I think the only thing I can say that I've actively put in place over the last two years is in trying to be actively writing and not holding myself too much to the idea of perfecting and perfecting. I want to reach a point where it's OK to let go, post, and move on, but in doing so keep honing and honing as much as I can.
In terms of non-writing and general life: being OK with being constantly overwhelmed by work and tasks. That's something I'm striving to be better at. As for strategy there? More acceptance that this is how it'll likely always be (until I retire or lose my job, haha), to tackle things one at a time, to prioritise the most important tasks and let go of the things that likely won't get done.
Thank you, Nathan! You know I would read a deep dive on your writing process if you feel like elaborating sometime ;) but as far as I can tell, you're doing well! Your writing is great, although I haven't specifically been paying attention to whether it's getting better or not.
Sounds like I'd be so bad at your work... I think being comfortable with a certain amount of chaos can only be a good learning experience but "constant overwhelm" might be a little too much for me. I like some quiet periods in between the sprints. Hope you're holding up ok!
Thanks Vanessa! I am a big fan of using NANOWRIMO as a launching point for first drafts (and I still haven’t pumped out “One Hundred Years of Solitude” just yet lol) but it does lend itself to poorly constructed writing that can be very tedious to consider the next 12 stages or revision and edits. For me, I have been working on combining the personal essay with some academic style exploration of topics. The struggle for me is trying to dig deeper in a limited word count and add a personal touch to the arguments. Separately, readership on Substack is changing even more with the introduction of seasoned professionals with a large following a the drive by Substack to incorporate influencers into the platform. What began as a community of newsletters and modest essays and serialized work that brought back a level of intellectual curiosity from readers seems to have drifted more into an algorithm promoting popularity through Notes. But I spend more time reading on Substack rather than writing anyway and never saw this as an avenue for anything more than limited accountability and modest exploration. Keep up the good work…I have been traveling and now just trying to catch back up!
Thank you, Brian! Adding a personal touch to our writing is often what makes it resonate the most with readers--ironic that it can also be so hard, right? So much writing advice out there tells you to "find your voice" or "write what feels true to you" but it can take a lot of work to figure out what that means for yourself. Keep it up!
As for Substack, I also feel that Notes is playing a bit of a confusing role in all of it. How can we use it in a way that doesn't feel marketing-y (like all of Twitter)? I try to be somewhat active on there but I often don't think too much about what I post... Not every Note has to have a purpose. A small way to rebel against the algorithm? ;)
Nice read, thanks Vanessa.
I think the only thing I can say that I've actively put in place over the last two years is in trying to be actively writing and not holding myself too much to the idea of perfecting and perfecting. I want to reach a point where it's OK to let go, post, and move on, but in doing so keep honing and honing as much as I can.
In terms of non-writing and general life: being OK with being constantly overwhelmed by work and tasks. That's something I'm striving to be better at. As for strategy there? More acceptance that this is how it'll likely always be (until I retire or lose my job, haha), to tackle things one at a time, to prioritise the most important tasks and let go of the things that likely won't get done.
Thank you, Nathan! You know I would read a deep dive on your writing process if you feel like elaborating sometime ;) but as far as I can tell, you're doing well! Your writing is great, although I haven't specifically been paying attention to whether it's getting better or not.
Sounds like I'd be so bad at your work... I think being comfortable with a certain amount of chaos can only be a good learning experience but "constant overwhelm" might be a little too much for me. I like some quiet periods in between the sprints. Hope you're holding up ok!
Thanks Vanessa! I am a big fan of using NANOWRIMO as a launching point for first drafts (and I still haven’t pumped out “One Hundred Years of Solitude” just yet lol) but it does lend itself to poorly constructed writing that can be very tedious to consider the next 12 stages or revision and edits. For me, I have been working on combining the personal essay with some academic style exploration of topics. The struggle for me is trying to dig deeper in a limited word count and add a personal touch to the arguments. Separately, readership on Substack is changing even more with the introduction of seasoned professionals with a large following a the drive by Substack to incorporate influencers into the platform. What began as a community of newsletters and modest essays and serialized work that brought back a level of intellectual curiosity from readers seems to have drifted more into an algorithm promoting popularity through Notes. But I spend more time reading on Substack rather than writing anyway and never saw this as an avenue for anything more than limited accountability and modest exploration. Keep up the good work…I have been traveling and now just trying to catch back up!
Thank you, Brian! Adding a personal touch to our writing is often what makes it resonate the most with readers--ironic that it can also be so hard, right? So much writing advice out there tells you to "find your voice" or "write what feels true to you" but it can take a lot of work to figure out what that means for yourself. Keep it up!
As for Substack, I also feel that Notes is playing a bit of a confusing role in all of it. How can we use it in a way that doesn't feel marketing-y (like all of Twitter)? I try to be somewhat active on there but I often don't think too much about what I post... Not every Note has to have a purpose. A small way to rebel against the algorithm? ;)