Friends! I started a Substack…
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…and I think I’m in love.
I’m still wrapping my mind around my second (third) identity as a “writer.”
It’s wild to sit down with an idea — a spark, a hint of a connection — and write towards discovery. I’d never be interested in using AI, honestly, because the process of creation is what excites me.
And once in a while it feels like I may be onto something — like when a subscriber “re-stacked” yesterday’s post, Curiosity as an Act of Resistance, in Notes (a new Substack feature ripe with potential) saying, “YES” this was the “BEST article I’ve read on Substack to date.”
I’ve received claps on medium but as far as dialogue goes, I’ve had more engagement in two months on Substack than the multiple years I’ve been writing over here. Participating in Thursday “chats” helped me meet other writers, and I’ve gained a few new subscribers from discussions on Notes (like their version of Twitter). If you’re both places I’d love to hear your thoughts.
As a visual person I love the design options for my writer homepage.
I was also drawn to the concept of building an email list as I haven’t established one of those as a writer yet, and if/WHEN I’m ready to publish a book someday, I hear that might be handy.
Honestly every time I hear people talk about AI, I feel more inspired to dig deep, do the human-brain-connection thing, and create more, better, more “human” art.
The choice to start a subscription model was part of that push. Ironic, right? Well, whatever happens, where over here I wrote about whatever, whenever, I’ve now created a more disciplined hub where I’m writing around a theme — the intersection of curiosity, creativity, empathy and sustainability — and so far I’ve been posting every Saturday.
So… for those of you wanting to support a fellow human artist, a free subscription to Good Footprints (featuring no more than one post a week, including tips on creativity and prompts to improve photography) is a greatly appreciated and easy way to tell the algorithms there’s a real human creating value (ugh I know the irony is thick — welcome to life as an artist in absurd times!)
If you’re over there too, or considering making a similar leap, THANK YOU for considering joining me on that platform.
Cheers, friends — I appreciate you!!
