Receipts from Inside the Studio
Hey, Rebels!
I’ll admit it: I suck at sharing wins & progress.
I guess it’s the creative default mode to be so hyper-focused on the bigger picture that you forget to appreciate the smaller milestones as you pass them.
Another reason, though, is that every week we celebrate, share, and check in with each other inside the Studio. It’s a ritual I hold dear, so dear that I rarely share it publicly.
But it’s time to give you a peek behind the curtain of what we actually get up to behind the Studio disco balls! 🪩
❤️🔥 Member ships
This is the part I love most…a snapshot of the past couple of rebellious weeks.
Here’s what our Rebels are celebrating inside the Studio:
📌 Jo hit 20.6k words in her novel draft after averaging 1,000 words written per day (co-writing sessions FTW) 🎉🎉🎉
📌 Jo also wrote this banger of a closing line in her WIP short published on her Substack: “Everlasting memorial guaranteed” Fuck. (read the full thing here)
📌 Imaan overcame her perfectionism loop thanks to Anna’s writing workshop and finished part one of her novel ❤️🔥
📌 Ben smashed the 30k mark during one of our virtual writing sprint weekends and has managed to stay focused on one writing project for the first time in his life thanks to TYOTN 🙌🏻
📌 After spending the weekend reordering some scenes, Paulette reached 20k words in her first draft! 🥳
📌 Naomi hit the 60k words - yes, you read that right, SIX. ZERO. - mark in her novel and is sprinting towards her next goal of 70k (you’ve got this, Naomi!!!) 🤯
📌 Also, quoting Ben on behalf of Naomi: Naomi quickly asserted herself as our intimacy coordinator and is now our TYOTN resident expert for those extra-steamy scenes 😏
📌 Seth launched his podcast store (because who doesn’t love creative merch)! 🛍️
📌 Ayman launched her community, Samajh My Gal, for the children & grandchildren of South Asian diaspora and is in the process of publishing her first lit mag issue!! 🫶
📌 David has been absolutely BOSSING Substack with his character-driven shorts (so much whimsical gorgeousness) 💌
📌 Jim returned home to the Studio and came armed with a 30-page draft of his screenplay for feedback in the Screen Village (a complementary story to his epic rock opera album, which got him featured in Rolling Stone - yes, we have a rockstar in residence) 🤘
📌 Chloe has been the absolute backbone of our weekday writing sprints inside TYOTN and has managed to show over 32,000 words who’s boss (that draft be drafting!!!) ✒️✒️
I’ve not even covered everyone’s ships here, but to save this letter from turning into War & Peace, I’ll pause for this week (expect more updates to come).
I’m so blinking proud of what every Rebel in the Studio is creating. Small wins lead to big progress, and by golly, have we got some alchemists in our village!
📚 Founder ships (because I’m in it too)
I don’t get to sit on the sidelines.
Some of my ships:
📌 Finally started my novel, skeleton drafted all of act one, and properly wrote 6.5k words so far
📌 Batch created more social content than you can shake a stick at (and managed to film 30 TikToks in one day last week)
📌 Started to prioritise recovering from burnout (more sleep, more movement, better diet) while relaunching the business
📌 Started posting on LinkedIn again (even if it did make me want to rip my eyeballs out)
My energy levels have been unpredictable thanks to my AuDHD, so taking messy action each day has been a priority. I’m really trying to reteach my brain that I can do anything, but I can’t do everything all at once.
Will report back!
💬 A moment of honesty
We’re not into burnout.
The world is loud and overwhelming. It’s why I try to instil the idea of microgoals and celebrate the smallest of feats inside the Studio. Sometimes, that just looks like surviving the day or week.
Hustle culture has no place in creative spaces (that sorta unintentionally rhymed!)
The only transformation I want our Rebels to aim for is falling back in love with their creative process. And that’s different for everyone.
There’s no such thing as falling behind in this village.
👻 If you’ve been lurking
Every week inside Studio Sonder, members:
• Choose one writing/creative focus
• Post one intention or microgoal
• Return with one honest check-in
No overposting, productivity hustle, algorithms, or social media performance.
We host weekly co-working sessions and full-group check-in calls, and share stories, life, and tips in our feed.
👉 The only thing that truly matters, though, is that you remain accountable for giving your creativity the time and space it deserves. It’s why I’m only welcoming a handful of new members at a time from now on, because no one needs more noise or distractions.
We’re here to show up and support one another.
If you’d like an invite, hit reply to this email!
Keep taking messy action,
— Dr Demi
Founder & Creative in Chief | Studio Sonder