Hello? Is there anybody out there?
Just nod if you can hear me. Is there anyone home?
Hello!
Just a quick note to thank you so much for subscribing - and hopefully reading! - Wit's End.
I began this blog in February 2023 to get to 52 posts (one a week) and a year later to have figured out what to "do" with my writing.
Well, here I am two years on still at post #47, still scratching my head. I do plan to reflect on my copious output by post #52 but until then, starting today, I have decided to pause paid subscriptions.
Adding a paid option didn't sit well for me for all kinds of reasons, most of all for how the pressure to churn it out weekly (now that it was a "product") made me feel. Substack egged me on rather relentlessly, and finally, I capitulated.
It did feel nice initially to know a handful of people were willing to pay for a look at my innards, but in the end, I decided art is not a turd. Well, okay art is a bit of a turd, an excretion that follows the gobbling of Life, but I cannot / will not produce it on demand. And so it felt wrong to make things with you so... transactional.
Life's not Weetabix. Sometimes things get stuck. And when it does it's usually better not to push too hard. I choose rather to eat more fibre, hydrate, relax, unclench, and let nature take its course.
I do hope to present you with five solid specimens before I shut down here but do not hold your breath! It will come when it is ready. Please know I intend for it to be a satisfying and full evacuation. Thank you so much for waiting! It means the world to me.
Meanwhile, if anyone would like to shoot the shit, about Wit's End or anything else, please join the chat by clicking the button below. It would be so nice to hear your voice!
Love,
~ TS
How to get started
Get the Substack app by clicking this link or the button below. New chat threads won’t be sent via email, so turn on push notifications so you don’t miss a conversation as it happens. You can also access chat on the web.
Open the app and tap the Chat icon. It looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar, and you’ll see a row for my chat inside.
That’s it! Jump into my thread to say hi, and if you have any issues, check out Substack’s FAQ.
I never really considered the link between writing and the peristaltic process of expelling waste ... but you make a good point: both involve something you need to get out before moving on with the day, week, month, whatever.
SS is indeed relentless in pushing us to promote our sites, but I've never felt comfortable holding my hand out or selling tickets to the show, such as it is. You're right: the transactional nature of trading words for money creates pressure to produce -- in essence turning a SS into a shop or job rather than a place to play, which inevitably leaches the joy from the process of creation. It's a low-key joy to be sure, but we take what we can get these days.
So, more power to you! Disengage from The Substack Promotion Machine and write what you want whenever the spirit moves. So to speak...