And the winner is… 💫
Unveiling our giveaway winner, plus a few secrets for the storytellers and stargazers.
The week has been a quiet poem—slow and stirring—with whispers of inspiration tucked between the ordinary moments. As we step into this new Sneak Peek Friday, I’m here with a few treasures for the heart and pen: a winner to celebrate, writing tips for the wanderers of words, and a spark or two to carry into your weekend. Let’s wander into it together.
🖤 And the winner is… 🖤
To everyone who stepped into the shadows with me and entered our first Substack giveaway—thank you. Your support means more than words can say. I’m endlessly grateful for this little corner of the world we’ve built here together. Substack has become a place where we can connect more deeply, share more honestly, and grow side by side. More exclusive giveaways are on the horizon, so stay wild, stay inspired, and stay close.
Congratulations to @robbyd, the lucky winner of our first Substack exclusive giveaway! 🎉
Quote of the Week:
”We make out of the quarrel with others, rhetoric, but of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry." — W.B. Yeats
Yeats said it best—our battles with others may fill the air with noise, but it’s the quiet wars within that give birth to poetry. When we wrestle with our own hearts, when we sit in the silence and feel it all—that’s when the real art begins. Poetry isn’t born from perfection. It’s born from the beautiful mess of being human.
Currently Listening:
“Running Out Of Time” by Paramore
There’s something so hauntingly honest about Running Out of Time by Paramore. It’s a love letter to our best intentions—the flowers we meant to bring, the calls we meant to make, the kindnesses we meant to show. It captures that quiet ache of always being a little too late, of meaning well but falling short. And maybe that’s the most human thing of all. In the poetry of our flaws, we find the truest reflections of ourselves.
Don't forget to follow the Atticus Official Playlist on Spotify if you want to listen to my favorites along with me each week.
Inspired By:
Glenn Ligon inspires with a voice that doesn’t shout but echoes—through bold brushstrokes, through silence, through the weight of words. His work holds a mirror to America, asking us to read between the lines of history, race, and identity. Like poetry on canvas, his text-based pieces burn with the wisdom of Baldwin, the rhythm of Hurston, the raw honesty of Pryor. He reminds us that language isn’t just for telling stories—it’s for unearthing truths, and sometimes, rewriting them entirely.
4 Unusual Tips for Storytelling
Storytelling is a kind of alchemy—turning memory into meaning, pain into poetry, the ordinary into something sacred. But sometimes the best stories aren’t found in how-tos or writing classes… they’re hidden in the cracks, in the quiet, in the strange rituals we make for ourselves. Here are a few of mine.
Write with the lights off.
Let the dark quiet your distractions and call your ghosts. Sometimes the best stories live just beyond the glow of the screen.Tell it like a secret.
Whisper it onto the page as if you’re telling only one person. The more intimate the truth, the louder it echoes.Let the silence speak.
Every pause, every unsaid thing carries weight. Leave room for the reader to ache with you in the spaces between the words.Start with a scar.
Not the prettiest place, but the realest. Begin where it hurts, and follow the healing. That’s where the magic lives.
There’s no right way to tell a story—only your way. Let it be wild, let it be raw, let it be yours. And most of all, let it be something that makes even you feel something new when you read it back.
For those who feel the call to write, to create, to leave something behind—paid subscribers receive a deeper dive each month: raw, unfiltered writing and publishing tips sent straight to your inbox. Lessons I’ve learned in the quiet, the hard way, the honest way. If the dream lives in you, this is for you.
Fan Feature:
Every week, I showcase incredible works submitted by you, the readers. Want your poetry featured next? Find me on Instagram and send over a few images of your favorite pieces via DM and start your message with “POETRY SUBMISSION”—I can't wait to read what you're creating 🖤
There’s something haunting in this one. A trembling, a surrender. A love so consuming it rewires your bones, reclaims your name, and leaves you whispering: I am spoken for. Check out @ivyyguerrero on Instagram!
Top Post This Week:
Spring is for soft things—
new blooms,
second chances,
and poetry that feels like sunlight on skin.
And so we close this week’s chapter— with ink on our fingers and a little more soul in our step. Thank you for wandering through the wild words with me. Until next Friday, keep searching, keep writing, keep loving the mystery.
Love from the shadows,
xx
Atticus