S J Watson | Writer. Editor. Creative Coach
Subscribe
Sign in
Home
Notes
Chat
Time to Come Back
Archive
About
Start Here...
What we can’t say alone, we can say here.
READ THE LATEST
When Resistance Is Not What You Think It Is
A deeper look at burnout, avoidance, and the creative spiral
Feb 12
•
S J Watson
2
Burnt out? Or just scared?
On the difference between depletion and fear, and why serious creatives almost always get it wrong
Feb 11
•
S J Watson
2
3
When the work stops rewarding you
Did you start writing a novel, only to find yourself contemplating giving up?
Jan 15
•
S J Watson
8
1
A quiet note, before the year turns
Between Christmas and New Year there’s a strange pocket of time I’ve always liked.
Dec 26, 2025
•
S J Watson
9
3
Reader Dispatch - On crime novels that refuse the usual contract
Today’s Reader Dispatch looks at crime fiction that withholds reassurance — and what that kind of structure asks of the reader. I’ve also linked to some…
Dec 17, 2025
•
S J Watson
1
2
Don’t miss a post because your feed was full, sign up to get my posts in your inbox or app.
Subscribe
Craft Lab #1 — How Atwood Makes a Sentence Breathe
What it means to begin after the world has already changed
Dec 16, 2025
•
S J Watson
10
3
3
The Return to the Summer House
A scene in progress
Dec 12, 2025
•
S J Watson
2
2
Reader Dispatch - Rereading a Book I Thought I Already Knew
I picked up Atwood’s Bodily Harm this week — a book I first read when I was young enough to think I understood everything.
Dec 10, 2025
•
S J Watson
1
2
What "Pillion" Shows — And What It Refuses to Show — About Gay Desire
Why I left the cinema feeling seen, but still hungry.
Dec 5, 2025
•
S J Watson
2
2
3
Reader Dispatch - When the Past Starts Breathing Again
Reader Dispatch - When the Past Starts Breathing Again
Dec 3, 2025
•
S J Watson
4
1
AFTER THE STORM
What happens to your creative self after a big push?
Dec 2, 2025
•
S J Watson
5
4
Writing from the Wound
Before the scar, there’s the story.
Oct 10, 2025
•
S J Watson
11
3
Packing Light, Living Light
How a last-minute Lisbon trip—and a dose of Patti Smith—helped me rethink control, spontaneity, and the tyranny of “should”
Jun 17, 2025
•
S J Watson
11
6
2
Subscribe
TikTok Is Ruining My Brain (So Why the Hell Am I Still Posting?)
I posted this on TikTok.
Jun 14, 2025
•
S J Watson
5
2
1
The Books I Had to Burn: Why I Scrapped a Novel to Save My Writing Life
Between you and me, I had to lose the plot to find my way back
Jun 3, 2025
•
S J Watson
7
2
3
"Where are you in the story?"
A personal story from the writing of Before I Go to Sleep
May 8, 2025
•
S J Watson
5
2
2
See all
My books
Find out about my books here
Join the community
Facebook
Follow me on Facebook
Instagram
Follow me on Instagram
YouTube
Follow me on YouTube
Recommendations
View all 19
The Shift With Sam Baker
sam baker
Writing Tips With Nikesh Shukla
Nikesh Shukla
Songletter
Songletter
The Writing Long Game
Tom Kuegler
Nothing Important Happened Today
Will Carver
This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please
turn on JavaScript
or unblock scripts
