Thank you, Substack. Much Appreciated!

You're a platform like no other. Stay the course and we'll all have a great outcome.

Substack is one of a kind. In a relatively short amount of time, it has managed to succeed beyond expectations. Hooray for that!

There are so many talented writers here that keeping up with the volume is tricky.

In this New Year, there will be new ideas, new projects, and hopefully fantastic productivity.

On Substack, I came up with a project off the top. I decided to write one-of-a-kind stories and link them together to form a novella. Something different from what I'm accustomed to writing; something fresh. Hopefully, it will make people think, send a message, or have the story be so entertaining that it will be hard to pass. Although there will be episodes with standalone chapters, they will always be written with the reader in mind. Always‌.

Storytelling is fascinating for both the reader and the writer. We can't get enough of it, which isn't new.

For millennia, we have been telling and listening to stories. Since before the Stone Age, we have been telling stories and entertaining our listeners. Sometimes for an eager audience, other times for our close friends, and sometimes for our family.

I have envisioned my participation on the Substack platform in 2024 consisting of more than 50% of stories to continue in episode form. The rest will probably be essays or short stories on their own, with a beginning and an ending.

I can't wait to engage and start writing all those. I believe they could be exciting, engaging, and thoughtful.

Writers like to stay within the confines of their comfort zones because it feels… well, comfortable. But, sometimes, when we step out of said zones, is when we find ourselves producing our best creations.

It's an understandable compromise. Yet, the more we experiment with styles and forms, the better it'll be for us, and the benefits could be enormous.

After all, what's the worst that could happen? Most of us like to exercise our brain muscles with prompts that we find here and there.

Sometimes, surprisingly, out of one of those prompts, we end up with a beautiful composition that blows our minds because we weren’t even trying. It was just getting down to the page and letting the muse flow. It happens to all of us. Out of a prompt!

So, you never know. At least we try; that’s what matters. It's important, still, not to dismiss ideas too soon, or we could miss out on some of our most significant work.

It happens all the time, especially when something that ends up in the bin in a moment of disaffection could have been our finest achievement if given the chance. Not only that, but it also happens when we stop for a moment, take a break, and return to it later with fresh eyes.

That break time is essential to the WIP, and we should take it more often unless we are on a roll. The trash bin will always be there if we decide we are no longer interested in pursuing the story for whatever reason, but at least we give ourselves a chance. The literary world may appreciate it more than you ever expected.

So, here’s to 2024 and a new dawn of interesting tryouts.

As long as we're writing, the rest is secondary, story-wise.

Good luck with whatever method you choose.

by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash