I've been writing longer than drawing or painting, but feel more comfortable making art than writing most days. And I have a journalism degree, which seems weird. Some days writing is like pulling teeth. I just keep doing it, reading, revising, holding my breath and pressing "send post."
Out of morbid curiosity, I tried an eggnog latte. Not for me, but I enjoy them separately!
I like the drawing of the child experiencing the tree. What a special moment to capture.
It's the same with me, Beth! I'm still nervous about sharing my writing with people, and this is after my scripts have been on TV shows! 😂 Somehow that has never been the case with art. At some level, I assume, there is an honesty in art which defies shame.
I've been writing since I was a child, but only two years ago did I start thinking about taking it more seriously.
I write because it gives me pleasure. I really enjoy playing with words while imagining the reaction of the people who read me.
On this platform I write the newsletter "Outside the Therapy Room", where I write about people, psychology and I also have a section with short fiction stories. Visit me here rolandoandrade.substack.com
Hey Nishant. I haven't been out and about for a while, but I keep hoping that one day I'll stop for a coffee somewhere and find one of your little drawings. That would be so cool. But it's starting to get cold and wet, and I don't need that in my life anymore. I'd rather sit inside at my keyboard and write my stories. I write long stuff, which I know you don't read very often...but maybe you know people who do? https://benwoestenburg.substack.com. Check out my stories.
One day I hope, Ben! 🤞🏼 It is not as cold as last year, nor as wet, so hopefully there will be opportunities. I keep thinking we need to do a Vancouver Writers Meetup! Don't you think so?
I think we need more fiction on Substack and am glad for everyone who has the guts to "tell a story." I think I was completely exhausted by the toil of the work and the indifference of peak-FB era social media, when I turned to drawing in sketchbooks. I wish I had a newsletter then!
Maybe my fiction journey is just on pause while I get the art sorted out. Maybe in a few years, I will go back to writing and drawing stories again!
Just bookmarked halfway through 'Beyond the Pale'! 🙌🏽
I've been a lot of different kinds of writer in my life (freelance, journalism, academic, commercial, NGO). Now I'm publishing my quiet but pointed Scottish novel about witches, archaeology and malignant mythic creatures on Substack, and good grief, some of my 300+ subscribers are actually paying good money to receive the secret worldbuilding novellas that start streaming in January: https://shetlandwitch.substack.com/
I've never made this much money from my writing before, it's very heartening and hugely enjoyable. I just wish I could draw the succinct economical little people that you do.
I believe we are living through truly unprecedented times as writers and artists and independent creatives of any kind. Having fun on this journey is a sacred duty, something we owe all the great writers and artists who came and passed before these times.
I have made and served many, many eggnog lattes. (I was a Starbucks barista after college.) I tried one sip, one time. That beverage is not for me. Many people love them, though, and start asking when they’ll be back on the menu just as soon as the weather starts to turn.
Thanks for offering a space to share our writing. I am an environmental lawyer in the PNW writing about green issues. Fearlessgreen.substack.com
I'm usually averse to seasonal flavors, so am happy to skip this one too!
So happy to know that you're a writer in this part of the world. I loved your post on silence. It has been my personal rule when I go out to draw - no headphones, no notifications!
Thanks so much for stopping by! Yes, so important to be free from the influence of other minds when you are creating, as Cal Newport would say. :) Thanks again!
I've been meaning to connect with you for a while--thanks for this invitation!
I do academic writing, when I can fit it in. I also draw. And while I'm quite good at making and meeting daily drawing commitments, which over time come together into something bigger, I haven't yet worked out how to do the same with writing. I seem to need bigger chunks of time for research and writing, and it's hard to find that.
Oh wow your art is amazing, Michelle. Both the linework and the watercolors!
I find the same problem with writing v drawing. From bitter experience I've learned that I'm not best suited to long term projects. If a daily habit compounds over time, that works best for me!
Absolutely LOVE the café drawings ... "trying another card" ... "to go" (I just want to say, slow down, linger a while).
I would love to share my little corner of fiction - a tiny side project to get more confident about sharing my words - thank you - https://justwriteright.substack.com/
Enjoy your festivities, whatever shape they take. Barrie
Nishant - love your drawings and the feel of your Substack work ... do you do any book illustration? I’m looking to find someone of a certain style to illustrate a forthcoming memoir, provisionally titled the Dogmender of Yokohama, excerpts of which are on my Substack .. if you might have any recommendations... all best Ethan
Thank you Ethan! I have not done much commercial illustration, but it's something we can discuss if you like. Email me at nishant@sneakyartist.com to take this forward. If I have a better sense of the kind of art you're looking for, I can suggest other illustrators as well.
I'm new to Substack and I'm getting my head around all the amazing people I've never heard of but now want to get to know. I love your drawings. I draw lots of little figures when I have a panic attack so your mini people look much more relaxed than mine ever do. Fountain pen drawings area so charming and I look forward to exploring your work.
Hi! I write. I write a lot. I left college thinking I would make a living off my novels (ahahahahh!). Spent most of my days working somewhere in the world of marketing/ advertising/ copywriting. This year (2024) I am returning my focus to my own writing through Substack.
The general thesis is the idea of "reclaiming my brain" and doing deep dives into the art of focus, wandering, distraction, mental health, and more. I typically find myself creating for others the very thing I need myself.
I am also embracing the visual arts for the first time ever. Mostly sketching, still playing around with mediums. I always have a camera nearby.
I am a sketcher and journaller, I write and draw for myself, not so much to hang on a wall. I recently sort of accidentally acquired a manual typewriter (1948 Royal Quiet Riter De Luxe) and found that it is very pleasant to peck out my thoughts on it. Soon after that I came across another tiny portable typewriter from the 1960s, I wonder if I could sit outside a Starbucks and peck while trying an eggnog latte. Worth thinking about...
The thing I look forward to most about the weekends. The one thing I want to do more than anything else on saturday or a sunday, is to spend the whole day sitting in a coffee shop, writing, making art, and reading. There's just nothing better.
i love the space you hold for art of all sorts here!
i’ve been writing a weekly personal newsletter for six years now and still going strong! i only recently moved to substack, which has helped me to take my own writing a bit more seriously and evolve to try and lean into finding more poetry and memoir in what i write!
I am a writer based in New Delhi, India. I write as it is the only medium of communication I don't suck at and also because writing is an outlet to let the thoughts cluttered in my mind to flow out freely.
I write on multiple themes including mindful parenting, positive self growth, relationships, urbanism and poetry. Also you would be surprised but all the above themes intersect at lot of places as they all have a common point - human connections.
I would definitely like to do a writers' meet up out here some day. Do you even know how many writers are in the Vancouver area? I don't. Maybe we should do a roll call?
I've been writing longer than drawing or painting, but feel more comfortable making art than writing most days. And I have a journalism degree, which seems weird. Some days writing is like pulling teeth. I just keep doing it, reading, revising, holding my breath and pressing "send post."
Out of morbid curiosity, I tried an eggnog latte. Not for me, but I enjoy them separately!
I like the drawing of the child experiencing the tree. What a special moment to capture.
It's the same with me, Beth! I'm still nervous about sharing my writing with people, and this is after my scripts have been on TV shows! 😂 Somehow that has never been the case with art. At some level, I assume, there is an honesty in art which defies shame.
What a wonderful post! Thank you and I hope you have a fabulous end of year.
Best wishes to you as well, James!
I've been writing since I was a child, but only two years ago did I start thinking about taking it more seriously.
I write because it gives me pleasure. I really enjoy playing with words while imagining the reaction of the people who read me.
On this platform I write the newsletter "Outside the Therapy Room", where I write about people, psychology and I also have a section with short fiction stories. Visit me here rolandoandrade.substack.com
Playing with words is how I like to think of it too!
Hey Nishant. I haven't been out and about for a while, but I keep hoping that one day I'll stop for a coffee somewhere and find one of your little drawings. That would be so cool. But it's starting to get cold and wet, and I don't need that in my life anymore. I'd rather sit inside at my keyboard and write my stories. I write long stuff, which I know you don't read very often...but maybe you know people who do? https://benwoestenburg.substack.com. Check out my stories.
One day I hope, Ben! 🤞🏼 It is not as cold as last year, nor as wet, so hopefully there will be opportunities. I keep thinking we need to do a Vancouver Writers Meetup! Don't you think so?
I think we need more fiction on Substack and am glad for everyone who has the guts to "tell a story." I think I was completely exhausted by the toil of the work and the indifference of peak-FB era social media, when I turned to drawing in sketchbooks. I wish I had a newsletter then!
Maybe my fiction journey is just on pause while I get the art sorted out. Maybe in a few years, I will go back to writing and drawing stories again!
Just bookmarked halfway through 'Beyond the Pale'! 🙌🏽
Oh, wow! I hope you like it.
I've been a lot of different kinds of writer in my life (freelance, journalism, academic, commercial, NGO). Now I'm publishing my quiet but pointed Scottish novel about witches, archaeology and malignant mythic creatures on Substack, and good grief, some of my 300+ subscribers are actually paying good money to receive the secret worldbuilding novellas that start streaming in January: https://shetlandwitch.substack.com/
I've never made this much money from my writing before, it's very heartening and hugely enjoyable. I just wish I could draw the succinct economical little people that you do.
Witches AND archaeology! That is so intriguing!
I believe we are living through truly unprecedented times as writers and artists and independent creatives of any kind. Having fun on this journey is a sacred duty, something we owe all the great writers and artists who came and passed before these times.
I have made and served many, many eggnog lattes. (I was a Starbucks barista after college.) I tried one sip, one time. That beverage is not for me. Many people love them, though, and start asking when they’ll be back on the menu just as soon as the weather starts to turn.
Thanks for offering a space to share our writing. I am an environmental lawyer in the PNW writing about green issues. Fearlessgreen.substack.com
I'm usually averse to seasonal flavors, so am happy to skip this one too!
So happy to know that you're a writer in this part of the world. I loved your post on silence. It has been my personal rule when I go out to draw - no headphones, no notifications!
Thanks so much for stopping by! Yes, so important to be free from the influence of other minds when you are creating, as Cal Newport would say. :) Thanks again!
I've been meaning to connect with you for a while--thanks for this invitation!
I do academic writing, when I can fit it in. I also draw. And while I'm quite good at making and meeting daily drawing commitments, which over time come together into something bigger, I haven't yet worked out how to do the same with writing. I seem to need bigger chunks of time for research and writing, and it's hard to find that.
Your tiny drawings are a joy.
Here are some of mine. https://michelle-hawkins.myportfolio.com
Oh wow your art is amazing, Michelle. Both the linework and the watercolors!
I find the same problem with writing v drawing. From bitter experience I've learned that I'm not best suited to long term projects. If a daily habit compounds over time, that works best for me!
Absolutely LOVE the café drawings ... "trying another card" ... "to go" (I just want to say, slow down, linger a while).
I would love to share my little corner of fiction - a tiny side project to get more confident about sharing my words - thank you - https://justwriteright.substack.com/
Enjoy your festivities, whatever shape they take. Barrie
Thanks for sharing your writing, Barrie!
Thanks so much for inviting it. Very generous community-building.
Nishant - love your drawings and the feel of your Substack work ... do you do any book illustration? I’m looking to find someone of a certain style to illustrate a forthcoming memoir, provisionally titled the Dogmender of Yokohama, excerpts of which are on my Substack .. if you might have any recommendations... all best Ethan
Thank you Ethan! I have not done much commercial illustration, but it's something we can discuss if you like. Email me at nishant@sneakyartist.com to take this forward. If I have a better sense of the kind of art you're looking for, I can suggest other illustrators as well.
I'm new to Substack and I'm getting my head around all the amazing people I've never heard of but now want to get to know. I love your drawings. I draw lots of little figures when I have a panic attack so your mini people look much more relaxed than mine ever do. Fountain pen drawings area so charming and I look forward to exploring your work.
Welcome, Jennifer, I'm so glad to have you as a reader. ☺️
Hi! I write. I write a lot. I left college thinking I would make a living off my novels (ahahahahh!). Spent most of my days working somewhere in the world of marketing/ advertising/ copywriting. This year (2024) I am returning my focus to my own writing through Substack.
The general thesis is the idea of "reclaiming my brain" and doing deep dives into the art of focus, wandering, distraction, mental health, and more. I typically find myself creating for others the very thing I need myself.
I am also embracing the visual arts for the first time ever. Mostly sketching, still playing around with mediums. I always have a camera nearby.
Love your work. I'm here for it all!
I think it's a great idea to play with words and images simultaneously, to better understand their respective uses. I wish you a great 2024!
I am a sketcher and journaller, I write and draw for myself, not so much to hang on a wall. I recently sort of accidentally acquired a manual typewriter (1948 Royal Quiet Riter De Luxe) and found that it is very pleasant to peck out my thoughts on it. Soon after that I came across another tiny portable typewriter from the 1960s, I wonder if I could sit outside a Starbucks and peck while trying an eggnog latte. Worth thinking about...
The thing I look forward to most about the weekends. The one thing I want to do more than anything else on saturday or a sunday, is to spend the whole day sitting in a coffee shop, writing, making art, and reading. There's just nothing better.
To fully immerse like that is a rich experience!
Never gets old.
i love the space you hold for art of all sorts here!
i’ve been writing a weekly personal newsletter for six years now and still going strong! i only recently moved to substack, which has helped me to take my own writing a bit more seriously and evolve to try and lean into finding more poetry and memoir in what i write!
here’s one to check out: https://splishsplash.online/p/the-world-is-so-beautiful-and-i-am?r=2sum&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thank you for your kind words, Nikhil. It is great to hear from you, and see your writing too!
I am a writer based in New Delhi, India. I write as it is the only medium of communication I don't suck at and also because writing is an outlet to let the thoughts cluttered in my mind to flow out freely.
I write on multiple themes including mindful parenting, positive self growth, relationships, urbanism and poetry. Also you would be surprised but all the above themes intersect at lot of places as they all have a common point - human connections.
Check out my newsletter 'Blissed' to know more..
Wonderful to learn more about you, Parul! Those are such good important subjects to speak about esp in New Delhi!
I would definitely like to do a writers' meet up out here some day. Do you even know how many writers are in the Vancouver area? I don't. Maybe we should do a roll call?
No idea!