Things I Actually Want to Write About, Part 2
Oh god, not her again.
Hi, this may seem like a familiar thing. Martha’s writing a newsletter, again! Like for the fourth time! Yeah but I’m doing it differently, I promise.
The first time I tried a personal newsletter, it was mildly successful but it was very edited. I PAID an editor (who is great and I still work with her on other things) to look through what should have been at most, my journal entries. I don’t need to fuss about the location of a comma. It really does not bother me, and if it bothers you - you’re in the wrong place bucko. It was also hosted on Substack, which while fine, the platform is at best problematic and no one on there seems to acknowledge it? Like creators on there will briefly be like “Oh yeah, oops” and then rebrand their newsletter? What I’m trying to say I guess, is that I’m trying to limit the overall dystopia I am experiencing.
The second time I tried, I made it all about Formula 1 and while that is a passion and interest of mine, there are too many damn content creators in that space who do a FAR better job at it than me. And that’s okay! Not everything I have to do has to be monetized, and that is a lesson I have had to drill into myself a whole bunch of times. It’s like a weird disease. If I get an idea, I will immediately plan out 5 ways to turn it into a viable business.
AND IT HAPPENED AGAIN TODAY. I was thinking how nice it would be to have post surgical recovery boxes with places for meds and items you need and have it be easily transportable (especially if you’re on crutches or a walker). I do not need to do that! But hey, a free business idea for you.
The second and a half time I tried, I wanted to start a vampire podcast with a friend and also have accompanying essays with it. But my newsletter habits come down to this: I was really only doing those things because I wanted to a) make money off of my ideas, and b) get invited to Formula 1 races and/or movie premieres. Which, by and large, aren’t really good ideas to do something - I admit it! (My first newsletter ever was titled something about how I wanted to be an influencer. Cringe!!!)
So now, I just want to write. Mostly from my couch. Which, if I had to describe my couch to you, I would tell you that it is not anything special and to maybe look elsewhere for a better couch. One that is comfier, and not beige, and not suede. There are probably 20 other different couches you’d want to buy before this one, just like there are probably 20 other things you want to read before my musings (read: rantings?).
But in case you are here and you found this somehow, here are some examples of things I want to write about (once a week, on Tuesdays!):
How to recover from various surgeries
The follow up: how awful it is not to blow your nose for an entire week
Living at the house your mom owns that you rent, but she doesn’t live there, but runs her business out of
Losing friends
The hobby of novelty
Finding a good doctor
What I’ve learned from trying to write a memoir but then actually just turning that into a newsletter
Things I wish I was better at
Learning how to parent a 7 year old that is your partner’s child
Often feeling like no one likes me
Minnesota
Why does everything seem to be in South Minneapolis?
Consuming too much information and what it is doing to my brain
Starting a joint savings account
Various memoir chapters that I have written
Why the FUCK am I sweaty all the time
And more! See you on Tuesday.
Ever intrepidly, Martha