I've said it before, I'll say it again: I thoroughly enjoy your writing.
I get the Substack pressure - I just randomly got a bunch of new subscribers out of nowhere and now I'm like "I HAVE TO WRITE SOMETHING REALLY GOOD IMMEDIATELY"... No I don't. I will write when I have the space for it and something to say. I will read the articles pouring in from my subscriptions on my own time, or I won't read them at all. The whole algorithm-driven productivity is bullshit, in my view, and not what this should be about.
We are not AI, thankfully.
And that's also the thing with music, for me. I am not mad about the pile of music being released out there, I'm just mad when it's released for wrong reasons, or when it's just AI-spam wasting my time. I want to hear humans that express themselves because they have a deep urge to do so, and to let it be heard. That's what being human is about.
And just as you'll never be friends with everyone on Earth, you will never listen to everything out there, and that's fine. The right connections always find a way to reach you.
Anyway, I'm glad I found your newsletter in the pile. :) And I won't be mad if one Friday, you decide to just drink coffee and stare into the void, silently, instead of writing. And if you find yourself in that situation, don't feel obliged to take a selfie and document this to feed the algorithm. ;)
Thank you Ewa! Always love your comments, and thank you for the validation! I definitely hear you about the content-machine-algo-productivity-vortex. Not interested. That's not what I'm doing this for. I absolutely 100000% am with you — I'm here for humans doing human things.
That said, I also committed to writing and publishing an essay once a week about 2 years ago, and I think I've only missed one in that time — and it's been really wonderful. It is such a powerful creative practice for me, and I like "forcing" myself even when I'm not feeling it to find something interesting to write about. Sometimes those even end up being the best ones, or opening up really interesting new doors for me.
I suppose there is a tension there: I feel power in the commitment and creative routine, but definitely want to make sure I continue to feel motivated by it and do it for the right reasons. Switching to substack has maybe highlighted that tension a little more than when it was more of a closed loop thing. Interesting to think about!
And yes to the void. The void sounds amazing. I can't find it anymore — I think my kids filled it with all their stuff.
I admire people like you who are able to maintain a steady routine in this. It honestly scares me, so maybe I should try it some time. I'm more of a chaos person, everything changing all the time... But it also means I could probably do more, if I were more consequent.
And very interesting what you say about the closed loop. Is it that you felt more like you're writing for a specific community before, and not into the deafening stream of social media chatter?
As to the void: I hear you :) But trust me, it's still there. It just needs some quiet and alone time with no to-dos to show itself fully...
And we land back at my chaotic-creativity-style: I work more with reminder/inspiration-lists than to-dos (and if I'm honest about it, it's not even lists, just things scattered around my apartment/desk.) This leaves more space for the void, and the void provides, with stuff I wouldn't find otherwise... But I can afford it (no kids/professional artistic responsibilities), and I do often end up doing less. Which is also fine.
(I suspect the void is secretly against productivity.)
It's super interesting how people develop different strategies for creativity around their personalities and life circumstances
Some day soon we're really going to have to get together so we can stop writing multiple paragraph long answers to each other online and just talk all night lol :)
These are a highlight of my week, every week 🙏
My highlight of the week too. Love the newsletter Ian!
thank you so much Brian!!!
Aw shucks, thank you so much kero!!! Made my day
I've said it before, I'll say it again: I thoroughly enjoy your writing.
I get the Substack pressure - I just randomly got a bunch of new subscribers out of nowhere and now I'm like "I HAVE TO WRITE SOMETHING REALLY GOOD IMMEDIATELY"... No I don't. I will write when I have the space for it and something to say. I will read the articles pouring in from my subscriptions on my own time, or I won't read them at all. The whole algorithm-driven productivity is bullshit, in my view, and not what this should be about.
We are not AI, thankfully.
And that's also the thing with music, for me. I am not mad about the pile of music being released out there, I'm just mad when it's released for wrong reasons, or when it's just AI-spam wasting my time. I want to hear humans that express themselves because they have a deep urge to do so, and to let it be heard. That's what being human is about.
And just as you'll never be friends with everyone on Earth, you will never listen to everything out there, and that's fine. The right connections always find a way to reach you.
Anyway, I'm glad I found your newsletter in the pile. :) And I won't be mad if one Friday, you decide to just drink coffee and stare into the void, silently, instead of writing. And if you find yourself in that situation, don't feel obliged to take a selfie and document this to feed the algorithm. ;)
We're still gonna be here when you get back.
Thank you Ewa! Always love your comments, and thank you for the validation! I definitely hear you about the content-machine-algo-productivity-vortex. Not interested. That's not what I'm doing this for. I absolutely 100000% am with you — I'm here for humans doing human things.
That said, I also committed to writing and publishing an essay once a week about 2 years ago, and I think I've only missed one in that time — and it's been really wonderful. It is such a powerful creative practice for me, and I like "forcing" myself even when I'm not feeling it to find something interesting to write about. Sometimes those even end up being the best ones, or opening up really interesting new doors for me.
I suppose there is a tension there: I feel power in the commitment and creative routine, but definitely want to make sure I continue to feel motivated by it and do it for the right reasons. Switching to substack has maybe highlighted that tension a little more than when it was more of a closed loop thing. Interesting to think about!
And yes to the void. The void sounds amazing. I can't find it anymore — I think my kids filled it with all their stuff.
I admire people like you who are able to maintain a steady routine in this. It honestly scares me, so maybe I should try it some time. I'm more of a chaos person, everything changing all the time... But it also means I could probably do more, if I were more consequent.
And very interesting what you say about the closed loop. Is it that you felt more like you're writing for a specific community before, and not into the deafening stream of social media chatter?
As to the void: I hear you :) But trust me, it's still there. It just needs some quiet and alone time with no to-dos to show itself fully...
And we land back at my chaotic-creativity-style: I work more with reminder/inspiration-lists than to-dos (and if I'm honest about it, it's not even lists, just things scattered around my apartment/desk.) This leaves more space for the void, and the void provides, with stuff I wouldn't find otherwise... But I can afford it (no kids/professional artistic responsibilities), and I do often end up doing less. Which is also fine.
(I suspect the void is secretly against productivity.)
It's super interesting how people develop different strategies for creativity around their personalities and life circumstances
Some day soon we're really going to have to get together so we can stop writing multiple paragraph long answers to each other online and just talk all night lol :)
I would love that :)
Thanks Ian for the insightful article. I’m gonna check out Lewis Taylor and thanks for the inspiration to keep on adding my leaflets