Serendipity! I was actually wondering yesterday if it's appropriate to share something that I never shared with anyone at the time but my husband! I know it will be read and shared. I know that it will also be controversial and start quite a bit of thing. But it is so personal that I really was wondering if it is ok. Even worthy of the possible criticism I will surely be facing. That does not scare me; rather it is the idea of not having anything left for myself to treasure. Recently I have been writing a bit, especially on social media, about leaving London. It drew quite a bit of attention, but in the end I actually started to feel a bit exposed, because now I am going to have to explain that I am not leaving London after all, and it really is OK! Your words are food for thought which I am going to ponder on a little longer! Thank you kind sir xxx
I once wrote a story titled, Do Weird Things Happen to me Just Because I Write?
It was about exactly this...as writers we pay closer attention to daily occurences so we have content. And when you pay attention you realize the weirdest or most random things happen EVERY day. We just need to notice them!
I agree, Tom. Idea possibilities are infinite. As a writer, when I notice something interesting, my impulse is to write about it.
Where I struggle is reconciling this with advice to “write within a niche” or to “pick a format and stick to it.”
Just about anything can be looked at and written about from a single lens (as you look at the world through the lens of writing in this space, Tom) but so often I find that the lens I’m using is too narrow for the thing I’m looking at.
I fear that loyalty to a niche will result in the topics within that niche appearing smaller than they are. This is something I’ve come up against over and over again in my own writing, when I’ve attempted to write towards an audience, rather than just writing what’s on my heart and mind as truthfully as possible.
I’ve responded to this by attempting to turn my newsletter into an umbrella large enough (while still being defined) that all of these interesting topics fit comfortably within it in their entirety, but even so, out of fear that I might be alienating readers with such broad strokes (which is a hard thing to measure, being that my following is small) there’s an impulse to tighten down into a smaller niche.
My article for tomorrow is about how women who wear hijabs are treated on social media. It comes from interactions I've seen and my being bullied over the weekend. I do articles like that once in a while. People on Substack don't seem to like truly personal, memoir stories.
I am by no means an experienced writer (just started my Substack two weeks ago) but I do think something that has helped me in this regard is three morning pages every day, recommended in The Artists' Way by Julia Cameron. The important thing about this practice is just keeping the pen moving; there's no time for perfectionism and you have to just write whatever is in your head. The lack of perfectionism here forces you to uncover a lot of garbage but also some good ideas that you probably wouldn't have written about had you been debating whether it was worth writing.
A story can be crafted about literally anything. This is the beauty of writing. It just takes a willingness to try and the courage and vulnerability to write something that might not be a NYT Best Seller. Something I have found though, is that once you start ideating more, ideating becomes easier.
I definitely like the idea of being inspired by everything and anything. That’s purely how all my songs and poems come to fruition! But in terms of sitting and coming up with something, that is something that’s never worked for me, interestingly enough. I have to have the right spark - or inspiration - to write something. So it’s interesting to see the differences in how people write!
While I could write for hours in my journals, for the last months I have been wondering what to write about in Substack; it's challenging for me to jump from private (the land of freedom) to public (the land of fear not to be enough interesting). So that's very useful, thanks! I'm so happy to have found your blog.
A mind exercise I play to tone my writing chops: when I'm parkside, lounging in a park, being a complete wastoid, or daydreaming in class, I remind myself to zoom into the minutiae, become hyperaware of what I'm picking up - and render it in language. Write a paragraph of this tangible scene in my head, and "storyify" it.
You don't always have to write to become a better writer. Growth comes from within.
I appreciate the two part format. First, here's how to find more stuff to write about and express, and second, here's a reminder of how to keep that in integrity with your soul. Amazing timing too, just goes to show how linked we are as a creative community. I really needed this post today.
Thank you for the tips. I agonize over this all the time now. I used to be the queen of writing about my trauma on Medium, but for me it was like some kind of penance for bad things done to me and bad things I did in my past. I don’t want to exploit myself anymore. I’ve been stuck on what to write about now, but you have given me some great ideas.
Serendipity! I was actually wondering yesterday if it's appropriate to share something that I never shared with anyone at the time but my husband! I know it will be read and shared. I know that it will also be controversial and start quite a bit of thing. But it is so personal that I really was wondering if it is ok. Even worthy of the possible criticism I will surely be facing. That does not scare me; rather it is the idea of not having anything left for myself to treasure. Recently I have been writing a bit, especially on social media, about leaving London. It drew quite a bit of attention, but in the end I actually started to feel a bit exposed, because now I am going to have to explain that I am not leaving London after all, and it really is OK! Your words are food for thought which I am going to ponder on a little longer! Thank you kind sir xxx
I once wrote a story titled, Do Weird Things Happen to me Just Because I Write?
It was about exactly this...as writers we pay closer attention to daily occurences so we have content. And when you pay attention you realize the weirdest or most random things happen EVERY day. We just need to notice them!
I agree, Tom. Idea possibilities are infinite. As a writer, when I notice something interesting, my impulse is to write about it.
Where I struggle is reconciling this with advice to “write within a niche” or to “pick a format and stick to it.”
Just about anything can be looked at and written about from a single lens (as you look at the world through the lens of writing in this space, Tom) but so often I find that the lens I’m using is too narrow for the thing I’m looking at.
I fear that loyalty to a niche will result in the topics within that niche appearing smaller than they are. This is something I’ve come up against over and over again in my own writing, when I’ve attempted to write towards an audience, rather than just writing what’s on my heart and mind as truthfully as possible.
I’ve responded to this by attempting to turn my newsletter into an umbrella large enough (while still being defined) that all of these interesting topics fit comfortably within it in their entirety, but even so, out of fear that I might be alienating readers with such broad strokes (which is a hard thing to measure, being that my following is small) there’s an impulse to tighten down into a smaller niche.
My article for tomorrow is about how women who wear hijabs are treated on social media. It comes from interactions I've seen and my being bullied over the weekend. I do articles like that once in a while. People on Substack don't seem to like truly personal, memoir stories.
I am by no means an experienced writer (just started my Substack two weeks ago) but I do think something that has helped me in this regard is three morning pages every day, recommended in The Artists' Way by Julia Cameron. The important thing about this practice is just keeping the pen moving; there's no time for perfectionism and you have to just write whatever is in your head. The lack of perfectionism here forces you to uncover a lot of garbage but also some good ideas that you probably wouldn't have written about had you been debating whether it was worth writing.
A story can be crafted about literally anything. This is the beauty of writing. It just takes a willingness to try and the courage and vulnerability to write something that might not be a NYT Best Seller. Something I have found though, is that once you start ideating more, ideating becomes easier.
I definitely like the idea of being inspired by everything and anything. That’s purely how all my songs and poems come to fruition! But in terms of sitting and coming up with something, that is something that’s never worked for me, interestingly enough. I have to have the right spark - or inspiration - to write something. So it’s interesting to see the differences in how people write!
While I could write for hours in my journals, for the last months I have been wondering what to write about in Substack; it's challenging for me to jump from private (the land of freedom) to public (the land of fear not to be enough interesting). So that's very useful, thanks! I'm so happy to have found your blog.
Sounds like meditating with your eyes open is what you're doing prior to writing your morning notes! "Sit down. Stare at a wall for 20 minutes" 🧘🏽♀️
Beautiful note Tom.
People who invest their minds in creating dramatic stories know that emotions cannot remain silent.
It is a truism to say that a tragedy will always arouse empathy.
The only ethical pain I find in this is doing it just to make money.
We content creators can do better. Share tips and advice; then motivate those exposed to this deception.
Un paysan dans l'âme 💚
Saved the post to re-read every morning. Thanks Tom
A mind exercise I play to tone my writing chops: when I'm parkside, lounging in a park, being a complete wastoid, or daydreaming in class, I remind myself to zoom into the minutiae, become hyperaware of what I'm picking up - and render it in language. Write a paragraph of this tangible scene in my head, and "storyify" it.
You don't always have to write to become a better writer. Growth comes from within.
I appreciate the two part format. First, here's how to find more stuff to write about and express, and second, here's a reminder of how to keep that in integrity with your soul. Amazing timing too, just goes to show how linked we are as a creative community. I really needed this post today.
I have a question about local and current events I would like to ask. I was not sure what writer I should ask. May I send you an email or a message?
Thank you for the tips. I agonize over this all the time now. I used to be the queen of writing about my trauma on Medium, but for me it was like some kind of penance for bad things done to me and bad things I did in my past. I don’t want to exploit myself anymore. I’ve been stuck on what to write about now, but you have given me some great ideas.
Staring into space can be helpful. It allows my unimportant, duty-type, thoughts to rest.