I was a big Substack evangelist when I first started using it in 2020, but ever since they added Notes and the heavy social media stream feed features about two years ago, I've become less of an enthusiast.
I love the newsletter blog longform commenting community aspect of it. But don't it all like social feed, which whenever I accidentally see it feels preening and performative and oddly hollow.
ive already caught myself falling prey to them multiple times since I deleted IG, but overall I'm trying to be more aware of what I'm doing on my phone in general, so hopefully they won't entrap me like IG did.
Same for me, only it was Facebook. I (Fortunately) never got into the Instagram. But hey I am with you, don't let substack become the replacement for validation. Quality over mindless scrolling (Doom or not). Great post E!
I'm very glad you never fell prey to Instagram. I feel like it was Facebook on steroids (and TikTok is Instagram on crystal meth).
It's predominantly such a distraction to the world around us, which is obviously appealing for many reasons, but such a bummer in the end. Especially since it doesn't feel fully consensual given we weren't told how addictive it could be.
I'm definitely avoiding falling too hard with Substack, but it also kind of feels less addictive already. I'm sticking to that long form content!
As you know because we talk about this often, Instagram is basically useless for me. My feed is 90% ads or algorithmic content. I open it once a day to check out some stories, but that's about it.
I was having a good time with Bluesky before Trump got elected, but now it's just a deluge of all the shitty things the fascists and oligarchs are doing. I feed crappy every time I open it up.
So yeah, pretty much off social media currently.
Also, I really like social media free Erika, now you're living in the moment with me!
Hey, I think it is amazing that we have tools that can amplify underheard voices and give anyone a platform and dismantle the gatekeepers. Most of my worklife is built around giving a voice to others.
But I know that I at least have personally lost something in that easy access to self promotion, broadcasting, always sharing my thoughts, always reading others, sharing and consuming the urgent and stupid and pithy. I have lost incubation and marination. I've lost long stretches of hiddenness. I have lost a musty dynamism that comes form work developed in private.
A few days ago I told my dog that I'd be happy if all the cellphone towers stopped working—at least for a couple days. He didn't say anything back, just gazed at me stoically, but I still think it is a good idea.
I literally subbed because I saw this article, and your cool profile picture and that u are a NYT cartoonist and stayed because if your sense of humour and relatability!
Because I quit IG 20 days back and found my creativity gushing back as I sketchnoted my trip across Thailand, inspired so many of my readers in the process and now I am in the process of building an entire course for those who want to indulge in creative play.
All of it happened because I got my attention and self-worth back 😂. In my 10 years of being an artist, I never felt so much joy in creating, which is so sacred.
Yes, I still scroll on Substack but it feels like strolling through gardens of words, thoughts n perspectives and ill take that over anything IG offers 💀.
I install Instagram only when I have to make a post/reel otherwise I keep it uninstalled. I have come to realise that even tho I know doomscrolling is bad, I end up doing it either way. At the end of the day when I do the analysis of where my time went, it drains me to realise that I ended up spending my precious lil day watching dumb reels. So yes, uninstalling helps me a ton.
I relate to this post so much. I felt like I was reading my own thoughts. Thank you for sharing. I often feel trapped between needed to market myself as a freelance illustrator, and maintaining my emotional well-being and ability to be present, and just enjoy moments in life without feeling like I need to record everything or share it. Ugh. I struggle when I draw or work on illustration work too, because I'm constantly thinking, 'oh I need to record my process' and it can really mess with my ability to focus and be creative without feeling like I have to do everything perfectly. I'm still trying to figure out a balance. I'm definitely NOT there yet. Being an artist and self-employed person can be so isolating, so reaching out for community, even if it's online seems like the thing to do - but then I get sucked into the doom scrolling and feeling like an imposter vortex. Well anyway - I feel you.
I relate to your reply, Jessica! I very much know the feeling of "I should record my process".
It's so frustrating, because I authentically enjoy watching people's process videos, so I do believe it makes for really charming content, but... it also takes away the joy of the process for the creator by shifting the experience into a performance instead of being in the moment, which is much, much more peaceful.
I totally agree that being a self-employed artist can be very isolating. I wish I had a shared studio to work from, but that's unfortunately outside of my budget *sob*.
And again, I also agree on the finding community online, but then getting sucked into the doom scroll at the same time. I get that more with Instagram, of course.
Just reading your bio right now, I'm like... this person is very similar to me, haha.
If you learn any new tips or tricks for surviving as a healthy artist, do please let me know!
It’s been a month since I have been on TikTok. I also cut back on Instagram and Facebook a lot. I knew I had to do something when I could not sit down and read a book. My attention span was horrible!
That's a great benchmark for keeping social media use in check-- can you still read a book with decent ease.
That's huge. I think I'm currently in one of the biggest reading stints of my life right now and I hate to think of ever losing that pleasure. I also feel bummed for younger generations who (according to articles) aren't reading books as much anymore.
It's so PRECIOUS! UGH. I want to SPREAD THE BOOK LOVE!
What are you reading right now?
I just got "Wanderlust: A History of Walking" by Rebecca Solnit in the mail and I'm PUMPED!
Right! Reading is such a great escape and doesn’t have to cost much. We have a used book store in our area and I could spend hours there. Currently I am reading The One by John Marrs. I heard he was a great author so I am giving it a try!
I am someone in recovery for addiction from alcohol, and I struggle with my relationship to binge eating and spending money and control is not a strong suit for me. I gave up tiktok easily enough but Instagram is where I had the community and the numbers to make it feel like I couldn’t just give it up. Ultimately I did. I started to tell a difference between days where I would block the app all day vs days where I would end up scrolling there. My body still searches for the scroll but it’s easier to set down my phone with just substack in the mix.
All that said I still have to have Facebook for my kids school and happy to report THAT platform does nothing for me.
Wow, "my body still searches for the scroll". I really feel that, Rikki.
What was strange with IG for me was that I almost never felt interested in my feed or stories, so I would close the app pretty quickly, but I couldn't stop OPENING IT AGAIN!
I felt so confused by my own behavior! Like, I knew it was never interesting, but why do I keep going back??
Thank you for sharing your experiences by the way, Rikki. Congrats on what sounds like sobriety on your end. I know that's a huge fucking deal. I hope you can continue to find more peace away from the temptations-- they sure are everywhere tho, aren't they?
I could be completely off-base, but sometimes I wonder if our addictions are an avoidance of stillness. Does that sound stupid? I'm sorry if it does.
I just know I hate stillness and will do anything to avoid it. Something is really painful about it.
I absolutely agree with the bit about stillness. It’s about wanting to numb being uncomfortable and avoid sitting with ourselves. Meditation helps. As for the constant opening the app even tho u know you don’t want to scroll, I do think addictions live in our bodies as well. It feels similar to the urge to light a cigarette for me when I start driving because it was a habit for so many years (also quit, thank goodness). You get in the car, you light up a cigarette…your brain does it automatically you open your phone, You open Instagram. Same idea I think. We are constantly trying to fill ourselves with noise so that we don’t have to sit with what is actually there.
I've grown to hate social media more and more in recent years. I feel like it's responsible for so many of our current social problems, and it can feed such an addicting spiral of negativity. Crazy misinformation spreads more effectively than actual facts, and everyone gets more entrenched and extreme in their views. That said, I do still browse Instagram from time to time and try to curate it toward artists that I find inspiring, but I've almost totally stopped posting/liking/commenting.
Agreed!! I always think of the Brene Brown quote, "People are hard to hate close up." The internet depersonalizes the people you're interacting with, so everyone's leaving horribly hateful and angry comments all the time and getting into stupid arguments with strangers. It reminds me of road rage, and how it's easy to get angry at someone when all you can see is their car -- then you pull up next to them and see their face, and you realize they just made a mistake or are having a bad day or whatever. Of course, some stuff is worth getting angry about but the algorithm makes sure you're always angry / upset and it's hard to tell what's an overreaction or exaggeration and what isn't
I've thought many times about how strange and interesting it is that people become so angry the second they're behind a wheel.
I've theorized that it's bcs a car has so much potential for speed that anytime you have to slow down you feel unjustly thwarted.
It's probably more than that, but that's my first thought.
I try not to let it get to me bcs it's honestly super cringey to me to have it or witness it. And then also it's so dangerous.
I love your thoughtful take, Ben!
Thinking of you and cars reminds me of our road trip up to the Bay. I always remember that trip really fondly bcs you introduced me to John Mulaney on a cassette tape and we pulled over to play in snow along the Grapevine.
You seemed a very chill driver, which was very appreciated!
I've been winnowing down my social-media activities as well. I picked up a lot of it because I was teaching high school and wanted to experience the world like my students did. I stayed for book marketing, but I have NO IDEA if that works. I'm down to Substack, Facebook, BlueSky, and Instagram now, and leaning toward quitting anything Meta. It's too much.
That's thoughtful of you to want to see the world like your students do.
I feel like I'd possibly do the same if I were a teacher. It can also be fun to poke around with new ideas too, so there could be some laughs and lightness there.
I may be in your boat soon with book marketing on IG (I do not look forward to it).
I have heard it's the standard these days, unfortunately.
I also really wanted to quit everything Meta!
My current hold out is WhatsApp.
It drives me crazy that so many of these corps are allowed to own SO MANy companies.
Pretty sure Amazon is going to end up selling us the air we breathe.
But hey! They technically need us. Maybe there's some hope there.
Deleted everything years ago, but created accounts for future marketing purposes this year. Dont spend any time on it. Substack is the exception but this is so very different. Actually had my first negative experience here a few weeks ago, after years of use.
You answered your own question. The one not very thoughtful person on Substack found me. Those interactions are always a case of someone filtering my words through a distorted lens and making wacky assumptions. If theyre not sure what I mean, why cant they just ask? Because they are certain. Uncertainty is death.
Outside of pumping strange negative meanings into other people's words, text communication lacks tone and nonverbal cues. So people's imaginations run amok.
It can be so easy to misunderstand people through text, even if it's longer form.
I started reading a book on writing last night and the author was talking about how you should be bold and honest in your writing, which will always piss people off, so it's all part and parcel to the work in a way.
I'm staying at a writing residency in Pennsylvania right now and this book was just about in the house.
It's actually been an awesome find and great read so far.
It's called "The Forest for the Trees": An Editor's Advice for Writers, by Betsy Lerner if you have any inclination to reading something like that.
Heard of that one but haven't read it. Everyone loves Bird by Bird and The Artist's Way too. On Writing doesnt offer much advice, but its a good read.
For me, The whole purpose of writing is to come out of hiding. Even in fiction, its not hard to tell what kind of personal problem the writer sorted out with the story.
Highly recommend Consider This. It has more concrete guidance than any other craft book Ive read, and its a great set of training wheels for fiction writers. The book and Chuck's substack have helped me immensely. Pity the Reader by Vonnegut and Suzanne McConnell is also a good book on the craft. I gravitate toward the absurd, so naturally, I like the advice from the absurdist writers.
The most important parts of growth have been writing, and finding/creating writing community. Gotta have objective views, but dont always have to listen to them.
HAHAha, I really love how much you loved those videos Appleton.
I'm not against making more videos!
The only thing holding me back is figuring out what I could talk about, while staying on track and keeping it short, because I get sidetracked VERY easily when I talk and I fear I'd lose many people with my babbling proclivities.
Here's the final thing I have to say about social media:
mushroom fart.
Awesome!
I was a big Substack evangelist when I first started using it in 2020, but ever since they added Notes and the heavy social media stream feed features about two years ago, I've become less of an enthusiast.
I love the newsletter blog longform commenting community aspect of it. But don't it all like social feed, which whenever I accidentally see it feels preening and performative and oddly hollow.
ugh, i know, the notes are such a slippery slope.
ive already caught myself falling prey to them multiple times since I deleted IG, but overall I'm trying to be more aware of what I'm doing on my phone in general, so hopefully they won't entrap me like IG did.
Same for me, only it was Facebook. I (Fortunately) never got into the Instagram. But hey I am with you, don't let substack become the replacement for validation. Quality over mindless scrolling (Doom or not). Great post E!
Thank you so much, Marty!
I'm very glad you never fell prey to Instagram. I feel like it was Facebook on steroids (and TikTok is Instagram on crystal meth).
It's predominantly such a distraction to the world around us, which is obviously appealing for many reasons, but such a bummer in the end. Especially since it doesn't feel fully consensual given we weren't told how addictive it could be.
I'm definitely avoiding falling too hard with Substack, but it also kind of feels less addictive already. I'm sticking to that long form content!
As you know because we talk about this often, Instagram is basically useless for me. My feed is 90% ads or algorithmic content. I open it once a day to check out some stories, but that's about it.
I was having a good time with Bluesky before Trump got elected, but now it's just a deluge of all the shitty things the fascists and oligarchs are doing. I feed crappy every time I open it up.
So yeah, pretty much off social media currently.
Also, I really like social media free Erika, now you're living in the moment with me!
spouses rejoice!
I am finally on your wavelength!
But who is going to take 100 pictures of random plants and buildings now that I'm living in the moment? HUH?
Who's going to replace all my ESSENTIAL LABOR?
Hey, I think it is amazing that we have tools that can amplify underheard voices and give anyone a platform and dismantle the gatekeepers. Most of my worklife is built around giving a voice to others.
But I know that I at least have personally lost something in that easy access to self promotion, broadcasting, always sharing my thoughts, always reading others, sharing and consuming the urgent and stupid and pithy. I have lost incubation and marination. I've lost long stretches of hiddenness. I have lost a musty dynamism that comes form work developed in private.
A few days ago I told my dog that I'd be happy if all the cellphone towers stopped working—at least for a couple days. He didn't say anything back, just gazed at me stoically, but I still think it is a good idea.
Matt, this is so well put!
Especially the loss of "long stretches of hiddenness".
This idea of keeping myself to myself, for myself, actually feels very romantic to me now that you put it like that.
Like, I deserve my own company just for myself too.
I'm really going to sit with this one, I'm really enjoying it, thank you for sharing.
Also yes, work developed in private. You're right, that's something precious as well.
I could tell on IG I would share works in progress just for that little boost of dopamine but it would always be stealing me away from my focus.
I think your dog completely agrees with you and is taking what you said very seriously!
I literally subbed because I saw this article, and your cool profile picture and that u are a NYT cartoonist and stayed because if your sense of humour and relatability!
Because I quit IG 20 days back and found my creativity gushing back as I sketchnoted my trip across Thailand, inspired so many of my readers in the process and now I am in the process of building an entire course for those who want to indulge in creative play.
All of it happened because I got my attention and self-worth back 😂. In my 10 years of being an artist, I never felt so much joy in creating, which is so sacred.
This is the article 🌸🎀✨.
https://open.substack.com/pub/urmilamenon/p/self-sabotage-reimagined-how-i-used?r=2hxtwc&utm_medium=ios
Yes, I still scroll on Substack but it feels like strolling through gardens of words, thoughts n perspectives and ill take that over anything IG offers 💀.
It's wild how much an app like IG can bleed you dry!
Sometimes I think it's as addictive as it is because of how isolated we've become.
It's like artificial connection subbing out real face-to-face contact, which can feel so hard to access sometimes.
I love your diary comics, Urmila!
Sketching people in cafes is my favorite too! I haven't done it in so long though. I should try to prioritze the practice.
I install Instagram only when I have to make a post/reel otherwise I keep it uninstalled. I have come to realise that even tho I know doomscrolling is bad, I end up doing it either way. At the end of the day when I do the analysis of where my time went, it drains me to realise that I ended up spending my precious lil day watching dumb reels. So yes, uninstalling helps me a ton.
That's smart, Trippy.
It sounds like it's not too effortful to install/deinstall.
Maybe I should do that too to add a barrier for me. I assume when you deinstall your account remains? I've never done it before.
This is probably the most basic tech question in the world, haha.
yes! Uninstalling Instagram doesn’t affect your account. But if you’ve got any drafts, they will get removed. :>
Great info, thank you Trippy!
you are v welcome :P
I relate to this post so much. I felt like I was reading my own thoughts. Thank you for sharing. I often feel trapped between needed to market myself as a freelance illustrator, and maintaining my emotional well-being and ability to be present, and just enjoy moments in life without feeling like I need to record everything or share it. Ugh. I struggle when I draw or work on illustration work too, because I'm constantly thinking, 'oh I need to record my process' and it can really mess with my ability to focus and be creative without feeling like I have to do everything perfectly. I'm still trying to figure out a balance. I'm definitely NOT there yet. Being an artist and self-employed person can be so isolating, so reaching out for community, even if it's online seems like the thing to do - but then I get sucked into the doom scrolling and feeling like an imposter vortex. Well anyway - I feel you.
I relate to your reply, Jessica! I very much know the feeling of "I should record my process".
It's so frustrating, because I authentically enjoy watching people's process videos, so I do believe it makes for really charming content, but... it also takes away the joy of the process for the creator by shifting the experience into a performance instead of being in the moment, which is much, much more peaceful.
I totally agree that being a self-employed artist can be very isolating. I wish I had a shared studio to work from, but that's unfortunately outside of my budget *sob*.
And again, I also agree on the finding community online, but then getting sucked into the doom scroll at the same time. I get that more with Instagram, of course.
Just reading your bio right now, I'm like... this person is very similar to me, haha.
If you learn any new tips or tricks for surviving as a healthy artist, do please let me know!
Yes! I will for sure. Good to connect with you.
This rules!
Thank you so much, Hallie! :)
It’s been a month since I have been on TikTok. I also cut back on Instagram and Facebook a lot. I knew I had to do something when I could not sit down and read a book. My attention span was horrible!
That's a great benchmark for keeping social media use in check-- can you still read a book with decent ease.
That's huge. I think I'm currently in one of the biggest reading stints of my life right now and I hate to think of ever losing that pleasure. I also feel bummed for younger generations who (according to articles) aren't reading books as much anymore.
It's so PRECIOUS! UGH. I want to SPREAD THE BOOK LOVE!
What are you reading right now?
I just got "Wanderlust: A History of Walking" by Rebecca Solnit in the mail and I'm PUMPED!
Right! Reading is such a great escape and doesn’t have to cost much. We have a used book store in our area and I could spend hours there. Currently I am reading The One by John Marrs. I heard he was a great author so I am giving it a try!
What about looking into using your artwork for civic programs, etc?
Interesting, Michael.
Any particular kind of application come to mind?
I did teach a zine workshop for teens back in SF for minute, which was fun.
I know it's not a civic program, but I felt I was helping young people discover ways to express themselves which felt important.
Wish I could figure out how to offer that in SoCal now.
I gotta keep searching!
What about also reaching out to your local municipality - they might have some social programs that need some artwork?
I am someone in recovery for addiction from alcohol, and I struggle with my relationship to binge eating and spending money and control is not a strong suit for me. I gave up tiktok easily enough but Instagram is where I had the community and the numbers to make it feel like I couldn’t just give it up. Ultimately I did. I started to tell a difference between days where I would block the app all day vs days where I would end up scrolling there. My body still searches for the scroll but it’s easier to set down my phone with just substack in the mix.
All that said I still have to have Facebook for my kids school and happy to report THAT platform does nothing for me.
Wow, "my body still searches for the scroll". I really feel that, Rikki.
What was strange with IG for me was that I almost never felt interested in my feed or stories, so I would close the app pretty quickly, but I couldn't stop OPENING IT AGAIN!
I felt so confused by my own behavior! Like, I knew it was never interesting, but why do I keep going back??
Thank you for sharing your experiences by the way, Rikki. Congrats on what sounds like sobriety on your end. I know that's a huge fucking deal. I hope you can continue to find more peace away from the temptations-- they sure are everywhere tho, aren't they?
I could be completely off-base, but sometimes I wonder if our addictions are an avoidance of stillness. Does that sound stupid? I'm sorry if it does.
I just know I hate stillness and will do anything to avoid it. Something is really painful about it.
I absolutely agree with the bit about stillness. It’s about wanting to numb being uncomfortable and avoid sitting with ourselves. Meditation helps. As for the constant opening the app even tho u know you don’t want to scroll, I do think addictions live in our bodies as well. It feels similar to the urge to light a cigarette for me when I start driving because it was a habit for so many years (also quit, thank goodness). You get in the car, you light up a cigarette…your brain does it automatically you open your phone, You open Instagram. Same idea I think. We are constantly trying to fill ourselves with noise so that we don’t have to sit with what is actually there.
I've grown to hate social media more and more in recent years. I feel like it's responsible for so many of our current social problems, and it can feed such an addicting spiral of negativity. Crazy misinformation spreads more effectively than actual facts, and everyone gets more entrenched and extreme in their views. That said, I do still browse Instagram from time to time and try to curate it toward artists that I find inspiring, but I've almost totally stopped posting/liking/commenting.
Yes Ben, this is right where I'm at mentally too!
It really concerns me how addictive these programs are and that most people don't seem to realize that the apps are altering their worldviews.
I wish hate and fear didn't rule all the platforms, but I get why it does.
It pumps you up on adrenaline and dopamine, making you feel momentarily alive, while simultaneously making you hate and fear everyone around you.
I have SO MUCH more hope for the world when I get offline and focus my interactions the real world around me.
Agreed!! I always think of the Brene Brown quote, "People are hard to hate close up." The internet depersonalizes the people you're interacting with, so everyone's leaving horribly hateful and angry comments all the time and getting into stupid arguments with strangers. It reminds me of road rage, and how it's easy to get angry at someone when all you can see is their car -- then you pull up next to them and see their face, and you realize they just made a mistake or are having a bad day or whatever. Of course, some stuff is worth getting angry about but the algorithm makes sure you're always angry / upset and it's hard to tell what's an overreaction or exaggeration and what isn't
Oh wow, equating it to road rage is SO fitting!
I've thought many times about how strange and interesting it is that people become so angry the second they're behind a wheel.
I've theorized that it's bcs a car has so much potential for speed that anytime you have to slow down you feel unjustly thwarted.
It's probably more than that, but that's my first thought.
I try not to let it get to me bcs it's honestly super cringey to me to have it or witness it. And then also it's so dangerous.
I love your thoughtful take, Ben!
Thinking of you and cars reminds me of our road trip up to the Bay. I always remember that trip really fondly bcs you introduced me to John Mulaney on a cassette tape and we pulled over to play in snow along the Grapevine.
You seemed a very chill driver, which was very appreciated!
Oops, I never responded to this. That was a fun trip!
I've been winnowing down my social-media activities as well. I picked up a lot of it because I was teaching high school and wanted to experience the world like my students did. I stayed for book marketing, but I have NO IDEA if that works. I'm down to Substack, Facebook, BlueSky, and Instagram now, and leaning toward quitting anything Meta. It's too much.
That's thoughtful of you to want to see the world like your students do.
I feel like I'd possibly do the same if I were a teacher. It can also be fun to poke around with new ideas too, so there could be some laughs and lightness there.
I may be in your boat soon with book marketing on IG (I do not look forward to it).
I have heard it's the standard these days, unfortunately.
I also really wanted to quit everything Meta!
My current hold out is WhatsApp.
It drives me crazy that so many of these corps are allowed to own SO MANy companies.
Pretty sure Amazon is going to end up selling us the air we breathe.
But hey! They technically need us. Maybe there's some hope there.
Deleted everything years ago, but created accounts for future marketing purposes this year. Dont spend any time on it. Substack is the exception but this is so very different. Actually had my first negative experience here a few weeks ago, after years of use.
Oh, interesting! May I ask about the negative experience?
I generally feel quite safe here as well.
Part of it I believe is because when people are reading longer form content they tend to be more thoughtful when commenting, but I could be wrong.
Spurs less impulsivity I think.
I do love the core of Substack still, but I do fear the enshittification that seems to come to most successful social media companies.
You answered your own question. The one not very thoughtful person on Substack found me. Those interactions are always a case of someone filtering my words through a distorted lens and making wacky assumptions. If theyre not sure what I mean, why cant they just ask? Because they are certain. Uncertainty is death.
Outside of pumping strange negative meanings into other people's words, text communication lacks tone and nonverbal cues. So people's imaginations run amok.
Great point, John.
It can be so easy to misunderstand people through text, even if it's longer form.
I started reading a book on writing last night and the author was talking about how you should be bold and honest in your writing, which will always piss people off, so it's all part and parcel to the work in a way.
I'm staying at a writing residency in Pennsylvania right now and this book was just about in the house.
It's actually been an awesome find and great read so far.
It's called "The Forest for the Trees": An Editor's Advice for Writers, by Betsy Lerner if you have any inclination to reading something like that.
Heard of that one but haven't read it. Everyone loves Bird by Bird and The Artist's Way too. On Writing doesnt offer much advice, but its a good read.
For me, The whole purpose of writing is to come out of hiding. Even in fiction, its not hard to tell what kind of personal problem the writer sorted out with the story.
Highly recommend Consider This. It has more concrete guidance than any other craft book Ive read, and its a great set of training wheels for fiction writers. The book and Chuck's substack have helped me immensely. Pity the Reader by Vonnegut and Suzanne McConnell is also a good book on the craft. I gravitate toward the absurd, so naturally, I like the advice from the absurdist writers.
The most important parts of growth have been writing, and finding/creating writing community. Gotta have objective views, but dont always have to listen to them.
hmmmm maybe squeeze in more time for another cue card narrated video 😉🤣
with a baby this time just imagine the possibility of dual mayhem and hilarity....the musical artist is soothing 🤗
Yes, isn't it such a pretty song?!
I've listened to it entirely too many times.
HAHAha, I really love how much you loved those videos Appleton.
I'm not against making more videos!
The only thing holding me back is figuring out what I could talk about, while staying on track and keeping it short, because I get sidetracked VERY easily when I talk and I fear I'd lose many people with my babbling proclivities.
I mostly just need a tight topic I think.
some carry off "babbling" better than others 🤔🤣
My babbling can be momentarily interesting I think, but once I lose the thread....
I'll just find any excuse to start talking about LOTR rn honestly.
🤣
i m 68 and first read those books in 8th grade enthralled i understand your obsession
some of us are natural born dreamers 🤔🤫
have you ever seen the film "Tolkien"? very good no pandering to the obvious just very very good