As many of you know, I’ve been busy writing my story, ‘Bound by the Vampire Prince’. And since I’m updating daily chapters to keep up with the demand from readers on platforms like WebNovel and Chereads, there have been days when I’ve felt…stuck. If you’re a writer, like many people here, or someone who simply loves reading, you’ll understand how difficult it is to push through writer’s block, especially when you’ve got a deadline and a word count to chase. Updating every single day while keeping up with the storyline, managing a day job and continuing to write some more here on this blog, it takes a lot out of me. On top of that, I’m also a perfectionist when it comes to my writing. Like most writers, I simply do not want to attach my name to a work that I know I won’t be proud of, in the long run. Also, like all writers, I want my readers to feel something when they read my work. But that emotional connection is nearly impossible to create, when you’re not passionate about what you’re writing. You’ll start to see the number of your readers declining, once you’ve started to lose the passion with what you’re writing about. That, I can attest to, through my personal experience. Whether it be essays, stories or articles, even poetry. It’s all the same. Good writing simply requires a piece of your soul. Just like artists, pouring everything they have into their art, we writers do the same. Only, our tools are different. Because at the end of the day, one thing I’ve realized is that: writing is an art form. And like all art, it demands honesty, vulnerability and a whole lot of heart.
So how do we keep going?How do we keep writing, sometimes thousands of words a day, when our creative cups are starting to feel empty? What do we do when we’ve lost the love we once had for a story, halfway through writing it? Or when we’re simply just…tired? I know it can feel incredibly frustrating sometimes, to pour so much of yourself into your writing, only to feel like the results are mediocre. How that frustration could slowly kill the spark you once had for a certain topic or a story. But here’s the thing, the more you try to force it, the more blocked you’ll feel. Like you’ve poured out every piece of your soul onto the page, and there’s simply nothing left to give. And to make matters worse, you’re faced with a result that feels…mediocre. Like you’ve poured out your soul for nothing. When this happens, don’t take it to heart. Don’t stop writing just because you’ve fallen out of love with it. This happens to all of us. More so than we’d like to admit. It doesn’t always mean the story is bad. Sometimes, it just means that the story needs some reworking. Maybe the angle is off, or your characters aren’t saying what they really need to say. Or maybe, it’s simply not resonating with readers right now. And that’s okay, too. Even the most successful musicians don’t create hits all the time. Not every book becomes a bestseller, so not every story needs to be your masterpiece. What matters is that you keep going, despite it all. That you keep creating, learning and reconnecting with what made you want to write in the first place. Which has something to do with what I’ve learned. After a full month of constantly updating daily chapters, putting in the time and energy to make sure each one was something I could be proud of, I realized something important: To stay in love with your story, and to push through the inevitable blocks, you have to connect more with yourself. Not just the surface level version of you, that everybody sees, but the version within the deepest, darkest trenches of your soul. Write what you secretly or not-so-secretly long for. Tap into the version of life you wished you were living in that moment in your story. Step into the shoes of the characters you’ve created, and breathe life into them. Not just with plot, but with emotion. Let them carry pieces of you: your fears, your hopes, your regrets, your joy.
When I felt myself beginning to lose interest in the story I was writing, I turned inward. I tapped into my real-life experiences, particularly the emotions I’ve felt in certain moments of my life, and gave those feelings into my characters. I basically chose scenes where those emotions made sense in their journey, and wove them in. The more I did that, the more I saw pieces of myself in them. And as those characters began to reflect my own struggles, hopes and heartaches, I can’t help but feel even more connected to the story again. Because now, they carried fragments of me. I practically translated some of my life experiences into their realm. Sometimes literally, sometimes symbolically, and I’ve realized, that it just made everything hit a little harder. You can choose how much of yourself you want to put into your work. That’s the beauty of it, because no one would know. How much, or how little, that’s all entirely up to you. You, as the writer, have the power. This approach worked incredibly well for me. And it did wonders to my mental health as well, because it’s like therapy. I get to insert some of the most ugliest experiences of mine, or at least a version of it, and write out the reactions that I wished I had gotten, when I was going through it all. That’s how you keep yourself, and your writing alive. That’s how you stay connected to your story and push through your block. Because if you’ve tried all that and the spark still isn’t there, then don’t be afraid to switch things up. Change the angle. Rework the plot. Or, let the story sit for awhile in your drafts (like my drafts here), while you explore something new. At the end of the day, it’s your art. And the more life you breathe into it, the more it will resonate with people out there. And sometimes, no matter how much or how little, that’s enough. After all…
Oh, and before I forget, feel free to read my story here: (I’ve also included the link right at the first paragraph). Thank you. Sincerely, Cherie. The Whiffler is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you can tell The Whiffler that their writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won't be charged unless they enable payments.
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Tuesday, 30 September 2025
Blocks and Burnouts
Why Western Politics is Failing
When people talk about the crises facing Western politics such as corruption, low voter turnout, polarisation, they often overlook the deeper issue; most of the decision-making is done by people with little or no contemporary experience of the lives they are shaping. In other words, the politicians writing laws about healthcare are often insulated from the NHS waiting lists. Those setting housing policy are usually landlords themselves. The people declaring that “austerity is necessary” rarely have to choose between heating and eating. This isn’t just about ideology, it’s about lived experience. Politics in the UK, the US, and much of Europe has become dominated by a political class that is wealthier, whiter, older, and more privileged than the populations they represent. That privilege creates space for right-wing ideologies to take root and corrupt the society we’re living in. The Wealth Gap Between Politicians and the PublicThe numbers speak for themselves. MPs in the UK earn a basic salary of £93,904 per year, over double the national median. Many hold additional income streams from property ownership, consultancy work, or family wealth. In the US, members of Congress are millionaires on average, compared to a median household income of around $80,610. This wealth gap matters because it creates blind spots. It’s difficult for a politician who has never had to live on Universal Credit, or face eviction, or choose between paying for prescriptions and groceries, to fully understand the realities of austerity or benefit cuts. Policies are made from above, by people looking down. And that skewed perspective is why so many decisions feel disconnected or even hostile to the general public. We feel as though we are ants in an antidote farm rather than humans in a civilised society. The Barriers to Marginalised People Entering PoliticsIt’s not that marginalised people don’t want to participate in politics, it’s that the system is built to keep them out. Campaigning requires money, networks, and time, all of which are harder to access if you are working class, disabled, or from a racialised or LGBTQIA+ community. For neurodivergent people, the barriers multiply. Campaigning often means sensory-intensive environments, unrelenting schedules, constant public scrutiny, neurotypical performance; all of which can be disabling in itself. Even when neurodivergent individuals do make it into political spaces, they face ableism, and normativity that frames their existence as a problem rather than a leader. The double empathy problem, the empathy divide between different cultural experiences, becomes a weapon through which marginalised folks are excluded from office rather than included. But this is not just about neurodivergence. It’s about a system that routinely excludes anyone who doesn’t fit the mould of the privileged, educated, able-bodied, middle-class politician. Why This Matters for DemocracyA democracy that only represents the already powerful is not a democracy, it’s an oligarchy in all but name. If politics continues to be dominated by those with wealth and privilege, it will continue to produce policies that protect wealth and privilege. This is why political alienation is growing. People feel that politicians “don’t get it”, because in truth, they don’t. And when people no longer feel represented, trust in democratic institutions collapses. The truth is that fixing this requires more than just asking for “better politicians”. It requires structural change to how representation works in Western politics... Continue reading this post for free in the Substack app
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Dear Reader, To read this week's post, click here: https://teachingtenets.wordpress.com/2025/07/02/aphorism-24-take-care-of-your-teach...
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A slightly unconventional guide to your first time ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ...
