Things I’ll never apologize for, and the cost of sounding perfect.

The best artists I know aren’t afraid to be a little off-key.

Sometimes we like a melody because it's familiar.

Some of my favourite bands are my favourite precisely because of this — Nirvana, The Pixies. They took melodies we'd already fallen in love with and gave them a fresh spin. Underneath the screaming vocals and grunge guitar was something sweetly familiar — notes, beats and arrangements that took us back to the ’50s and ’60s.

There's something comforting in that. Reassuring. Safe.

But then there are the artists I love for the exact opposite reason.

Kurt Vile. Pavement. Tom Waits!

The slightly off-key ones. Who are offbeat. Clumsy even.

It's that quirky, unexpected quality that makes them so delightful.

I worry sometimes about the kids and newer writers who haven't yet had the chance to fully discover their voice before assigning it out to AI.

Because writing isn't just output.

It's self-discovery.

It's how we figure out who we are, what we think, and what matters to us.

If we skip that process, we miss the chance to discover who we are on the page.

I'm seeing more and more authors do this — jumping in too quick and circumventing that whole discovery process by asking AI: Who do you think I am? What do you think I should say?

And the problem with that is, you risk missing the very thing that adds value to any conversation:

You.

Your unique perspective. Your unique voice.

I'm not anti-AI. But I do worry about delegating our voice before we've had a chance to truly discover it for ourselves.

One thing people quickly realize when they work with me is that I'm not going to teach them writing the way they expect.

I'm not particularly interested in formulas, rules, or showing people how to sound like a "proper" writer.

Because I'm much more interested in them. Who they are. What they notice. What truths they've spent their whole lives chasing.

And helping to translate that to the page.

The real craft isn't learning how to sound perfect.

It isn't learning how to sound like everyone else.

The real craft is becoming more fully yourself on the page.

And leaning into what is uniquely, messily, clumsily you.

That's the thing people actually connect to.

In a world of AI and sameness, where everyone is drawing from the same collective everything, true authenticity is the thing that makes you stand out.

So lean into what makes you offbeat. Be courageous enough to go off-key every once in a while.

Because your authenticity is your vibe.

And your vibe is your superpower.

Cat xo