Hi! I’m Ali, a TV writer (The Morning Show), director and producer (Comedy Central), and actor (The End of Us, SXSW). As a filmmaker, my online video work has garnered nearly 1 billion views. As a journalist, my online writing has appeared in Vulture, BuzzFeed News, Talkhouse, Hello Giggles, The Hairpin, and more. In 2022, I created a writing school and retreat center, In Flow, through which I travel the world teaching. I started Little Things as an extension of that: A place to come together online to invest in our work and our well-being.
What is this newsletter about?
I write usually funny, always honest essays with clear takeaways about what it means to be alive. In addition, I share curated recommendations, craft advice, and anything new that’s inspiring me, and hopefully will inspire you, too.
My subjects include creativity, surviving (and thriving) in a creative career, books and literature, film & TV, the craft & business of screenwriting, well-being, travel, and connecting more deeply to ourselves and others.
“Little Things is a remix of the literary salon. An antidote to creative loneliness. A therapy session. Cocktails with a friend. Ali shares tips and insights with optimism and humor. If you're a writer looking for community, this is a great place to start.” — Pablo Andreu
Little Things is much more than a newsletter: It’s a community space for creatives to learn and grow together.
A huge part of this newsletter is the thriving creative community: There are hundreds of paying subscribers invested in their work and their well-being, and we all learn and grow together throughout the year.
Here's an example of some of the community study groups, book clubs, Zoom events, and workshops available to paying members of this newsletter:
On the first Sunday of each month, I host a Pitch Group, a supportive environment to workshop a project. Each person shows up with a creative idea (for instance, a newsletter, book, short story, film, or TV series) and receives pitches on whatever they’re working on for 20 minutes. The next two months are open for registration now. This sells out every single month.
We regularly do The Artist’s Way together in the Subscriber chat and over Zoom. The group is an incredible support system filled with encouragement, accountability, and connection. To quote one of last year’s members: “This is probably the best thing I’ve ever done on the internet.” We’re doing it now, and you can still hop into the group!
I host workshops and classes, like my upcoming TV Drama Writing class, which are free or discounted for paid subscribers.
Paying for your subscription also means you’re sustaining this community and this publication. It means you are investing in what you value. It means you’re supporting an artist in building a safe, inspiring, helpful space in an industry with zero stability.
Here are some testimonials from some paying subscribers:
“Ali Vingiano’s newsletter about finding an agent or manager—and whether you even need one—is reason enough to become a paid subscriber to Little Things.” — Ben Blacker of Re:Writing
“I find your newsletters so beautifully done. Really inspiring and insightful and so well-written! It feels just so high-quality in terms of the whole way it’s executed.” — Joyce
“I get *so much* out of your newsletter! I’m constantly talking about it to my writer friends and it has such a good community vibe!” — Carina
“Little Things' is about the *big* things in a working writer's life, like regaining faith in your own work, & negotiating the knocks of a whirlwind industry - all hard-won, reliable advice from someone in the trenches doing that work every day, delivered with kindness and wit.” — Mike Sowden of Everything Is Amazing
Lastly, this is a space for you — so reach out. Ask questions. Send me requests. Let’s support each other as we collectively invest in our work and our well-being.
Thank you for being here! We’re gonna have fun.
Xo, Ali
PS — Typos are always intentional, of course.
