The Weekly Write-Up #46

YOU can win an Amazon gift card!

As promised last week, I have something pretty big to announce this week! As is usually the case when I announce something big, check the Wild Card section for the details (but be sure to read the rest of the newsletter as well since I have some very interesting content).

In this newsletter…

• A book about rabbits, birds, and wolves! Did I like it?

• What does a Forrest and car reviews have in common?!

• iOS 17: nothing changed! WatchOS 10: everything changed!

• You can win an Amazon Gift Card, a FREE book, merch, and more!

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Literary Picks

The Green Ember

For the past few months (yes, it took a long time), we have been reading The Green Ember by S. D. Smith as a family. My opinions about this book were a bit like a rollercoaster as we were reading it. There were some parts where I really enjoyed the book, but at other times, I wasn't having it. The Green Ember is about two rabbits, Heather and Picket, whose home and family is attacked by wolves, forcing them to flee. After fleeing, they are taken into a new community, where they find out whom they really are and what their family name really means!

At first, I really liked The Green Ember. It started off with the family of rabbits enjoying their normal life before the book launched into a (very) long chase scene that lasted multiple chapters. This part was very exciting, though a bit long. Once the two rabbits flee and are adopted into the new community, the book gets really slow. I wasn't bogged down with the description, but the plot just didn't seem to move much. Towards the end of the book, the plot picked back up again, and once it did, I was on the edge of my seat. I couldn't wait to read the next chapter to find out what was going to happen! Overall, the plot had some points where it was slow, but also some parts where I was on the edge of my seat!

Two aspects of The Green Ember that I liked all throughout the book was the vivid description and the fantastic development of characters. S. D. Smith did an outstanding job at description. He painted vivid word pictures and made it feel like the reader was really there! The characters in this book were also amazing! Smith crafted a host of characters with unique characteristics and personalities, many of which changed throughout the book. He did a great job making the audience love/hate each of the characters in a way that only a great author could! These two aspects, the description and the characters, were incredible!

When I was in the middle of reading The Green Ember, I don't know if I would have recommended it, but as when reading any book, you have to finish the book to see what you really think about it. So, after finishing this book, I would definitely recommend this series. Yes, it is a series, and there are a total of ten books that take place in this "universe." They are categorized into three series:

• The Green Ember Series (4 Books)

• The Green Ember: Archer Trilogy (3 Books)

• The Green Ember: Old Natalia Trilogy (3 Books)
  There is a whole debate on whether to read these books by series or if you should read them by publication order. I'm not sure which to read next, but I do know that I have to read the second book of The Green Ember series at some point since the first book ended on a cliffhanger. In any case, if you would like to read the first book, The Green Ember, you can buy it on Amazon. Also, if you have read The Green Ember series, please answer in the comments: did you read the books in publication order or by series?

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Watchlist Wonders

Forrest's Auto Reviews

Recently, I have become fascinated with cars, especially the fast and luxurious kind. The main reason for this fascination is a YouTube channel by the name of Forrest's Auto Reviews. On this YouTube channel, Forrest creates all kinds of content reviewing cars! His channel is pretty epic, and I have learned a lot about cars through his channel. I have also added many cars to my "dream car" list...

Forrest used to do long-form videos, but does shorts most of the time now. He posts these shorts almost daily (maybe every other day). What I like the most about his reviews is that he is both knowledgeable and concise. In the videos, he quickly covers everything you need to know in less than a minute. He talks about the engine, structure of the car, tires, headlights, suspension, brakes, acceleration, sunroof, seating, interior materials, inside screen, steering wheel, trunk, and SO much more! He gives you a great idea of what the car is like in a short amount of time, but doesn't overwhelm you with all the details (at least I don't think so). The best part is that you don't even have to know a lot about cars or be a car expert to understand what Forrest is talking about. I also like how he gives his opinion (being a car expert) on different parts of the car and whether the specific car is worth buying or not. Of course, most of the cars he reviews are luxury cars and are very expensive! So, you obviously aren't going to be buying these cars unless you are super rich, but they are still cool to learn about!

Forrest is a Christian, so his videos are very clean (they have no inappropriate content, foul language, or anything else like that). They are totally fine for kids to watch (if your kids like cars). I definitely recommend Forrest's Auto Reviews if you enjoy cars or just want to dream about the cars that you wish you had (that's what I do most of the time)! Overall, it is an amazing channel that you should absolutely check out, since his reviews are some of the best out there! If you would like to check it out, you can click this link.

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Tech Thoughts

iOS 17 and WatchOS 10

iOS 17 and watchOS 10 have been released (as of a few weeks ago). With iOS 17, almost nothing changed, but with watchOS 10 practically everything changed. Let's explore the biggest changes!

iOS 17: 5 Small Changes

Honestly, not a lot changed in iOS 17. When I first installed it, I was wondering what was actually new in the update, since nothing really seemed to change. Granted, there are a lot of small quality-of-life improvements, but nothing big. Here are what Apple thinks the five biggest updates are:

1. Contact Posters: Contact posters are a new way to customize people's contacts with a full screen image that can be fully customized. While these are cool and give it a fresh look, honestly, nobody was asking for them and most people probably won't even use them. They are nice, but shouldn't be the first feature listed in the iOS 17 preview!

2. Stickers: iOS 17 now allows you to create stickers from any photo, customize them, and use them in a variety of different apps. This is another feature that I don't think anyone was asking for! Again, this makes iOS 17 more “fun”, but doesn't really help anyone...

3. Standby Mode: Here is something that I think is actually useful, and I have been using! Standby mode is activated when your phone is charging and placed on its side. It allows you to see photos, control music, view other widgets, and so much more. I have found this is especially useful at my desk. This is actually a really cool feature, and I may write a future newsletter on it!

4. Interactive Widgets: This is pretty self-explanatory. You can interact with certain apps right from their widgets on your home or lock screen. This is a great update and about time!

5. AirDrop (NameDrop): Apple also made multiple different changes to AirDrop. The biggest change is NameDrop, which is a new feature that allows you to quickly share your contact info with someone by holding your iPhone close to theirs!

watchOS 10: 2 HUGE Changes

While iOS didn't have a big update, WatchOS certainly did! Apple completely changed most of the watch experience in this update! If you have been using your Apple Watch for years, it is a bit of a learning curve, but once you figure it out, the change is good (for the most part).

1. Redesigned Apps: Apple completely redesigned every app on the Apple Watch with this update. I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, it looks kinda cool and looks much better on the higher end Apple Watches. On my Apple Watch SE, though, it doesn't look very great. I liked the apps better when they had the black backgrounds and were more bare-bones. Most of them work the same way, but it seems as if Apple designed them to look great on the Ultra but not great on the other models.

2. Smart Stack: The Smart Stack is a pretty cool addition in watchOS 10! It allows you to see widgets in a whole new way! By turning the Digital Crown, you can see up to 6 widgets displaying information like weather, calendar events, reminders, etc. This Smart Stack is also dynamic (in some ways) allowing you to see current timers, workouts, and other info at a glance. The Smart Stack allows you to still see info on your watch even when using watch faces without many complications.

Overall, neither of these updates were outstanding. Granted, there are some good features that came out in this update, but in the grand scheme of things, Apple didn't update very much (except for unnecessary updates). Neither of the updates were great, but there were still some good parts. I will say that I am liking iPadOS 17 which will be talked about soon. You can go to the Apple website if you would like to learn more about iOS 17 and watchOS 10 because there are a lot of features I didn't explain!

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Wild Card

Introducing Referrals

Today I’m announcing something that I think you guys are really going to like because you could win an Amazon gift card and many other prizes! Yep, you heard that right! Introducing, Substack Referrals. Referrals are great for both me and for my readers! Substack Referrals allow you (the reader) to help me (the content creator) grow my newsletter and share it with more people. You can do this by sharing my newsletter with people you know (family, friends, classmates, coworkers, etc.). If you enjoy The Weekly Write-Up, it would mean the world to me if you invited friends to subscribe and enjoy my weekly newsletters. If you refer friends, you will receive special gifts.

How to participate:

1. Share The Weekly Write-Up. When you use the referral link below, or the “Share” button on any post, you'll get credit for any new subscribers. Simply send the link in a text, email, or share it on social media with friends. You don't even have to say very much to them about it if you don't want to. Just tell them why you like The Weekly Write-Up, maybe a bit about what it is, and share the link! That is it!

Refer a friend

2. Earn benefits. When your friends use your referral link to subscribe, you’ll receive special benefits…
3 Referrals

• 40 BEST Topics: This will be a PDF containing my ten favorite articles from each section of The Weekly Write-Up (Literary Picks, Watchlist Wonders, Tech Thoughts, and Wild Card). These will all be compiled in a PDF that you can download on your device. I know this isn’t a huge reward, but I hope it shows my appreciation.

10 Referrals

• Ultimate Guide to WDW: I know ten referrals seems like a lot, but you are definitely going to want this guide if you are a Disney fan or are going to Disney World soon! This guide has 70+ pages packed with info about Disney World's parks, rides, restaurants, entertainment, resorts, and more! It is also decked out with pictures, fun facts, and more to make this book colorful and fun! I spent 20+ hours in the past two weeks working on this, and I'm very proud of this book! It isn't completed yet, but should be in the next week or two! If you do get ten referrals before the Ultimate Guide to WDW is ready, the guide will be sent to you as soon as it is done. I hope you enjoy this guide!

25 Referrals

• FREE Book: This reward is the best reward out of all of them and certainly isn’t easy to get! You have to get 25 people to subscribe, but if you do so, you get a free book! You get to choose from the books I have reviewed (check Hyperlink Index to see a list of all of them), and I will send you that book for free! (Note: This book must cost $15 or less.)

• Exclusive TWWU Stickers: With this book, you will also receive an official The Weekly Write-Up sticker pack that you can only get through this referral program (as of now)! There are a few different designs of stickers, and I think you will really like them!

The referral program is open now, and all the rewards (besides the WDW guide) are available. To learn more about referrals, check out Substack’s FAQ or feel free to drop a comment!
*Rewards are subject to change.

3 Month BONUS Challenge

Now, here is where you can win the Amazon gift card! Whoever has the most referrals by the end of the year (exactly 3 months from now) will receive an Amazon gift card! The Amazon gift card will start at $10 , but $2 extra will be added for every 5 referrals (eg. $20 total for 25 subscribers). Once the end of the year rolls around, the winner will receive their Amazon gift card for the amount they have earned. In each newsletter, I will give updates as to who is winning the challenge. At any time you can also visit the leaderboard to see where you are in the rankings and who is winning.

This challenge ends on December 31st, 2023 at 12pm (noon). I will send that week’s newsletter shortly after that with the results!

If you have any questions, you can leave a comment or reach out at theweeklywriteup1@gmail.com! Thank you so much for helping get the word out about The Weekly Write-Up! I really appreciate it!