The way in which #Substack has promoted their new #Notes microblogging feature is very similar to how they promote all their other new features, mainly by fawning on all the writers publishing on Substack who gained large followings elsewhere. They just don’t seem too concerned with making something that can help smaller writers to grow their audiences. My blinkered idea of what the internet should be for writers is along the line that if you write well in a way that truly differentiates you from others, then maybe a few thousand people might enjoy what you do....

I recently had a bit of a reckoning about my writing. It wasn’t the first and it won’t the last. This reckoning centred around a trend within my writings of referring to people with addictions with derogatory terms such as “pissheads”, “bagheads”, “crackheads” and other nasty, judgemental epithets. I wish I could say that this is something I left in the past but I drafted a piece yesterday about alcoholism, addiction and the Easter weekend that used those terms for all their distancing and dehumanising effect....

why does this site look like the BBC Micro game Granny’s Garden but without the charming pixel art? I’ve always been attracted to some retro aesthetics with my online stuff and normally can’t resist a good typewriter font. This is probably because I started out as a serious writer with a typewriter and I often get nostalgic about those early days and the creative frenzies that accompanied them. I’ve always been attracted to some retro aesthetics with my online stuff and normally can’t resist a good typewriter font....