On Substack writing process and more… (RATM #7)#
May 3, 2023
(Yet another one of these posts on writing and theory. Plus the issue of writing in what is not your native language) It goes like this, more or less, when I sit down and start writing things Substack. (Yep, that’s another of the posts that goes a bit theory like, as this one
Random Access Thoughts Patterns The Ontology of Newsletters – RATP #4 (the Lydian one) Try to Stick to a Topic – Newsletters Recently I told a friend of mine about my RATP substack. I was prompted to answer the question about what Substack is, I then compared it to Medium and other tools. I think I also said something like “newsletters work for me”. But that was only a part of the story… Read more 10 months ago · 1 like · 1110sillabo but it goes more into a wider set of thoughts about writing, retaining the thinks written and thought, organized them, etc. There should be a “why are we (am I) doing this, where this = writing newsletters” and more. Also, later events with Twitter and Substack pressed me to reflect more about these issues). Anyway, let’s take a few steps back.)
I sketch the main thought in different ways or forms. It can be in Obsidian early in the morning. It can be something I have written in a sketchy way on a flying piece of paper or even on a note with a sketch of the pieces.
Assuming I have an early draft, it goes into Grammarly.
Aside on language (with a Substack-world aside) Writing in English as a non-native speaker can be hard. And time-consuming. (I have no idea if native writers can have it more time-consuming than others. After a native speaker is in a position to better evaluate rhythm, style, grammar complexity, etc. Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe native and non-native speakers go through the same number of drafts even though for different reasons? I guess native speakers have less struggle with the risk of seeing their work devalued because they miss some kind of authenticity stamp, i.e. being a native speaker.
Of course, no matter your native tongue you can write horribly and make a hell of a lot of typos.
A couple of things I’ve read reminded me of how intense it can be to write. Paul Graham’s set of essays on writing, i.e. at least, putting ideas into words, write simply and writing, briefly (together with his Hackers and Painters book) and Nadia Eghbal’s Working in Public.
(Substack-world aside inside an aside). Shout out to and (with all the other people who collaborate on the project). If you are Italian and want to read (and even listen to) you dose of PG essays, in this newsletter and project you’ll get your translations.
This Substack note on personal notes deserves to be quoted
(End of Substack-world aside inside an aside).
PG says that straightforwardly, NE is more subtle with all the “sic” added to the posts and GitHub discussions she mentions in the book. (Another side note that requires more investigation: some sics are probably from non-native speakers, others are not – as far as I’ve intended. Besides, comments in GitHub PRs are probably not focused on being 100% grammar sound. As software developers it seems linters work better with code than text written in the surrounding PRs.))
Back to the main topic (BTTMT) Once the first decent draft is there and the cost of non-nativeness has been paid, it is time to move to the cost of having things on Substack. (Yep, that’s the NO MARKDOWN copy past here issue).
Together with that, we have the issue of “thinking design”, i.e. adding some formatting, thinking about the layout, and adding italics and bold. Etc.
Here there’s a lot I have to do to improve.
Then, it is time to read the preview in the mail (which I like a lot, well done Substack. Now give me the ability to copy and paste MD). And send the test email to my account.
I then have the message waiting for a couple of days and then read it on my mobile and take notes of the typos and fixes on paper. It works better like this for some strange reason I haven’t yet grasped.
Then, I schedule the post. And send me another test. I can repeat this many times or not. Scheduling forces me to release sooner or later and not get too stuck on polishing or rethinking. This is something you do not get in academia that easily. (Well, presenting papers is a change, maybe).
Sometimes, if I am decently happy with the piece after the Grammarly check, I schedule that immediately there. This happens mostly with pieces I manage to get an early draft for or that I’ve had in my mind for a couple of weeks or more.
It is a lot of efforts, but that’s worth doing. I guess it helps remembering what went on in the notes.
Also, it is far from perfect. The Obsidian Vault state does not reflect what’s here because there I only have a first draft but, still, it works more or less. Maybe this second brain thing and that digital garden thing should extend into more than a single place?