Write On, Cape Town (2026)

05/04/2026

Does everything have to be content?

I watched someone share a deeply spiritual family journey online recently.
Everything was documented and shared and I mean everything.

The crying.
The praying.
The most sacred, intimate moments uploaded.

And I couldn't stop thinking:
When did we start needing an audience for things that were never meant to be watched?

This week's essay is about that feeling.

The quiet shift from wanting more to wanting less.
From sharing everything to choosing what stays just yours.

I'm trying to be more intentional now - with my time, my energy, my conversations. What I share and what I don't.

Be honest with me: What's something you've shared that maybe should've been just yours?

This week's Substack essay is out now. Find the ;ink in bio or the images provided for free journaling prompts.

02/04/2026

Some nights feel like they remember you before you even arrive.

At Princess Vlei, the land held us first.

Before the fire was lit, before the stories were spoken, there was a quiet honouring - of earth, of water, of all that came before us.

You could feel it in the way the wind moved, in the way the vlei mirrored the sky back to itself.
A kind of reverence that asks you to soften your voice and listen a little deeper.

We gathered as women around the fire, each of us carrying something tender. Dreams. Grief. Questions without endings and in that circle, nothing needed to be rushed into clarity. We were simply witnessed. Held in the warmth of flame and the understanding that we are not alone in our becoming.

When we walked to the vlei, the pink moon began her slow unveiling. Full. Luminous. Unapologetically herself and something in me softened in response. A remembering, perhaps, that we are allowed to take up space in our fullness too.

This is what I’ve been longing for.
To be offline. To walk on the earth.
To touch and smell all the healing plant life.
To sit with women who tell the truth.
To remember that connection doesn’t have to be complicated to be sacred.

I left feeling softer. Lighter. More myself.

Tramakasie to our guide Shihaam who moves through this world with a knowing that feels both ancient and instinctive. The way she speaks of plants - not as objects, but as companions, as healers. The way she nourishes - not just with her delicious food and offerings, but with her attention, her care, her deep love of people.

It’s a rare thing, to feel so genuinely welcomed into someone’s presence.

I deeply thank you and the beautiful group of women for community, for space, for understanding without words.

29/03/2026

I took 2 naps yesterday.

Not romantic, lying in the sun naps.
The kinds that cancel your plans and then sit there while you wonder what's wrong with you.

It's only March.

Why are we already so damn tired?

I see it in my students and clients too - they're showing up, doing the work, writing... but there's a heaviness. Like everyone is carrying something they haven't fully named.

And in between everything?
Noise. Content. Opinions. AI slop. Over-sexualization. Reality TV.
Our brains don't get a moment to just be.

So we call it "being tired".

But it's more than that.

This week's essay is about burnout, overstimulation and the quiet truth:

Maybe you're not lazy.
Maybe 2026 is just.... a lot.

If you've been feeling it too, you're not the only one.

Link for "It's Only March. Why Are We Already This Tired?" here: https://open.substack.com/pub/writeonza/p/its-only-march-why-are-we-already?r=4my38&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Share it someone else who also can't seem to get enough rest no matter how many naps they take.

25/03/2026

It’s National Tolkien Reading Day 📚

My first memory of Tolkien?

As a child in a lift scheme, half-asleep, while my neighbour drove us to school with The Lord of the Rings playing on audiobook.
Main character energy before I even knew what that meant.

Fast forward a few years:
An ex-boyfriend deeply obsessed with Tolkien - I went to visit him in England. We go to the cinema to watch The Lord of the Rings film - magical, epic, everything you’d hope for…

Except the English kids in the theatre were shining those red laser pointers on the characters’ faces during pivotal moments.
Nothing like Frodo carrying the fate of Middle-earth with a glowing dot on his forehead.
Character building. For all of us.

Anyway. Tolkien raised us. Slightly chaotic, but still.

What’s your favourite Tolkien book (or film) and why?

24/03/2026

There are stories we write.
And there are stories we stitch.
Today, I watched my friend Mona hold space on a university plaza - needle in hand, thread moving through fabric like memory through time.

To witness Mona - someone who has been part of Write On! since the very beginning - holding space through embroidery, was something special.

I’ve always believed in writing as a tool for healing.
But this reminded me: storytelling is not limited to the page.

It can be tactile, visual, communal.
It can sit in a public space and gently ask:

How do we make sense of the world we’re living in?
And what do we do with what we see?

So grateful to have been invited to witness this and inspired by the next generation who are willing to pause, question and engage.

History doesn’t just live in textbooks - it lives in bodies, in streets, in stories we carry.

It can be threaded.
Held.
Shared in silence.

And maybe that’s where transformation begins.

22/03/2026

I don't have time.
Which is an interesting excuse because I somehow had time to:
-scroll for an hour
-reply to messages that could have waited
-reorganize something that wasn't urgent
-think about doing the thing...without doing the thing

This week's essay is a gentle call-out (to myself included):

You're not too busy.
You're just distracted.

Not in a dramatic, life-is-falling-apart way. In a very normal, modern, phone-in-your-hand way.

Because attention is not something you find.

It's a choice you make.

Tell me in the comments - what are you currently "too busy" to do?

15/03/2026

I'm starting to suspect that if you don't post about your life online, the internet assumes it never happened.

You can't just go for a walk anymore.
You have to share your morning routine.

You don't just read a book.
You photograph the book, the coffee next to the book and the light from the window perfectly hitting the book.

Apparently, we're all running tiny media companies now. Even when we're just trying to start our day and mind our own business.

This week's essay is about the quiet pressure to turn every experience into content and the small rebellion of doing things that never appear online.

Because not every moment needs a caption and not every life needs an audience.

Subscribe for free and read the full essay on Substack. Link in the image provided.

14/03/2026

It’s National Write Down Your Story Day ✍️

For 14 years I’ve been helping people tell their stories and the truth is… most people don’t struggle with writing.

They struggle with permission.

Permission to be honest.
Permission to remember things differently.
Permission to write something messy, unfinished and real.

Your story doesn’t need to be perfect.
It just needs to be written down.

If 2026 is the year you stop saying “one day I’ll write it” and start actually doing it, I’d love to support you.

📩 Sign up for my weekly essay on all things writing — subscribers get free journal prompts and exclusive early bird discounts on workshops and courses.

Your story has waited long enough.

📚

12/03/2026

Happy University Mental Health Day 💛

Teenagers: brilliant, messy, inspiring and occasionally intense (in the best way).
I’ve worked with local students and international visitors, helping them navigate 2026’s chaos while figuring out who they are.

Honestly? I love it. Every high-five, hesitant journal entry and “aha” moment reminds me why supporting teens is the best job in the world.

Organizations or universities that want to help these incredible humans express themselves, explore identity, and make sense of their world - get in touch and let’s make magic together ✨

08/03/2026

My mother has always said death comes in threes.

This week, it did.

Three very different lives.
Three very different ways of being remembered.

One judged.
One suddenly praised.
One quietly missed.

This week’s essay reflects on grief, reputation and the strange digital afterlife we now live with where messages from friends who are gone can suddenly reappear in your timeline years later.

This essay also reflects on the lives of Ian von Memerty and Soli Philander and the way the public story of someone’s life often changes after they’re gone.

Read the essay and join the conversation.

Link in bio.

Tell me in the comments:

Have you ever had a message or post from someone who has passed away suddenly appear in your timeline?

04/03/2026

There comes a moment when you realise you miss yourself.

Not the productive you.
Not the coping you.
The creative, curious, slightly wild you.

If you’ve been circling this work for a while… this might be your nudge.

The Artist’s Way begins this Sunday.

We’ll write. We’ll notice. We’ll gently untangle the stories that say you’re “too late” or “not talented enough.” We’ll take our inner artist on dates. We’ll make room for play again.

No pressure. No performance.
Just a small, brave decision to show up for your creativity.

If you’ve been craving structure, community and a reason to return to your own voice… I’d love to hold that space for you.

We start Sunday - only 5 spaces left 🤍

03/03/2026

Happy World Book Day 📚

Reminder that:
• buying books and reading books are two separate hobbies
• the “to be read” pile is a personality trait
• fictional characters have emotionally shaped me more than some real people
• annotating is a love language

Books are cheaper than therapy.
(But also… sometimes writing + books. Let’s be balanced.)

Today I’m celebrating the quiet magic of pages, paper cuts, dog-eared corners and sentences that make you sit very still.

Drop your current read below so we can all irresponsibly grow our TBR piles together.

Write On

05/04/2026

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29/03/2026

25/03/2026

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