There is so much excellent wisdom here. The section about not writing for bad-faith readers - that is so easy to forget, and I think there's a point when I am writing every single newsletter of mine where I forget it and have a "oh goddddd" moment and have to fight the urge to immediately go camping and sit in a tent for three days, rocking back and forth & screaming. So important. So, thank you for the reminder there. I might get it as a tattoo.
Also: 29k subscribers is absolutely mad in the best of ways. Richly deserved, and also *bonkers*. Wild applause.
I strongly agree with Mike who is one of my substatic heroes. ( one would think that this platform of all places could take a hint when I replace substatic three times that I'm trying to use the name of the platform)
I am intending to share this post with my sister and reread it several times myself.
At the same time, I must confess that I need to not only not become a paid subscriber that I must unsubscribe as well. The reason I cannot become a paid subscriber is that I am financially at the point where living like a goat would represent a step up in my standard of living. I am now 80 years old and living on Social Security and trying to help out my family who are raising a great grandchild and a granddaughter who is actually a cousin of my oldest granddaughter. The Usual Suspects are the driving force behind that necessity.
After responding to s. E. Reid's Challenge to identify what I need to use my writing to change in my life, my community and the world I have realized that I've already bitten off more than my ancient Jaws can chew and hence I need to eliminate, rather than add to, my outside reading.
For instance, reading this post sent me to Wikipedia to refresh my mind about the medieval years. A much needed review of my Western civilization class from 1960 and the next thing you know a half hour had evaporated as various rabbit holes opened before my eye. Note the lack of a plural there. A stroke and heart attack event in October has impaired my vision on the left side So reading is a challenge when it used to be as natural as breathing.
Writing is also ow more time consuming and at 80 my time is not only guaranteed to be shorter than other people's but could be over in a heartbeat or rather a lack of one.
Thank you for these words of wisdom! As a budding medievalist who just started graduate school, I'm neck deep in the academic world of historical jargon that is unfamiliar to me and arguments in journals I can't seem to follow. I've loved your newsletter because its expertly and professionally done, but in a way that I can understand and learn from. I appreciate your intentions and dedication to ensure your research and writing is accessible to your audience. Thank you!
There is so much excellent wisdom here. The section about not writing for bad-faith readers - that is so easy to forget, and I think there's a point when I am writing every single newsletter of mine where I forget it and have a "oh goddddd" moment and have to fight the urge to immediately go camping and sit in a tent for three days, rocking back and forth & screaming. So important. So, thank you for the reminder there. I might get it as a tattoo.
Also: 29k subscribers is absolutely mad in the best of ways. Richly deserved, and also *bonkers*. Wild applause.
I strongly agree with Mike who is one of my substatic heroes. ( one would think that this platform of all places could take a hint when I replace substatic three times that I'm trying to use the name of the platform)
I am intending to share this post with my sister and reread it several times myself.
At the same time, I must confess that I need to not only not become a paid subscriber that I must unsubscribe as well. The reason I cannot become a paid subscriber is that I am financially at the point where living like a goat would represent a step up in my standard of living. I am now 80 years old and living on Social Security and trying to help out my family who are raising a great grandchild and a granddaughter who is actually a cousin of my oldest granddaughter. The Usual Suspects are the driving force behind that necessity.
After responding to s. E. Reid's Challenge to identify what I need to use my writing to change in my life, my community and the world I have realized that I've already bitten off more than my ancient Jaws can chew and hence I need to eliminate, rather than add to, my outside reading.
For instance, reading this post sent me to Wikipedia to refresh my mind about the medieval years. A much needed review of my Western civilization class from 1960 and the next thing you know a half hour had evaporated as various rabbit holes opened before my eye. Note the lack of a plural there. A stroke and heart attack event in October has impaired my vision on the left side So reading is a challenge when it used to be as natural as breathing.
Writing is also ow more time consuming and at 80 my time is not only guaranteed to be shorter than other people's but could be over in a heartbeat or rather a lack of one.
Just above that should say writing is also now more time consuming.
Thank you for these words of wisdom! As a budding medievalist who just started graduate school, I'm neck deep in the academic world of historical jargon that is unfamiliar to me and arguments in journals I can't seem to follow. I've loved your newsletter because its expertly and professionally done, but in a way that I can understand and learn from. I appreciate your intentions and dedication to ensure your research and writing is accessible to your audience. Thank you!
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I'd love to hear an unscripted podcast about the name Æthelflæd.
Congratulations!
I really not understand that 😬
Hi Daniel! What didn’t you understand?