Hello and welcome!
I’m Dr Yasmin Chopin—a writer and mentor living in the Scottish Borders between Edinburgh and Berwick-upon-Tweed. (And my surname really is pronounced like the composer, Frédéric Chopin).
A Newsletter for Writers
Do you want to:-
Discover new ways of thinking and writing about Home and Place?
Develop your knowledge and broaden the range of topics you can confidently write about?
Give your writing more impact and clarity?
Be inspired and motivated to write regularly?
Write with more authority?
Learn more about research methods?
Get familiar with Place Writing as a genre and situate your own writing in the hierarchy of genres?
Understand how successful authors use Home and Place in their writing?
Subscribe Today!
As a free subscriber you will get:-
Free fortnightly posts that stretch your thinking and inform your writing practice.
The opportunity to meet and get into conversation with hundreds of other subscribers who are passionate about the craft of writing.
Full access to the Home and Place Writing archive.
Paid Subscribers!
As a paid subscriber you receive all the above PLUS motivation and support via Video Shorts! These 2-to-3-minute long videos are posted fortnightly; they’re unscripted unedited personal glimpses into my life as a full-time writer. I share my ups and downs, and my thinking and doing. I hope you’ll find a flash of inspiration in each one to help you in your day.
Why Subscribe?
You’ll find posts on a range of Home and Place related topics including nature, travel, art history, architecture, and design. And you’ll meet some lovely people, such as:
Jeanine Kitchel who writes Mexico Soul, she posted this on the Notes forum:
I love (…) Place Writing. It really resonates with me. I considered myself a travel writer until I read [Yasmin’s] Jan 5, 2023, post. Now I am re-thinking if I write travel OR place. But I love the conundrum. The quote I enjoyed was this, “Many (travel) writers begin their careers in journalism and I would suggest that people who enter this profession have travel in their DNA.” Busted! That’s me. Itchy feet for sure. Thanks again to Yasmin for her thoughtful Substack.
and
Dacha who writes Parisian Library of Delights. She sent me this message:
Your posts about place writing - and your own writing journey - offer very valuable insights, Yasmin. As I’m starting out on my writing path, having you - virtually :)- by my side is a wonderful support.
The Genre of Place Writing
To my knowledge, no shelves exist in libraries or bookshops labelled Place Writing. I want to change this. I’m on a mission.
I have a Masters Degree and a PhD in Creative Writing, and my research focussed on Place Writing. This is a relatively new genre so there’s lots to discuss. Come and learn about the diversity and freedom it can bring to your work.
I look forward to chatting with you!
Yasmin
My AI policy and copyright:
As a writer, my natural modus operandi is to research carefully before I develop my posts. I use a wide range of sources in order to be as accurate as possible with any facts I provide. I assimilate the information I have gathered, then write what I feel is relevant to the subject in hand, and I do so in my own words. I don’t use Grammarly or any other type of AI assistance. I don’t use headline generators.
When I incorporate quotes I reference them. I use my own photographs in preference to others, but when I use others I obtain the relevant permission and quote the source.
My purpose here is to explore my subject—HOME and PLACE. What you read in this Substack will always be my own original work.
©YasminChopin2025.
