I think you get at the heart of it when asking are you writing or are you making content? They say not to try to turn your hobbies into how you earn a living and this is mostly why. My niece is a classically trained oil painter who is trying to break into the scene and I frequently tell her “if someone gives you the opportunity to sell out, take it.” There is no nobility in being a starving artist.
Yes, all true, all painful. Luckily I hate hooks and storytelling because they make want to scream when I see them. But then I'll not grow or very slowly maybe. (And I do care about someone reading me unfortunately).
I can't imagine that any time soon. People are obsessed with hooks, they are sold everywhere and for everything 😅 And they still seem to be working? (I'm a mystery for me why and how)
I really enjoy your writing! I hope that adds to your reason to write :-)
I've worked in TV for more than two decades, and have slowly moved from doing it for the love it to doing it to pay the mortgage. Which in a way has made life a lot easier
I'm relatively new to content creation outside that, and having been on Substack for a few months, I'm still really fascinated by people putting in so much effort. It's genuinely interesting.
Me personally I'm on here to eradicate all human suffering, which for me is somehow enough justification to write a spammy Note each day
The worst thing about being (feeling) smart is that it’s not really fun. It’s lazy, it makes you complacent. It’s also exhausting. It’s not really a smart thing to do (sry for the pun :(. )
I’m new to substack and I feel this siren song warping my brain already. I’m human, I’m not above performing in notes for likes and validation- but transmuting that into writing I want to write AND folks wanna read? A challenge I increasingly despair of solving
This is why I have such a love‑hate relationship with writing on Substack. There’s genuinely great content there, but so many of its formats are starting to box our creativity in.
They keep trying to teach us to follow some unspoken “Substack rule”: ideal word counts, how to structure and pace every piece, how to create visual impact, and so on.
It pulls our focus away from where it should actually be — the writing itself.
“Knowing why you write dictates how much you care about the quality of your writing”
This is spot on. Another aspect for me is where and how much to channel and use one’s energy. Otherwise writing into the void might eventually derail someone’s pursuit of writing altogether
It’s always a struggle to do write what the people want that’s primed for virality and what you actually want to write about, as much as it’s not in trend anymore. But I guess it’s a different goal when success is not measured in metrics, writing for the love of the process and making connections requires authenticity.
I think you get at the heart of it when asking are you writing or are you making content? They say not to try to turn your hobbies into how you earn a living and this is mostly why. My niece is a classically trained oil painter who is trying to break into the scene and I frequently tell her “if someone gives you the opportunity to sell out, take it.” There is no nobility in being a starving artist.
omg I've been shouted out :0
thank you always for your support!!!
Yes, all true, all painful. Luckily I hate hooks and storytelling because they make want to scream when I see them. But then I'll not grow or very slowly maybe. (And I do care about someone reading me unfortunately).
i wonder if the saturation of hooks would eventually somehow drive regular literacy again
I can't imagine that any time soon. People are obsessed with hooks, they are sold everywhere and for everything 😅 And they still seem to be working? (I'm a mystery for me why and how)
I really enjoy your writing! I hope that adds to your reason to write :-)
I've worked in TV for more than two decades, and have slowly moved from doing it for the love it to doing it to pay the mortgage. Which in a way has made life a lot easier
I'm relatively new to content creation outside that, and having been on Substack for a few months, I'm still really fascinated by people putting in so much effort. It's genuinely interesting.
Me personally I'm on here to eradicate all human suffering, which for me is somehow enough justification to write a spammy Note each day
This really helped me think about how I can improve my writing - super thought provoking! Will definitely read this multiple times
The worst thing about being (feeling) smart is that it’s not really fun. It’s lazy, it makes you complacent. It’s also exhausting. It’s not really a smart thing to do (sry for the pun :(. )
I’m new to substack and I feel this siren song warping my brain already. I’m human, I’m not above performing in notes for likes and validation- but transmuting that into writing I want to write AND folks wanna read? A challenge I increasingly despair of solving
This is why I have such a love‑hate relationship with writing on Substack. There’s genuinely great content there, but so many of its formats are starting to box our creativity in.
They keep trying to teach us to follow some unspoken “Substack rule”: ideal word counts, how to structure and pace every piece, how to create visual impact, and so on.
It pulls our focus away from where it should actually be — the writing itself.
“Knowing why you write dictates how much you care about the quality of your writing”
This is spot on. Another aspect for me is where and how much to channel and use one’s energy. Otherwise writing into the void might eventually derail someone’s pursuit of writing altogether
It’s always a struggle to do write what the people want that’s primed for virality and what you actually want to write about, as much as it’s not in trend anymore. But I guess it’s a different goal when success is not measured in metrics, writing for the love of the process and making connections requires authenticity.
You're only human, Tiffany (I assume 😂), so don't beat yourself too much. We've all done it.
That said, I'm utterly useless with titles and SEO - i barely understand this stuff, i'm gen X! - and just plough away and hope for the best.