to when seeking out paid jobs or other opportunities which could help me achieve my future goals. I still get excited when I receive the email on a Sunday and I hope you will too.

As I am actively on the hunt for opportunities, I will keep you posted on any progress I make.

On gratitude day I thought it was apt to share why I’m grateful to be a writer and why I’ve always relied on this communication method to express myself…I hope you enjoyed reading this post!

Let me know in the comments below whether you’ve subscribed to the Newsletter and how useful you found it.

Please also remember to let Della know about your experience. I am sure she would appreciate the feedback.