The Midweek Meander & Links to Loveliness
My REAL feelings about six months on Substack, a colour combination you can't go wrong with, circus dinner plates, the prettiest summer salad recipe, and a rather gorgeous pair of shoes.
A quick note: Next week, I’m starting a mini series on my path to becoming a published author (it’s only taken a lifetime to get there!), the ups and downs, and my REAL feelings on the process. This will be a fortnightly instalment for paid subscribers, and I’m really excited to share it with as many of you as possible, so if you’re interested in reading my thoughts (unfiltered of course) on the above, do consider a paid subscription.
It occurred to me this week that I’ve been on Substack for six months now; this both alarmed and cheered me in equal parts. I shall come back to that in a moment, because I feel it needs a little explanation. I thought it would be nice to mark this anniversary *or non-event depending on how you look at it* with a few things I’ve learnt about Substack - and myself - in those short and seemingly inconsequential but actually pretty pivotal six months.
I fretted about joining Substack for some time before I took the plunge and set up my publication on here properly, for a number of reasons, which I’ll come to in a bit. A few of them seem silly on reflection, but one or two may even resonate with you. I’d ‘officially’ joined Substack many months prior and had been quietly enjoying the writing of other’s, soaking up the atmosphere, and feeling oddly refreshed by an app that felt like an indulgent read through the Sunday papers and my favourite magazines.
Newsletters and personal essays started to pique my interest and I found myself more absorbed - and engaged - in content than I had been in a while; pleasantly surprised by the relatability of the writing as I swung pendulum-like between a myriad of articles from home design one minute to debates around abortion laws the next. Both entertaining and incredibly authentic, these palatable bitesize stories were written without fear of shame or embarrassment. It was incredibly refreshing, and I noticed a switch in gear as the longer-form content forced me to slowed down my consumption of it all; a stark shift after years of binging on fast-paced videos and high-speed scrolling.
Substack started to become a habit I looked forward to, even if I was just a passive consumer rather than an active participant at this point. Then something a little unexpected happened, fortuitous you might say…
