I treat Substack like a scratchpad
I am not here to read the too finished pieces that prople make. When something is too - elaborate - I tune out. Instead, I seek the more hurried notes or posts, the streams of consciousness. The unguarded.
When something becomes too much, too edited, too crafted, finely tuned calibration of word against word, I may think unconsciously “Looks nice”, and… stop reading.
Because I am here for the more raw, more unfiltered, more unedited. More direct connection from their subconsciousness to mine. It is like a dance without choreography, or a jazz quartet playing; their minds and mine; playing cues off each other.
My own substack praxis is alao aiming at that. More hurried, more unfilfered. Like a scratchpad.
Prompt link goddamnit Substack fix your mobile UI! 🐸
…
Yes, I do edit. Yes, sometimes I add both images and structure to a post. I make an “effort” sometimes. But when I read my own words afterwards, my mind wanders off. Tunes out. So since I keep this little space mostly for myself, my future self, I tend to go for the process that feels right for me.
And if this ensures that my content does not “blow up”, then I am happy. I would loathe having even 250 comments to something I have written. It would make it feel like so much… work. To go through it all. Respons to the comments. And at some point I just give up trying to give that crowd the attention they Individually deserve.
It’s like that once a year thing on Facebook. My birthday. I have ~500 contacts there now. “500 friends”. Every March 22nd, 100+ comments come flying in. It took them a moment to write “Congratulations, Raymond”, before they keep scrolling. And I have that deep urge to thank each one, to connect with the context of our history, so to speak. I don’t feel good simply giving a heart to each one, or a quick “Thanks, Sarah!”
Where was I?
Yes, scratchpad. Jotted lines, doodles, dors in a row. A page of dots in a row. You may tune out because of it, “This is too unstructured, he doesn’t even bother to edit his piece”, and I would respect that. It would not wound my feelings. But I would like, over time, to collect a little group of people who get my vibe, and I theirs. And if I try to please ‘em all; well. Nope. Won’t work.
Have a great day/night!
Process video: https://youtu.be/YjGIl0XgsPc?si=eEo_XtS0CihvBWD0