As writers, we fear people reading our words, yet we also want to be read. — One of the biggest issues that I struggle with as a writer and creative is the fear of judgement. The fear of what people think of the work I do: criticism, trolling, and being misunderstood is often what I expect and I mentally prepare myself for. …

Are you a planner, do you love process articles about writing and do you struggle with fear? If so read on… — It’s been a quiet few weeks for me on here as I couldn’t face reading or writing during my Covid sickness. But I feel so much better now and it’s been a joy to catch up and read what Medium writers have been writing. I’ve started to save my favourite…

I’m Sophia Petrillo and I’ll tell you why… — I’d already firmly decided that I’m Sophia but I took one of those silly quizzes online and it turns out, they agree with me. Why am I like Sophia? Is it because I have the wit and quick comebacks? Well, yes I do have those — when I’m in the…

But it is temporary. — Covid caught me a few weeks ago. There I was riding a wave of confidence and excitement. I was feeling feisty and fabulous with my writing. I’d decided on a new project and was thoroughly enjoying my time on Medium. I’d just finished the second edit of my book proposal…

No one better put this forty-something-year-old in a corner. — “The one thing that success brings you is greater visibility and at a time in your forties when you might not really be used to being very visible — because in traditional terms that’s the age in which you start to become invisible or so society would have it.” …

Do not fear failure. Focus on regret. — Last week I started a new creative project. …

Stories about the writing journey and lessons learned on the way. — I received so much love and positive feedback from my original favourite recent reads so I thought I’d share another one. Who knows, maybe this will become a regular feature. Sharing writing is fast becoming one of my new favourite things to do. Because of algorithms and because there is…

What is your ‘go to’ when you want to shut your ears to the real world? — Despite everything going on, I’m of the (perhaps controversial) opinion that the world right now is not a particularly awful place to live. …

There will be people out there who resonate with your life experiences, your perspectives and your words. — As I write this I’ve published 50 articles so far on Medium. Nowhere near what some of the more prolific writers who’ve been on Medium for so much longer have written but, when I think back to the end of March when I decided to start writing on Medium and…