27 Comments

This is encouraging because it’s cool to see publications pivot in real time, and the people behind them explain why. A cool perk of Substack that I don’t think we often see elsewhere. It’s like news-meets-blogosphere and I love it.

It’s also encouraging because I still haven’t found a rhythm that works, as I try to wrangle longer posts and decide whether to split them up or alternate with shorter ones.

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Hooray for experiments! Please do what brings your creative writerly self the most fulfillment. I love your work, always have, and can't wait to read whatever you have in store.

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thanks for sharing the ways you're experimenting with your creative process, Elle :) super helpful as I'm mapping out my own experiments – have definitely experienced the rigidity & lack of flow that emerges as a result of sticking to a publishing schedule. excited to see where these experiments take you & The Elysian!

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Nov 9Liked by Elle Griffin

I'm totally mirroring you with all of this. I told my subscribers that I'd send one email a week, toggling back and forth between an original (and well-researched)l long form essay and a shortform (also well-researched) essay on the offweeks -- and when I get too consumed in said research I feel like I am disappointing a bunch of people if my essays are 'late'. I, too, am slowly but surely shaking off this self-imposed structure to my creative life.

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Thanks for sharing your thought process on this, Elle. Totally agree! Never put yourself into a box creatively.

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I really, really like this idea, Elle. I've found the same challenges with my own newsletter; I may even borrow (steal?) this idea! 😃

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Nov 9Liked by Elle Griffin

Creativity is about flexibility, not rigidity. Best wishes on your journey.

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There's no way I can keep up with that pace of content creation from one person unfortunately, once a week would be more than enough for me.

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It’s such a tricky balance, creativity and constraint. For what it’s worth, I had assumed that your Wednesday posts would consist primarily of a question you would pose for discussion or a question about a short excerpt of a text.

All of this is to say that as a reader I would personally feel totally satisfied with a single discussion question — and I also recognize I’m just one voice, so take that with a grain of salt! :)

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I struggle with this all the time! There are so many things I want to write about - then there are the things I feel I should be writing about - or need to complete for someone else - and when I sit down to work, sometimes I don't/can't work on the thing that I've committed to doing. It's an endless tug-of-war between creativity and productivity!

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Well done for letting yourself off the hook!

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Thanks for the update. I really enjoy hearing how things work for you and incorporate strategies into my life

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I feel you. It’s hard to stay on top of everything you want to write.

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Variety is good. Why limit your creativity? Follow the inspiration. 🤓

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