8 Lessons From Writing on Substack Everyday
Day 21—The end feels real now, so, naturally, I wanted to reflect on my time and see what lessons I want to take from this challenge.
I’ve been writing on Substack every day, and this is what I’ve learnt:
1. Substack is great for processing thoughts. I often sit down with only a small seed of an idea, but once I sit down and start typing, it develops, it grows, it even changes direction sometimes.
2. It creates an understanding of how people absorb media now. Sure, engagement has been low, but I still see everyone reading my pieces, and that’s the main thing I want—readers.
3. In addition to the last point, I love that even if my engagement is low, Substack won’t stop sending my work to my subscribers. If you’ve subscribed, you will get every single post in your inbox, regardless of my engagement levels. After a life on social media, that is incredibly refreshing.
4. I get to consume and create at the same time. By engaging and cross-promoting other Substack writers, I get to stay in a position where I can enjoy other’s writing as well as fill my inspiration well for my own creations.
5. Not every single piece I write needs to be groundbreaking. That kind of pressure kills every single creative cell I have. I now do my best to go into each piece with zero expectations. I stay focused on the process of releasing my thoughts, rather than fixating on the impact I want those thoughts to have.
6. Sometimes the simplest and easiest pieces to write have been the most successful. I’ve had a lot of feedback from my email readers. They read a piece, hit reply, and share their thoughts with me. This is a huge privilege, believe me. But what’s an even bigger honour, is that the most responses usually come off the back of a quick diary-style piece. The ones where I’ve just sat down and shared my thoughts for the day. That definitely helps relieve the pressure I mentioned in point 5!
7. Regularly sharing my writing has kept my mind and soul in a truly creative space and I’ve loved every second of it. I’ve had more writing ideas, inspiration for my current WIPs, and even more creative ideas for the writers I mentor as part of Epic Writing.
8. I can keep a writing goal. As long as I keep it achievable, and I stay determined. I’ve tried setting daily writing challenges before and I have always always flopped (the fact that I have never completed a full NaNoWriMo before is a source of pain, believe me). But I did this one. Because of adjusted expectations, mercy towards myself to not be perfect, and determination to write something, anything.
Ultimately, I have loved this experience. Some days, the thought of sharing was a weight on my mind, and yes, I felt a little pressure to come up with a topic each day. But I still did it. I kept my promise, even when I was lying sick in bed!
And I still have 9 days left, so buckle up, everybody!
This is Day 21 of my challenge to write every day for 30 days. No matter what. The aim is to break through my writer’s block, perfectionism, and procrastination. It’s been a wild ride and I highly highly recommend it!
