I’ve been at this for 8 weeks now, and it feels like a good time to reflect. First: thank you for subscribing to my Substack newsletter. Every time someone presses that Subscribe button it makes me feel that I am not just shouting into the darkness or, if you prefer your metaphors a little saltier, pissing into the wind (that was for you, Scott and Pete and Alex).
I wanted to explain to you and to myself why I’m doing this, which is to say, why I write. There are a couple of reasons, some of them deeper than others. If you just want to skim, check out the bold callouts.
First and foremost, I write to explain the world to myself. I just think the world is one big beautiful mystery that we’re all trying to figure out. The question “what’s it all for?” gnaws at me every single day, and I’m trying to answer it all the time. I don’t think there’s one right answer, no ultimate truth that we can comprehend fully (though we can glimpse it, can’t we?). I know I find it really useful to see how other people figure it out. Maybe seeing how I figure things out will help you do that same.
I write to connect to others. This one was always true, but it got truer during the pandemic, when connecting became ever so much harder. My fondest hope is that something I write will start a conversation, and I’m always happy when that happens. Sharing your writing can be a lonely business—you often just get a few likes or thumbs-up (and those are nice), but often I have no other way of knowing if anyone has read it. So it’s really gratifying when I hear from readers, and not just positive stuff—I’d rather be told I’m an idiot than be ignored. (Note to self: check comments section for “Hey Tom, you’re an idiot!”)
I also write because I love language. It’s like a big puzzle, the English language, and you can put it together in a billion different ways—including using words that haven’t been current for centuries (huh Jenn?). You can make up your own words, for pity’s sake, and if you use them enough, you can even get others to use them! Language is like a big playground and I simply love to play in it.
I’m also writing to improve my craft. Writing is not like climbing a mountain. There’s no top. It’s just a long steady climb. So I take every piece as an opportunity to get better. For most of my life, I’ve written to a “prompt,” whether it was to meet the requirements for a dissertation, fulfill the terms of a book contract, or shill for my company.
Now, unencumbered by the demands of the corporate world, I write purely to pursue my own interests, and that’s really been a lot of fun. I’ve started some fiction—you’ll see a little bit here and there, but there’s a longer work under way that will likely take me quite a bit of time. So the pieces of fiction you see here are me practicing some things I’m working on elsewhere. Basically, I’m just trying to get better at writing. I’m participating in this “experiment” called Story Club that’s being led by the writer George Saunders, and that’s helping me think carefully about the craft of writing. I can’t recommend his stuff enough.
In closing, I’ll just say again that I’m deeply grateful to all of you who subscribe and comment and like and share my stuff. I’m even grateful to those of you who think I’m full of it. Your participation, in whatever form, is really meaningful. Thank you!
Hey, if you made it this far, here’s a little treat for you: a Daylight Savings Time Gripe Assistant Tool. Check it out—it’s a really fun visualization of what time changes mean for us depending on where we live.
Tom, I love your voice--that's why I look forward to your writing. I wrote historical works for many of the same reasons you are writing here--to try to figure out what our experience in the past holds for what we do today. I'm writing essays about my family's history these days--not genealogical who-begat-whom stuff, but rather essays that historicize family members' lives. To me that is about "inheritance," so it's much more self-involved that your writing. Thanks for writing--you share your joy and wonder, cynicism and humor. Can't wait for the longer piece!
Well, at least I understand a bit better why you write all this shit, and know that you are not just pissing into the wind! Honestly, has always puzzled me why you liked to read so much, and write for that matter. Completely boring to me, I've probably finished a few dozen books in my life mostly because I had to for school...and even then, especially in college, I bought used books that someone already highlighted to save me some time! Maybe I have ADHD, not sure but books just don't hold my attention and since college I bet I've started 50 books. Many were recommended to me, "this is one you just can't put down" people say, I have NEVER had that experience (I don't think Playboy at 16 counts). The extent of my writing has been pretty much e-mails since finishing my MBA back in 1995, that and power point presentations! It always amazes me how different two kids can be that came form the same parents, same upbringing, etc.! I do enjoy reading YOUR stuff Tom...but keep it short or you lose me!