You guys look great! Congratulations to Jo for her successful fundraising. ♥️
I love the cover for Brae’s Meteorite. Alexander will end up making a good side hustle with his covers and badges and all. Such talent!
So the cat is out of the bag! What will your colleagues say? 🤣 I badgered almost all my colleagues into subscribing to my newsletter including the CEO. Oops 😬!
Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary here! I hadn't realized that you and I started this journey at the same time from different sides of the world. I'm glad I was able to shame you into outing yourself (a bit anyway)! You and Jo look so happy. I hope you enjoy a lovely holiday at home.
Thank you! Once again, it’s the ones from the heart that resonate most with me. A real pleasure. (And isn’t your Jo a beauty! Admittedly you’re not too bad yourself. Grin.)
Yes, I watch the movie diagonally across from me on the plane, or the one ahead of that. Yes, when I worked I was terrified of workmates working out that my online persona was Me. It’s actually only after I retired that I realised that it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks. I adore retirement. And I like myself a lot more these days too.
Good luck finding the best way forward. You clearly enjoy writing. It will be fun to see where it leads. Thanks for another excellent read. Have a lovely festive season my dear. And all the best for the year ahead. 🤗🤗😘😘
You two are adorable! I hope you're enjoying your time away and have safe, pleasant festivities with the family. May your new year be full of abundance and happiness and success and love from here, from your colleagues, from your loved ones, from strangers. Congratulations on being here almost a whole ass year---yeeeehaaaaaaw!--and for Jo getting the film kickstarted (can I say that even if it's not kickstarter?)! Also, the book cover is hot hot hot. I'll buy four of these at least!
Could one get smorsels dipped in chocolate, one wonders? Happy pre-1 year anniversary, you and me and Nadia all are January babies - it's been quite a ride, glad to be on the bus with you, Nathan. Enjoy England and family and Xmas!
Such wonderful Sorels! Glad I now have a face to no name.😂 And yes, 100%: “Then I did that thing where you watch, devoid of audio, whatever the person diagonally in front of you is watching.” Happy holidays to you and yours!
You guys 🥰 I hope one day to read your thriller novel, ‘The People from Work’.
Congrats on your almost anniversary, Nate. You’ve done so much in that time, it’s inspiring. I so relate to that ‘What if someone finds this?!’ fear, I probably would have started D&B years ago if I didn’t have it. I think pushing against it is probably more beneficial than trying to understand the why of it, so good work with the photo.
Thank you, Nathan. I love a good Sorsel. And I hope you get some decent rest tonight.
Dec 21, 2023·edited Dec 21, 2023Liked by Nathan Slake
I enjoyed Triangle of Sadness. The ending? The penny dropped, and the boyfriend realized something really, really bad was going to happen between those two women. (The maid did not want to be rescued, not with her newfound place at the top of the pyramid. Could he make it? Not plausibly, it was quite a distance to run. Did someone suddenly open the mountainside door, interrupting the pending act of violence? Did the act end up on the other foot? Was the boyfriend secretly an Olympic sprinter?
Great to see your face, Nathan! Hope you and Jo and your loved ones have all had a wonderful holiday season.
You just might be inspiring me to step out from my scribbled out profile pic haha. I've been trying to get to the root lately of why it is I opted to not just do that, but to write with a pen name as well. I remember a creative nonfiction professor of mine telling us students to write things that we WANT to put our name to, and to not put it out into the world until you, all of you, are ready to own it.
Sometimes, that still has the power to ring around my head a bit and make me think my own actions to be somewhat cowardly, like I'm hiding behind something.
And, though I don't know how much it adds to the pen name conversation at large, I think this is where I land, in rebuttal to the aforementioned professor:
- First and foremost, this was said in, I don't know, 2011? It's only been thirteen years, which when laying out on any sort of timescale is nothing, but a lot has changed since then.
- AI scares the shit out of me as an individual. I think it's going to be capable of doing very helpful things for humanity in general. But I do think often of how many "key identifiers" I'm putting out onto a scrape-able platform... face, voice, text, etc... and the smörgåsbord of deep fake options that provides to those interested in doing harm.
- My day job and my pursuits as a writer are often in conflict with one another. Though I'm aiming to do less of it moving forward, there are times that I do want to speak freely about just that. So, attaching my actual name, and my face, to those words can actually be harmful to the wellbeing of myself and my family (e.g. I get fired). Not to mention: I've also been looking for a different day job, so having those same thoughts become searchable by hiring managers conducting background checks... yeah... not great.
- With how findable anyone is these days, I try to take thoughtful measures of putting up a buffer between the work I create / share and my family. My kiddo is at the time of this writing three years old, without an online presence. But ten years from now, will they want to be associated with what I've shared? Will someone who hates my work find them on the latest and greatest social media platform and attack them for being related to me? I'm not willing to take that risk.
- I'm a pretty private person, generally speaking, and that doesn't really lead to "success" these days as someone with a creative pursuit. I plan on writing something about this more at length soon, but gone, I feel, are the days where you can sort of "Cormac McCarthy it," as in: you refuse to self promote. No social media. No interviews. No speaking engagements. You produced the work, and the work speaks for itself, and that is all. I struggle with the notion that those days are gone, and would in many, many ways love to do just that -- produce the work, share the work, and then promptly retreat to produce more work. But rather, it seems, creatives today must always be promoting something while also producing something. And sometimes this "promotion" has absolutely nothing to do with the work; sometimes, the best "promotion" one can do today is to take a side on something that has nothing to do with your work. Politics. Wars. Parenting. Gardening. Other art forms. Etc. "Show them just how HUMAN you are!" And if you aren't doing that, if you aren't playing that game, then there just won't be an audience for your work. So for me, at this time, I think the only way I can simultaneously promote and produce is to do so with at least some sort of guard up.
Regarding using your real full name, no right or wrong way. I will say, when I began sharing links to Substack on my LinkedIn profile, it was a beautiful reminder that both my professional work and art are two parts of me that can live side by side, or even better, overlap. There was something empowering about it. I want my colleagues to know I write, in the same way I want to know more about them then how effective they are leading a meeting, or building a financial model.
Congrats on a year! You have released beautiful work and I hope this year brings more fulfillment and the ability to spend even more time doing the work that insures you!
You guys look great! Congratulations to Jo for her successful fundraising. ♥️
I love the cover for Brae’s Meteorite. Alexander will end up making a good side hustle with his covers and badges and all. Such talent!
So the cat is out of the bag! What will your colleagues say? 🤣 I badgered almost all my colleagues into subscribing to my newsletter including the CEO. Oops 😬!
Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary here! I hadn't realized that you and I started this journey at the same time from different sides of the world. I'm glad I was able to shame you into outing yourself (a bit anyway)! You and Jo look so happy. I hope you enjoy a lovely holiday at home.
Thank you! Once again, it’s the ones from the heart that resonate most with me. A real pleasure. (And isn’t your Jo a beauty! Admittedly you’re not too bad yourself. Grin.)
Yes, I watch the movie diagonally across from me on the plane, or the one ahead of that. Yes, when I worked I was terrified of workmates working out that my online persona was Me. It’s actually only after I retired that I realised that it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks. I adore retirement. And I like myself a lot more these days too.
Good luck finding the best way forward. You clearly enjoy writing. It will be fun to see where it leads. Thanks for another excellent read. Have a lovely festive season my dear. And all the best for the year ahead. 🤗🤗😘😘
You two are adorable! I hope you're enjoying your time away and have safe, pleasant festivities with the family. May your new year be full of abundance and happiness and success and love from here, from your colleagues, from your loved ones, from strangers. Congratulations on being here almost a whole ass year---yeeeehaaaaaaw!--and for Jo getting the film kickstarted (can I say that even if it's not kickstarter?)! Also, the book cover is hot hot hot. I'll buy four of these at least!
Could one get smorsels dipped in chocolate, one wonders? Happy pre-1 year anniversary, you and me and Nadia all are January babies - it's been quite a ride, glad to be on the bus with you, Nathan. Enjoy England and family and Xmas!
Thank you for sharing your sorsels (dipped in melted chocolate for me too please), and such a beautiful photo of you and Jo! Happy holidays.
Such wonderful Sorels! Glad I now have a face to no name.😂 And yes, 100%: “Then I did that thing where you watch, devoid of audio, whatever the person diagonally in front of you is watching.” Happy holidays to you and yours!
You guys 🥰 I hope one day to read your thriller novel, ‘The People from Work’.
Congrats on your almost anniversary, Nate. You’ve done so much in that time, it’s inspiring. I so relate to that ‘What if someone finds this?!’ fear, I probably would have started D&B years ago if I didn’t have it. I think pushing against it is probably more beneficial than trying to understand the why of it, so good work with the photo.
Thank you, Nathan. I love a good Sorsel. And I hope you get some decent rest tonight.
I like Sorsels, it reminds me of snirtle, a much underused word.
I enjoyed Triangle of Sadness. The ending? The penny dropped, and the boyfriend realized something really, really bad was going to happen between those two women. (The maid did not want to be rescued, not with her newfound place at the top of the pyramid. Could he make it? Not plausibly, it was quite a distance to run. Did someone suddenly open the mountainside door, interrupting the pending act of violence? Did the act end up on the other foot? Was the boyfriend secretly an Olympic sprinter?
Will the real slim Slake please stand up? ;) Enjoy the great outdoors, catch some fish and think of meteorites!
Yes!! I love this step forward into confidently revealing your hidden writer within xx 🥰
Great to see your face, Nathan! Hope you and Jo and your loved ones have all had a wonderful holiday season.
You just might be inspiring me to step out from my scribbled out profile pic haha. I've been trying to get to the root lately of why it is I opted to not just do that, but to write with a pen name as well. I remember a creative nonfiction professor of mine telling us students to write things that we WANT to put our name to, and to not put it out into the world until you, all of you, are ready to own it.
Sometimes, that still has the power to ring around my head a bit and make me think my own actions to be somewhat cowardly, like I'm hiding behind something.
And, though I don't know how much it adds to the pen name conversation at large, I think this is where I land, in rebuttal to the aforementioned professor:
- First and foremost, this was said in, I don't know, 2011? It's only been thirteen years, which when laying out on any sort of timescale is nothing, but a lot has changed since then.
- AI scares the shit out of me as an individual. I think it's going to be capable of doing very helpful things for humanity in general. But I do think often of how many "key identifiers" I'm putting out onto a scrape-able platform... face, voice, text, etc... and the smörgåsbord of deep fake options that provides to those interested in doing harm.
- My day job and my pursuits as a writer are often in conflict with one another. Though I'm aiming to do less of it moving forward, there are times that I do want to speak freely about just that. So, attaching my actual name, and my face, to those words can actually be harmful to the wellbeing of myself and my family (e.g. I get fired). Not to mention: I've also been looking for a different day job, so having those same thoughts become searchable by hiring managers conducting background checks... yeah... not great.
- With how findable anyone is these days, I try to take thoughtful measures of putting up a buffer between the work I create / share and my family. My kiddo is at the time of this writing three years old, without an online presence. But ten years from now, will they want to be associated with what I've shared? Will someone who hates my work find them on the latest and greatest social media platform and attack them for being related to me? I'm not willing to take that risk.
- I'm a pretty private person, generally speaking, and that doesn't really lead to "success" these days as someone with a creative pursuit. I plan on writing something about this more at length soon, but gone, I feel, are the days where you can sort of "Cormac McCarthy it," as in: you refuse to self promote. No social media. No interviews. No speaking engagements. You produced the work, and the work speaks for itself, and that is all. I struggle with the notion that those days are gone, and would in many, many ways love to do just that -- produce the work, share the work, and then promptly retreat to produce more work. But rather, it seems, creatives today must always be promoting something while also producing something. And sometimes this "promotion" has absolutely nothing to do with the work; sometimes, the best "promotion" one can do today is to take a side on something that has nothing to do with your work. Politics. Wars. Parenting. Gardening. Other art forms. Etc. "Show them just how HUMAN you are!" And if you aren't doing that, if you aren't playing that game, then there just won't be an audience for your work. So for me, at this time, I think the only way I can simultaneously promote and produce is to do so with at least some sort of guard up.
Regarding using your real full name, no right or wrong way. I will say, when I began sharing links to Substack on my LinkedIn profile, it was a beautiful reminder that both my professional work and art are two parts of me that can live side by side, or even better, overlap. There was something empowering about it. I want my colleagues to know I write, in the same way I want to know more about them then how effective they are leading a meeting, or building a financial model.
Congrats on a year! You have released beautiful work and I hope this year brings more fulfillment and the ability to spend even more time doing the work that insures you!
Sorsels ha!