The Ash Files

Hi, hello! How are we all?

The question I'm asked the most is 'how can I write/create like you?' 
But what should be asked is, 'how do I write/create more like myself?'

So... I’ve been keeping a little secret. For the last six months, I’ve been working on something very close to me, shaped by my love for storytelling — not just on the page, but across film, images, and any form where someone is trying to make meaning out of attention.

It's called The Raconteur — a 250+ page guide on how storytellers actually find their voice, choose what matters, and build work that holds up — the same principles I use across everything I make, including this channel.

It started as an e-course (yes, you can roll your eyes), but once the written portion was finished and I shared it with people I trust across film, television, and publishing, the response was unanimous: this is the thing. No videos, modules, or inspirational talking head energy. Just a guide built from nearly twenty years working in film, TV, literature, and art — focused on what actually lasts.

I made it because I care about stories, and I care about the people trying to tell them... and this felt like the most honest way to show that. ✨



www.theashfiles.com/products/the-raconteur

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4 weeks ago | [YT] | 414

The Ash Files

Hello, hello.

Today is my 39th birthday and being the people pleaser I am, I got you a gift instead of one for myself. Well, that sounds weird—to call my own words "a gift."

Let me get right to it: the essays—the ones you've read, sent to your bestie, reread at 2 a.m., or accidentally cried over in public—are now available in print.

Two volumes.
27 Essays total.
In Public and In Private.
Together they make up The Ash Files.

Plus audio versions — me reading every essay, complete with the pauses, shifts, and emotional weather I brought into the room that day.

They’ll be on shelves (digital and otherwise) for a while, not forever.

If you've been here, this is the document. If you're new, this is where to start.

www.theashfiles.com/collections/the-books

With gratitude,

Ash

3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 489

The Ash Files

Yesterday I went to Google to pick up my 100K subscriber plaque. I stood in a glass building, holding a piece of metal that basically said: people are listening.

It still doesn’t feel real. Or maybe it feels too real, I haven’t quite sorted through my various emotions. Maybe it feels like proof that the quiet work, the essays written in pajamas at 2AM, the tearful spirals, the honesty, the start-overs… like they all added up to something.

To everyone who’s watched, read, subscribed, shared, or quietly (or loudly) rooted for me: thank you. You’ve made this space feel less like the internet, and more like a living room.

There’s more coming. Some of it’s big. Some of it’s small. But all of it’s mine… and now, a little bit yours too.✨

With all my gratitude,

Ash

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4 months ago | [YT] | 1,219