Fully agree - your 'rant' is anything but a rant. Fully textured and well-reasoned.
I have known some real poets. Those that know their craft, have learned its forms, and have taken the time to craft, to sculpt, their words. I have also known a number of people who write poetry that fills a need for them, but is not really very good.
And this is a criticism. Criticism is fair. I play piano, but not well (I can bash out Maple Leaf Rag)...you might be polite about it, but it is not performance worthy. Same holds true for poetry. And a lot of the problem I lay square at the feet of modern teaching, and the ghastly ideology behind it.
These are the teachers that told you to write what you want, it's all poetry as long as you express yourself, blah blah blah. Overheating baked beans on putting on burned toast is technically cooking, but it ain't even the level of a dodgy late night hotdog.
So, this 'poetry' tends to have a structure the writer imagines is poetry...like this:
I am writing a poem,
It is something I wanted to do, even though I am sad,
The rain pours eternal out of doors,
My life is so neurodivergent,
You don't know my pain,
Today.
Bleughhhhh.....
I am reminded that Rik's character in the Young Ones was a grotesque, a parody, not an instructional toolkit.
And similar holds true for writing in general on substack. I have little problem with AI assisted writing, but I do loathe those that claim 'it is all my own work' when it clearly isn't. It's also quite easy to fool some of the basic detectors, but GPTzero is not bad for catching out the outright liars. Of course the defence is 'I am so good at writing, and AI is trained on good writing, that my work comes out as AI'. No, it really doesn't...perhaps for technical or scientific academic work but for most humanities dept writers? No, many are lying. It' quite easy to spot - there are formulaic patterns, and the big giveaway are metaphors that don't quite land (like smoke through glass - hahahah..nonsense).
I am rather disenchanted with substack at the moment. It probably shows.
Gotta agree. All this advice to post regularly without fail is drowning us in low quality sh*t. I know quite a few good fiction writers on Substack now, and they publish when they’re ready, not to a timetable.
Yup, I only read a couple now, and they post stuff on here sporadically at best, but when it does arrive, it is worth reading. Most of those I subscribed to nearly a year ago when I joined this thing have gone, and of the few who remain, most only write content these days, and I rarely read any of it. I certainly do not feel inspired to start doomscrolling to find new writers. I would rather go to a bookshop and pick up real books.
I'm glad I came across this article. Thank you for sharing this with us Nigel.
There is the pressure to produce more and more content by the machine. This article is a great reminder not to forget the true nature of art. We need to follow our creative calling instead of chasing a schedule to please the algorithm. And the best part is many readers understand and will appreciate quality work no matter how long it takes.
This is incredibly validating to read. There is an exhausting pressure to treat Substack like a content conveyor belt rather than a home for genuine writing. The comparison to sculpting marble is beautiful; true craft often requires carving away, resting, and waiting for the right shape to emerge. If we only feed the machine daily text to stay visible, we risk losing the curiosity that made us want to create in the first place. I hope you enjoyed your sandwiches by the sea!
I can't remember what happened, but I didn't get my sandwiches by the sea. I stayed in, stuck at my desk, but it didn't matter because I got the newsletter written. How to stick a sign on an Aberdeen Angus bull, and customers enjoyed it, because it was something a bit different.
Glad you enjoyed my little rant. I just hope it reminds some writers that Substack really doesn't matter, because it does apply horrible pressure, and writing is more important than feeding the machine.
*like, like, like, like. Need to give this more than one like.
It's a shame that more writers on here don't confuse what they're doing with content creation. I think thats what gets them to jump ship. I mean, not saying its their fault. Its Substack fault 😂 but if they could just BE here instead of getting suckered into the machine. I was for a little bit, around my 6 months mark. Then I had a burn out and remembered why I came here in the first place. To write and improve and learn while doing it. This is what Substack should be advertised as. For the writers anyway. The content creators can create all they want, just know that they're not us and we're not them. Although it is a shame there seems to be more of of them than us at least in terms of popularity anyway. There are millions of good writers here. Gotta be? OK then, thousands. They're just not cracking the bestseller list. Good. Because that list is mostly content creators.
Anyway, I'm just glad you've said this Nige. Thanks for using your words to voice what I couldn't
I know you’ve been ranting about this for months in one way or another but this… this is what I needed in this moment.
It can be easy to be caught up in the “I’m falling behind train” here even though already know what you’ve written here is true.
I am the slowest writer I know. Or at least I thought that was true because my only frame of reference is Substack. I don’t have any writer friends beyond this platform.
But another point you didn’t quite hit on is that kind of blind devotion that follows the “slop”. Where you read something, you just think “well… this really wasn’t that great…” but read the comment section with hundreds of comments singing praises for that piece and “oh what a masterpiece this is!” When in reality… it was mediocre.
No such pressure on me to write content for Substack. Whether that be my epic rants, savage-but-fair reviews, or original stories, I only write when I feel like.
Let's face it, the way things are, you are never going to be short of material.
Fully agree - your 'rant' is anything but a rant. Fully textured and well-reasoned.
I have known some real poets. Those that know their craft, have learned its forms, and have taken the time to craft, to sculpt, their words. I have also known a number of people who write poetry that fills a need for them, but is not really very good.
And this is a criticism. Criticism is fair. I play piano, but not well (I can bash out Maple Leaf Rag)...you might be polite about it, but it is not performance worthy. Same holds true for poetry. And a lot of the problem I lay square at the feet of modern teaching, and the ghastly ideology behind it.
These are the teachers that told you to write what you want, it's all poetry as long as you express yourself, blah blah blah. Overheating baked beans on putting on burned toast is technically cooking, but it ain't even the level of a dodgy late night hotdog.
So, this 'poetry' tends to have a structure the writer imagines is poetry...like this:
I am writing a poem,
It is something I wanted to do, even though I am sad,
The rain pours eternal out of doors,
My life is so neurodivergent,
You don't know my pain,
Today.
Bleughhhhh.....
I am reminded that Rik's character in the Young Ones was a grotesque, a parody, not an instructional toolkit.
And similar holds true for writing in general on substack. I have little problem with AI assisted writing, but I do loathe those that claim 'it is all my own work' when it clearly isn't. It's also quite easy to fool some of the basic detectors, but GPTzero is not bad for catching out the outright liars. Of course the defence is 'I am so good at writing, and AI is trained on good writing, that my work comes out as AI'. No, it really doesn't...perhaps for technical or scientific academic work but for most humanities dept writers? No, many are lying. It' quite easy to spot - there are formulaic patterns, and the big giveaway are metaphors that don't quite land (like smoke through glass - hahahah..nonsense).
I am rather disenchanted with substack at the moment. It probably shows.
Yup, Substack has become a slush pile. I am hanging around to see what happens, but my interest in it at the moment is pretty low.
You are so write about the poetry (see what I did there!)
It comes across as
Forced
Perhaps written in that short
Space or time (yup, they think stuff like that is clever)
between scrolling through TikTok
And sitting on the toilet
Neurodivergent
My shiny arse
and always about
Me.
Gotta agree. All this advice to post regularly without fail is drowning us in low quality sh*t. I know quite a few good fiction writers on Substack now, and they publish when they’re ready, not to a timetable.
Yup, I only read a couple now, and they post stuff on here sporadically at best, but when it does arrive, it is worth reading. Most of those I subscribed to nearly a year ago when I joined this thing have gone, and of the few who remain, most only write content these days, and I rarely read any of it. I certainly do not feel inspired to start doomscrolling to find new writers. I would rather go to a bookshop and pick up real books.
I'm glad I came across this article. Thank you for sharing this with us Nigel.
There is the pressure to produce more and more content by the machine. This article is a great reminder not to forget the true nature of art. We need to follow our creative calling instead of chasing a schedule to please the algorithm. And the best part is many readers understand and will appreciate quality work no matter how long it takes.
This is incredibly validating to read. There is an exhausting pressure to treat Substack like a content conveyor belt rather than a home for genuine writing. The comparison to sculpting marble is beautiful; true craft often requires carving away, resting, and waiting for the right shape to emerge. If we only feed the machine daily text to stay visible, we risk losing the curiosity that made us want to create in the first place. I hope you enjoyed your sandwiches by the sea!
Thank you so much.
I can't remember what happened, but I didn't get my sandwiches by the sea. I stayed in, stuck at my desk, but it didn't matter because I got the newsletter written. How to stick a sign on an Aberdeen Angus bull, and customers enjoyed it, because it was something a bit different.
Glad you enjoyed my little rant. I just hope it reminds some writers that Substack really doesn't matter, because it does apply horrible pressure, and writing is more important than feeding the machine.
*like, like, like, like. Need to give this more than one like.
It's a shame that more writers on here don't confuse what they're doing with content creation. I think thats what gets them to jump ship. I mean, not saying its their fault. Its Substack fault 😂 but if they could just BE here instead of getting suckered into the machine. I was for a little bit, around my 6 months mark. Then I had a burn out and remembered why I came here in the first place. To write and improve and learn while doing it. This is what Substack should be advertised as. For the writers anyway. The content creators can create all they want, just know that they're not us and we're not them. Although it is a shame there seems to be more of of them than us at least in terms of popularity anyway. There are millions of good writers here. Gotta be? OK then, thousands. They're just not cracking the bestseller list. Good. Because that list is mostly content creators.
Anyway, I'm just glad you've said this Nige. Thanks for using your words to voice what I couldn't
I know you’ve been ranting about this for months in one way or another but this… this is what I needed in this moment.
It can be easy to be caught up in the “I’m falling behind train” here even though already know what you’ve written here is true.
I am the slowest writer I know. Or at least I thought that was true because my only frame of reference is Substack. I don’t have any writer friends beyond this platform.
But another point you didn’t quite hit on is that kind of blind devotion that follows the “slop”. Where you read something, you just think “well… this really wasn’t that great…” but read the comment section with hundreds of comments singing praises for that piece and “oh what a masterpiece this is!” When in reality… it was mediocre.
Mediocre is generous, if you are referring to the clique that I think you mean.
Well, as people they are nice… for the most part, some still learning to write… so mediocre feels right.
No such pressure on me to write content for Substack. Whether that be my epic rants, savage-but-fair reviews, or original stories, I only write when I feel like.
👊💜
You mean you only rant when you feel like it!
I enjoy your rants. Don't ever get dragged down that Substack plughole.
I don't. But also, there's so much in modern fiction I like to rant about 😜