One of the biggest things I believe in is The Gauntlet. Anybody who practices anything, be it sports or art or music, has to go through countless hours of absolute suck. This is Michael Jordan shooting three pointers alone after school, this is Jimi Hendrix learning to play guitar in his bedroom. When you look at painters through history, like Picasso, they were in apprenticeships before they were teenagers. Ever seen Picasso paintings from when he was fifteen? They were hyper realistic portraits commissioned by rich merchants. It wasn’t until they mastered the basics that each of them developed their own style.

Writing is rarely a public sport. I think Substack is the current arena because any amateur is fair game. They say you don’t get good at this until you’ve written a million words, and here might be just the place to do it.