Tom Beck

@tombeck.eth

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This is how it works for writing, too.

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I wrote something about quitting social media. I'm not sure how to describe this piece. It's definitely not an article about productivity. It's a story, but only kind of. It's dark, but mostly silly. Check it out if any of that sounds interesting. https://unnerv.ing/p/how-to-disappear-completely

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One of my favorite poems: "The Field Mouse" by Gillian Clarke. The war here is the Bosnian War of 1992-1995, but it could be about any war. Unfortunately, this poem feels all too relevant this summer. 😔

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"Publishing" is a word that no longer makes sense. When anyone can create and share anything, anywhere, at any time, and to anyone, what does it mean to publish? The role of publishing must take on a new one: curation. Curation is the missing piece of the creator economy. Digital platforms have outsourced curation to algorithms, to everyone's detriment. We need good curators, and we need platforms that reward curatorial work. Only then can we build a creator economy that isn't just predatory. That doesn't just promote the top one percent of creators. Curation is what makes digital platforms worth spending time on.

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This book is low-key a masterpiece.

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My first poem on /zora. Read and mint Invocation below! I thought this a fitting one for my first blockchain poem. An invocation is the ancient practice of calling the muses for aid in creative work. It’s a response to writer’s block—and an understanding that creative expression involves not just “you” but other forces. Probably the most famous example is Homer’s opening to The Odyssey: “Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story”

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I love this insight from @arjantupan's newsletter. Twenty years of the social-media-powered web has trained everyone to accept creative work for free. But it was never free. The costs were hidden, and the value did not flow to the creators.

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Wife upstairs watching Bridgerton. Husband downstairs watching House of the Dragon.

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When you become aware of slowcore, you start to notice it everywhere. "I reject my impulse to work fast." Great interview with the poet Kathryn Hargett-Hsu https://onlypoems.substack.com/p/i-reject-my-impulse-to-work-fast

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Number 6 on this list is the secret to slow writing. Some things just need time.

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Instead of 10x, try / 10. What if instead of trying to go 10 times bigger or 10 times faster, you went 10 times smaller or 10 times slower? What would you create? Excerpt from my full essay, "In Praise of Going Slow," on @paragraph. Shout out to @danicaswanson who encouraged me to put this on Zora.

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There's an interesting idea bubbling up right now: slow. I wrote about slow writing. What sort of work can it unlock? Why might you benefit from a slower pace? Because going slow is a completely different way of viewing work. Consider this my opening contribution to the burgeoning Slowcore movement.

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Don't ever share what you're going to write before you write it. Your unconscious is lazy and will consider talking about an idea a substitute for writing it down.

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I wrote a story-essay hybrid on Thomas Ligotti. How his recurring motif of puppets, dolls, and manikins, suggests a new way of looking at generative AI programs like ChatGPT. https://unnerv.ing/p/enter-the-dollhousethe-stories-of

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Two years ago, I self-published a poetry chapbook. I partnered with a close friend who painted beautiful pictures for each poem. My dad passed away that year, and it was through writing these poems that I processed my grief. The book will always be close to my heart—for that reason and for being my first.

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Fiction is society-scale exposure therapy. We create simulated crises in the form of drama. Which paradoxically helps you to live in the face of potential calamity. If you find the world scary and overwhelming, you should read more fiction. Preferably something really depressing and horrible.

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Weird things are always more interesting.

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View of the aurora from my backyard in Minnesota.

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Lately, I've been thinking a lot about writing pace. Much writing advice boils down to the same idea: go fast. But pace, like voice, is individualized. We unconsciously inherit a pace (usually set by a platform or a publisher), but reconsidering how quickly or slowly we write might unlock our best work.

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We are immersed in too many words. The proliferation of text makes it hard to hear yourself. Writers should embrace silent, wordless activities. Some good ones: walking, cooking, cleaning, yard work, listening to music (no lyrics).

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