Watch out, Substackers! The late adopters are here!
Wait, we don’t call ourselves Substackers? Then what do we call ourselves?!
It’s 2026 and I have joined Substack. Let’s get into it.
Why this, why now. OK. So, I’m here as part of some crazy, maverick plan I have to extricate myself from the endless churn and emptiness of social media. I don’t want to have my agenda set by the algorithm anymore, I don’t want to be served trending reels, yapping videos, or people whose content is similar to mine. In the first place, I don’t want my art and writing reduced to “content”. I’ll be happy if I never have to think of that word again. More importantly, I would love to have a back and forth with people who actually care about what I’m doing. It’s one reason why most posts will be paid. Especially for my more personal work, I want to know that it’s going out to people who have more than a passing interest in what I have to say. Entitled, I know!
Mainly, I’m hoping a slower medium like blogging will help me find people who like a scroll, but love a think. Where are we all hiding these days? And while I’m at it, where are the introverts? Are we even allowed to exist anymore? (I just remembered I have a half-finished rant about this. Show you when it’s finished.)
This is going to be my online journal. For better or worse, it’ll be a lot like my physical journals – packed with opinions, ideas and doodles, and if I’m honest, frenetic.
I can’t tell you what to expect from my posts, because there is so much I want to post. I’ve just been searching for a medium that doesn’t insist on stuffing me in a neat little box. There will be comic strips, pithy one-liners, illustrations, rants, diary entries, and whatever else I’d like to share that day. I want to talk about internet culture, books, and movies, I want to joke about what it’s like to live with a neurotic like me, I want to share photos and drawings of my seaside home, I want to talk about the crazy things my parents said to me growing up, I want to share the comic strip I’m developing about an awkward witch who lives in a dull English village.
For a long time, I’ve felt weird about the way my ideas diverge like this. Probably because I’ve been conditioned to believe that as an artist or writer, my creative output needs to look and feel the same in order to be cohesive. This is me trying to unlearn that. It’s bring your whole self to work day!
So, when Substack asks me, “What kind of community are you looking to build here”, all I can say is… one that enjoys a messy mind?
I’m aiming for a minimum of one post per week. I have no idea where this will take me, but if what I’ve said so far strikes a chord, I’d love to have you along for the ride.
This blog post first appeared on whatgoesinmustcomeout.substack.com
