#10 How I started this Newsletter (Free GIVEAWAY)

Good Day Brewers - Pang here! ☕

It’s CRAZY.

We’re already at issue #10.

Back in January, if someone had told me that I’d be writing to over a hundred people through my newsletter, I’d have thought they were crazy.

But you know what’s EVEN CRAZIER?

I have not one, but TWO GIVEAWAY announcements at the end of this newsletter!

Be sure to stay till the end!

Estimated reading time: 1,158 words, 4 mins 52 secs

It was 12 noon.

The sun was scorching down mercilessly. I could feel the heat filling up my room. It was like being in a sauna, except I wasn’t. The whole of Singapore might as well be a sauna.

I was wearing singlets and shorts and yet, I could feel the trickles of sweat forming on my forehead.

Perhaps the sweat wasn’t caused by the heat. I was pacing up and down, biting my lips. There was this uneasiness that I simply couldn’t shake off.

“Should I or should I not?”

I just couldn’t decide.

As I was scrolling through my email, something caught my attention.

“From: Siteground Web Hosting”

“Title: Bring your website back for just $2.99/mo”

I’ve had enough. This isn’t for me.

2 years. 24 articles. 9,766 visits.

19 articles were written in the first year, generating 8,522 visits.

Not a single article was written in the last 6 months.

I just didn’t have the drive to write anymore.

It was all over the place. From past traveling trips, to restaurant reviews, to life advice and tips. I didn’t have a direction. My blog was like Jack who tries to know it all but is great at nothing. I had no traffic either.

I didn’t want to let it go just yet.

So I asked myself this:

What got me to write on this blog in the first place?

It was a breakup. My first.

It was a miserable time. Disappointment. Confusion. Stress.

She left me there. Weeping for the first time in 10 years. I could cry a river, I swear.

“I’m sorry. All this while, I’ve realized that I’ve only seen you as a friend. Nothing more.”

Her words hit me like a truck that just ran over me. Stopped. Then put on the reverse gear to crush me a second time. Before running over me again for the third.

It destroyed me, leaving me helpless.

It was hopeless.

I wasn’t sure how to cope with these emotions.

I had so much energy within me. Pent-up energy that desperately needed to be channeled somewhere.

And that’s what got me started on this.

I was writing to prove a point. To prove to her that it was a mistake that she let me go. And that decision would come and haunt her someday.

But that was my BIGGEST mistake. I was so caught up in this that I couldn’t find my purpose of writing even after all this while.

Purpose.

MY purpose.

That’s what I need.

I jolted back into this moment. This time it’s different. I knew it somehow.

I had a direction. I was writing for myself.

I had a purpose..

— To shares stories that will inspire readers on this journey.

I knew I wasn’t perfect, but I needed to try.

Fuck it!

So I started typing the first few letters onto the keyboard. I already had a story in mind. Eventually, the words become sentences and sentences become paragraphs. Before I know it, I had a full story in front of me.

But that wasn’t enough. It was a topic on “framing”. I had to demonstrate that this story could have multiple messages. So that I could bring across the importance of “framing”.

So boom. Just like MAGIC. That was how this newsletter was born.

I haven’t looked back since that moment.

10 issues. 10,653 Words.

Without that moment, we wouldn’t be celebrating issue #10 of this newsletter.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you to each of the 124 subscribers joining me on this journey.

Time Travel

I wasn’t just gonna let you walk away without a FUN tip on storytelling.

You just witness the power of the FLASHBACK technique.

A powerful technique used to bring you through time and space, transporting you back into a moment in the past.

I don’t know about you..

But when I was 10, the English teachers in my school taught this for creative essay writing.

It was a fun technique that I love to use simply because of how versatile it is.

Plus if you haven’t noticed, it’s the ONLY TECHNIQUE that focuses on more than a single moment in the story, without it confusing your readers.

One story. Two moments.

Could you spot the two moments?

The first moment triggered a flashback..

— When I saw the email sent to me from SiteGround Web Hosting, this transported me back to that moment when I started my own PUBLIC blog.

(Some of you may have heard that I owned a PERSONAL blog for 10 years. I’ll share that story on another day.)

The second moment was when I realized I had found my TRUE purpose in writing after all.

How do I use Flashback?

When you’re crafting a story, it’s important to understand the sequence of events.

Let’s say you would like to share a transformational moment that happened in the past, you can start by focusing on the present day..

— Is there something that happened recently which made you recall that?

Expand on the moment and time travel back into the past together with your audience to EXPLORE this memory!

Giveaway A

P.S. If you love my newsletter so far, I’d appreciate it if you could write me a short story-based review.

• What did you struggle with previously for storytelling?

• Ever since you’ve read my newsletters, was there a significant improvement in the way you tell stories?

• What do you love about my newsletter, in particular?

Simply reply to this email or drop me a DM! 👇

FIVE of my FAVOURITE reviews will get my upcoming course COMPLETELY FREE!

- Valued at $99.

And the rest who have submitted a review answering the above questions will be given an 80% discount on the course.

Closing date: 6 April 2023, 2359 (+8 GMT)

Note: In case you wanna know what's in my course, participate in Giveaway B and you'll get an overview of what's coming!

Giveaway B

Before you go, I have ANOTHER giveaway for you!

ANYONE CAN PARTICIPATE, so be sure to tune in to my tweets tomorrow!

Here’s a sneak peek of what’s inside!

Don’t miss this one as I’ve included TEMPLATES and STRUCTURES.

Crafting stories within 280 characters is gonna be a BREEZE, I promise.

Thank you again for being part of this journey.

Keep brewing those stories and I’ll see you next week!

Your Barista,Pang

Enjoying the warm stories so far? Share this link with friends.

Struggling with telling stories? Reach out to me here.