Substack Writing
Overview
Newsletter issues for the "Ahnii!" Substack. First person, personal, narrative. Not instructional — this is a builder's journal, not a tutorial. Voice is direct, honest, and grounded in place.
Voice Rules
| Element |
Rule |
| Greeting |
Always open with "Ahnii!" — exclamation mark, own paragraph |
| Farewell |
Always close with "Baamaapii" — no emoji, own paragraph |
| Voice |
First person throughout. "I", "my", "I'm building". |
| Tone |
Direct, personal. Like writing to someone who cares about the work. |
| Length |
500–800 words. Short is fine. Don't pad. |
| Em dashes |
None. Periods, colons, or commas instead. |
| Emoji |
None. |
| Filler |
None. No "passionate about", "excited to share", "I hope this finds you well". |
Structure
Ahnii!
[Opening: the thing you're writing about, stated plainly. One paragraph.]
## [Section: The Problem / The Why]
[What you were trying to solve or understand. Ground it in reality.]
## [Section: What You Built / What You Found]
[The work itself. Be specific. Link first mention of projects.]
## [Section: Where It's Going]
[What's next. Keep it honest — don't oversell.]
[CTA: one or two sentences. Follow the build, subscribe, reply.]
Baamaapii
Project Links (link first mention only)
Output
Save draft to ~/brand/substack-issue-N.md where N is the issue number. Do not publish without Russell confirming.
Common Mistakes
| Mistake |
Fix |
| Second person ("you can", "your project") |
First person only: "I built", "my framework" |
| Tutorial structure (Prerequisites, Steps) |
Narrative structure: problem, work, direction |
| Generic CTA ("subscribe for more content") |
Specific: "Follow the build. Subscribe if you want to be here for it." |
| Throat-clearing opening ("In this issue I want to talk about...") |
State the thing plainly in the first sentence |
| Overselling ("This changes everything") |
Honest and specific: what it does, why it matters to the work |
1---2name: substack-writing3description: Use when writing Substack newsletter issues for the "Ahnii!" publication at jonesrussell42.substack.com. Personal, first-person narrative about building Waaseyaa, Minoo, OIATC, and Indigenous digital sovereignty.4---56# Substack Writing78## Overview910Newsletter issues for the "Ahnii!" Substack. First person, personal, narrative. Not instructional — this is a builder's journal, not a tutorial. Voice is direct, honest, and grounded in place.1112## Voice Rules1314| Element | Rule |15|---------|------|16| Greeting | Always open with "Ahnii!" — exclamation mark, own paragraph |17| Farewell | Always close with "Baamaapii" — no emoji, own paragraph |18| Voice | First person throughout. "I", "my", "I'm building". |19| Tone | Direct, personal. Like writing to someone who cares about the work. |20| Length | 500–800 words. Short is fine. Don't pad. |21| Em dashes | None. Periods, colons, or commas instead. |22| Emoji | None. |23| Filler | None. No "passionate about", "excited to share", "I hope this finds you well". |2425## Structure2627```28Ahnii!2930[Opening: the thing you're writing about, stated plainly. One paragraph.]3132## [Section: The Problem / The Why]3334[What you were trying to solve or understand. Ground it in reality.]3536## [Section: What You Built / What You Found]3738[The work itself. Be specific. Link first mention of projects.]3940## [Section: Where It's Going]4142[What's next. Keep it honest — don't oversell.]4344[CTA: one or two sentences. Follow the build, subscribe, reply.]4546Baamaapii47```4849## Project Links (link first mention only)5051| Project | URL |52|---------|-----|53| Waaseyaa | https://waaseyaa.org |54| Minoo | https://minoo.live |55| OIATC | https://oiatc.waaseyaa.org |56| NorthOps | https://northops.ca |57| Blog | https://jonesrussell.github.io/blog |5859## Output6061Save draft to `~/brand/substack-issue-N.md` where N is the issue number. Do not publish without Russell confirming.6263## Common Mistakes6465| Mistake | Fix |66|---------|-----|67| Second person ("you can", "your project") | First person only: "I built", "my framework" |68| Tutorial structure (Prerequisites, Steps) | Narrative structure: problem, work, direction |69| Generic CTA ("subscribe for more content") | Specific: "Follow the build. Subscribe if you want to be here for it." |70| Throat-clearing opening ("In this issue I want to talk about...") | State the thing plainly in the first sentence |71| Overselling ("This changes everything") | Honest and specific: what it does, why it matters to the work |
jonesrussell