Tom Beck | Paragraph

Tom Beck

tombeck.eth

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Jan 31

New essay on artistic criticism. Is art subjective, intersubjective, or objective? And what might the answer mean for how and what we create. https://paragraph.com/@driftless/is-there-objectively-good-writing?referrer=0x33514A171B0eC657a0237Dd388fAA4f39eE2a2E4

\ \ The Driftless\ \ Is There Objectively Good Writing?\ \ An all-too common position today when it comes to the arts (and creative work in general) is that quality is subjective. The individual consumer’s perception is paramount, and all attempts at subjecting art (1) to criteria of quality feel wrong, somehow, mostly because nobody can agree on what those criteria should be in the first place; and because art is always changing. I was inspired to write this essay after reading Clancy Steadwell’s note below. I’m not sure if he’s entirely serious her...](https://paragraph.com/@driftless/is-there-objectively-good-writing?referrer=0x33514A171B0eC657a0237Dd388fAA4f39eE2a2E4)

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Jan 23

I'm going to try a seasonal rhythm with creativity this year. It feels healthier than doing everything all at once all the time.

I've been reading Virginia Woolf's diary this month, and you can see this approach across her life. Each book follows a similar pattern:

\* Idea nurturing — no writing, lots of reading, an idea identified and nurtured \* Writing — active, focused attention on the book \* Editing + promotion — drafts to friends, proofs, interviews \* Rest — vacations, plus "easier" writing (criticism, essays)

You can track her emotions through the phases, too: nervous anticipation, intense focus, anxious exhaustion, then finally ease.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Jan 14

One of the personal side effects of the decline and fall of the Farcaster scenius is that I have run out of writing ideas.

I didn't appreciate until now how much of my writing on Paragraph was informed by direct conversations on this network (or things that I was reading here).

It's a personal reminder that creative work does not exist in a vacuum; it is informed, nurtured (or smothered) by the context in which one creates. Finding and maintaining good sources of inspiration is an important aspect of creative work.

Also that value is not always monetizable. How would you monetize (or even measure) a social network that "inspires other people to create more"? It's a hard problem: and so, "the falcon cannot hear the falconer; things fall apart"

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Dec 21, 2025

New essay: "Touching Snow"

On health scares, winter walks, and what happens when you can't stop thinking about your body. https://paragraph.com/@driftless/touching-snow?referrer=0x33514A171B0eC657a0237Dd388fAA4f39eE2a2E4

\ \ The Driftless\ \ Touching Snow\ \ There is nothing more clarifying—and more terrifying—than a health scare. Something (I do not yet know what) happened to me one night in late November. My body, which for thirty-eight years had been humming quietly beneath my awareness, a small cat hidden beneath a blanket, purring gently, suddenly betrayed me. The purr became a snarl. Something thrashed about beneath the covers. I came away wounded, but how, where, and how deeply, remains to be seen. When your body speaks to you like this, y...](https://paragraph.com/@driftless/touching-snow?referrer=0x33514A171B0eC657a0237Dd388fAA4f39eE2a2E4)

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Nov 22, 2025

Greatness can't be planned. The stepping stones don't look like the endpoint.

New essay using Picbreeder (a genetic art experiment) and Melville's whaling voyage to explain why carefully planned careers fail, and what to do instead.

https://paragraph.com/@driftless/melville-and-his-mfa-by-sea

\ \ Melville and His MFA by Sea\ \ There has been a recent discourse on Substack about the uses and disuses of an MFA. Do you need one? Is it, actually, bad to have one? Is MFA-literature a genre, in the same way that horror or fantasy, or romance are? Is there a cabal of evil MFAers who are strangling contemporary literature in the cradle by refusing to publish anything other than their narrow circle of friends? Does getting an MFA ruin your writing? And so on. The true answer—as true answers tend to be—is boring. Having or n...](https://paragraph.com/@driftless/melville-and-his-mfa-by-sea)

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Nov 13, 2025

ChatGPT talking to Sam Altman ~2035. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aulMPhE12g

- YouTube\ \ Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

6 3 1

tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Nov 6, 2025

After promising to write more essays a few weeks ago, I immediately started on the next one: a summary of Dorothea Brande's book, "Becoming a Writer."

However, in teasing out her ideas around integrating different personalities, I began to realize that the critical voice in my head was not mine—but something else.

After multiple rewrites, this strange essay emerged. It's about writing platforms, genius, egregores, and the voices in your head.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Oct 7, 2025

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Oct 7, 2025

Looks like the whole point of the Sora app is resurrecting the dead.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Oct 3, 2025

Today is my birthday and I just published what is probably my most personal essay.

I believe I’ve spent the last 6 years running away from my own writing success, mostly because I had internalized pervasive ideas around writing difficulty and struggle. I was chasing different online platforms hoping for a silver bullet because I did not want to embrace what might, in fact, be my natural form: writing essays.

https://paragraph.com/@driftless/writing-through-denial?referrer=0x33514A171B0eC657a0237Dd388fAA4f39eE2a2E4

\ \ Writing Through Denial\ \ For six years, I've been abandoning successful writing platforms the moment they started working—not because they failed, but because it wasn't the specific success I was looking for. I thought I was chasing better opportunities. I was actually running from my natural form.](https://paragraph.com/@driftless/writing-through-denial?referrer=0x33514A171B0eC657a0237Dd388fAA4f39eE2a2E4)

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Sep 19, 2025

Those who can't love are afraid of grief.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Sep 19, 2025

PMF is a good framework + goal for writers and creatives, too.

It's the same idea but usually referred to as "finding your voice" or developing your "creative signature." Same concept.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Sep 17, 2025

Does anyone else have a terrible Covid novel shoved in a drawer? Or, just me? 😅

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Sep 12, 2025

News and social media is an entirely different country. A different planet, even.

I would even go so far as to describe the entire Internet as a collective creative project. A vast novel (or, perhaps a better analogy, a video game) that everyone participates in (some a little, some a lot).

But while we would generally not confuse a novel about 1920s New York with the lived experience of people in 1920s New York, we confuse the Internet of now with the lived reality of now all the time (mostly because the feedback loop is so tight).

We are all Don Quixotes, tilting at windmills, book-mad and unaware of the stories that have infected our brains.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Sep 10, 2025

I wrote a new story. This one is a ghost story—but with a twist. https://unnerv.ing/p/the-ghost-of-keg-and-cask?publication_id=1755248&post_id=173278625&isFreemail=false&r=544i0&triedRedirect=true

\ \ The Ghost of Keg and Cask\ \ Proof that ghosts are real](https://unnerv.ing/p/the-ghost-of-keg-and-cask?publication_id=1755248&post_id=173278625&isFreemail=false&r=544i0&triedRedirect=true)

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Sep 5, 2025

Jorge Luis Borges on timeless beauty in writing. "A beautiful line of verse should be beautiful today as it was centuries ago."

He's pointing toward an objective standard for beauty in art, an idea that has (somewhat ironically) fallen out of style.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Aug 28, 2025

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Aug 27, 2025

I wrote a new story about a company trying to grow infinitely large. A bit of Borges meets Office Space. Check it out if that sounds interesting to you.

https://unnerv.ing/p/infinity-org

\ \ Infinity Org\ \ A letter from the President and CEO of Anderson Lake detailing a bold new initiative for the future](https://unnerv.ing/p/infinity-org)

17 4 1

tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Aug 24, 2025

“My brain is sliding down to my shoulders.” - my three-year-old, getting ready for nap, describing how tired he is.

21 2 4

tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Jul 27, 2025

I wrote a new essay about how and why it’s so difficult to pay artists.

I’ll be honest: this was a hard essay to write. I started it six months ago, and after 4,000 rambling words, gave it up. It was too depressing.

But I wanted to share, especially in light of all these new tools that are trying to monetize creative work. A map of some of the difficulties might be helpful. https://paragraph.com/@driftless/why-artists-cant-get-paid?referrer=0x33514A171B0eC657a0237Dd388fAA4f39eE2a2E4

\ \ Why Artists Can't Get Paid\ \ An exploration of the structural problems that keep artists financially struggling despite unprecedented tools for creation and distribution. From winner-take-all dynamics to the passion premium, this essay maps the many pitfalls that prevent creative work from becoming sustainable careers - and why tech platforms promising to solve these problems often make them worse.](https://paragraph.com/@driftless/why-artists-cant-get-paid?referrer=0x33514A171B0eC657a0237Dd388fAA4f39eE2a2E4)

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Dec 2, 2024

Festina lente. Latin for “make haste slowly.” A wonderful slowcore defense of procrastination by Nassim Taleb in his book, Antifragile.

I’ve found procrastination to be a powerful (and poorly-understood) tool. Waiting helps reveal what is actually important. Everything feels urgent in the moment but rarely is. Learning to delay action filters out the irrelevant.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Nov 30, 2024

The best part about Thanksgiving dinner is repurposing the leftovers all weekend long.

The turkey goes into soup, and the mashed potatoes are turned into fritterra for breakfast.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Nov 29, 2024

With an infinite protocol, everyone is always early.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Nov 28, 2024

Today is my two year anniversary on Farcaster. I still feel a little bit like an outsider who wandered into the wrong party—but less and less.

frame by @cashlessman.eth

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Nov 26, 2024

Right on time for a religious upswing in the back half of the 21st century.

America seems to go from swings of religious fervor to hard secularism every 100 years or so:

Late 1600s - Puritans, religious hysteria, witch trials Late 1700s - Founding fathers, enlightenment deism, "separation of church and state" Late 1800s - Great awakenings, Methodist and Baptist movements, abolition, temperance movements Late 1900s - "End of history" neoliberalism, counter-culture, second wave feminism, atheism

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Nov 10, 2024

Horseshoe theory of circadian rhythms: we are all trying to get to the soul-cleansing quiet of 3 am.

Early birds approach it by getting up earlier and earlier; night owls by trying to stay up later and later.

Only the insomniacs reach the promised land with any consistency.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Oct 31, 2024

Happy Halloween! Why not read some creepy stories tonight? 👁️ I have a new one that was just published in "The Witch House" volume 4 (titled "Open the Door") alongside a roster of delightfully unsettling stories.

Check it out (it's probably the finest thing I've written yet): https://witchhousemag.blogspot.com/2024/10/witch-house-4-now-available.html

\ \ Witch House 4 Now Available!\ \ Witch House 4 is now available as a free PDF. It can be downloaded HERE . Please share far and wide! Thanks to all our excellent contributor...](https://witchhousemag.blogspot.com/2024/10/witch-house-4-now-available.html)

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Oct 30, 2024

When life gets busy, I have to remind myself to just go slow. Usually this means subtracting activities (like casting).

But I'm moving into a quieter season season shortly and look forward to more time spent here.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Oct 7, 2024

Web3 will solve curation, and it will be done by reinventing the magazine.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Oct 1, 2024

1. Write stories 2. Write stories 3. Write stories 4. Write stories 5. Write stories

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Sep 24, 2024

I took a photo of the witch’s hat tower in Minneapolis.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Sep 24, 2024

Nice to see my latest article featured in this @paragraph round-up.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Sep 17, 2024

Setting objectives is so common in our culture, that we hardly even notice it. When you want to accomplish something, the first step usually involves setting a clear objective—a goal with legible, preceding steps.

But when you approach achievement in this way, something counter-intuitive happens: you make it less likely that you will accomplish your objective. The more ambitious the goal (like creating something great), the more setting an objective will hurt you.

What should you do instead? Follow what's interesting. Search for novelty. Do what feels fun. Because there's no guarantee that you'll ever reach your intended destination.

But if you keep going, you may find something you never expected.

Read the full essay here: https://paragraph.xyz/@driftless/why-you-should-not-set-goals?referrer=tombeck.eth

Why You Should Not Set Goals\ \ In one of the most interesting books I've ever read, Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned: The Myth of the Objective, authors Kenneth O. Stanley and Joel Lehman dismantle the widely-held view that to accomplish anything of importance, you must first set it as an objective—a specific goal with clear, legible, preceding steps. Our reliance on objectives is everywhere, from education to business, government to finance, and even science, art, and technology. Even the word objective encompasses a dual ...

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Sep 15, 2024

“Ohhh that’s gonna be really super good!” - my two-year-old when he saw me come home with pumpkin spice ice cream.

20 1 2

tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Sep 14, 2024

Creativity is a type of search.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Sep 13, 2024

This but it’s Don Quixote

39 28 4

tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Sep 8, 2024

I just sold my first story!

"Open the Door," a horror story, will be published in The Witch House, volume 4, coming late October. 🐈‍⬛ 🌙

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Sep 1, 2024

True luxury is not knowing what time it is.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Aug 28, 2024

At last I have written something. All is right in the world. 😇

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Aug 27, 2024

I took a photo of a rainbow.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Apr 7, 2024

New story on The Unnerving about the Apple Vision Pro. Check it out:

(note: this is not actually a review; it is creepypasta)

https://open.substack.com/pub/unnerving/p/visionary

\ \ Visionary\ \ A review of the Apple Vision Pro—a totally normal device and not at all a dystopian prelude of horrors to come.](https://open.substack.com/pub/unnerving/p/visionary)

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Apr 7, 2024

I wrote up a review of the Apple Vision Pro. I don't usually write reviews for tech products, but in this case, I had to.

It's better than anything I could imagine. Better than looking at the real world. I wear it all the time—even when I sleep!

https://open.substack.com/pub/unnerving/p/visionary

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Apr 2, 2024

Instead of craft, focus on play.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Apr 2, 2024

A lovey poem about the passing of time. @debbie

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Apr 2, 2024

This is exactly why writing is slow. If you only measure time spent hammering out words, you’re missing most of it.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Apr 1, 2024

My newsletter is live on @paragraph

I reposted my manifesto where I lay down my beliefs on writing: slowness over speed, rest over hustle, exploration over goals, obscurity over fame, difficulty over ease, failure over success, and silence over noise.

If you believe in this, too, I'd be honored if you subscribed.

1 0 1

tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Apr 1, 2024

I've launched a Paragraph newsletter! 🚀

At @danicaswanson’s urging, I've reposted my manifesto and launched The Driftless: a place to host my thoughts on writing, creativity, and the shifting "creator economy."

Check it out—read, mint, subscribe:

https://paragraph.xyz/@driftless/against-the-creator-economy

\ \ Against the Creator Economy\ \ There is a Catch-22 in the “creator economy” and it goes like this: publish consistently at a high velocity (preferably every day) so that you get enough eyeballs so that enough people subscribe so that enough people pay you so that you can create full-time so that you have enough time to publish co](/content/@driftless/against-the-creator-economy/index.html)

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Mar 30, 2024

Happy Easter. Spring always brings me back to the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Mar 26, 2024

I wanted to share this piece here. It feels relevant to some good discussions recently with @danicaswanson @les @mark42 and others about writing pace—the virtues and benefits of going fast or slow.

https://open.substack.com/pub/countercraft/p/on-productivity

\ \ On Productivity\ \ Some thoughts on writing, writing a little, and writing a whole damn lot](https://open.substack.com/pub/countercraft/p/on-productivity)

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Mar 24, 2024

Kid A is a fantastic snow day album.

What are other good snowy records? I’ve got about 48 more hours of this. ❄️

https://youtu.be/L7p47zYKJoM?si=nAsc4LoLoE7aPlGn

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Mar 18, 2024

Today I learned that when you make homemade marmalade and wing it, you make hard candy instead.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Mar 9, 2024

At @kepano’s suggestion, I recently wrote a manifesto.

I discovered I was not acting in accordance to my beliefs when it came to writing online.

I realized I was chasing something that was impossible—and meeting only burnout. I needed a change.

https://open.substack.com/pub/unnerving/p/a-manifesto-for-failure

\ \ A Manifesto for Failure\ \ Welcome to The Unnerving - Year Two. Here things will be different.](https://open.substack.com/pub/unnerving/p/a-manifesto-for-failure)

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Mar 6, 2024

I love this poem from Bob Hicok’s new book, “Water Look Away.”

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Mar 5, 2024

Curiosity is the precursor to intelligence. If you want to be smarter, cultivate curiosity first.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Mar 2, 2024

There’s a Catch-22 in the creator economy, and it goes like this:

Publish consistently and relentlessly, so that you get enough attention, so that you get enough followers, so that you can monetize your work, so that you can create full-time, so that you can publish consistently and relentlessly.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Feb 26, 2024

Any fans of Thomas Hardy here? I recently started The Return of the Native.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Feb 26, 2024

Barred owl in my backyard, last May.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Feb 5, 2024

Feeling a ton of gratitude for all the support, understanding, and encouragement here.

You are all wonderful people. ❤️

https://warpcast.com/tombeck.eth/0xb12aa7f1

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Feb 4, 2024

I’ll say it: losing the active badge hurt.

It felt like a rejection. Like I was rejected from a core piece of this community.

My rational brain says: who cares? It's just a popularity contest. It doesn't mean anything.

But it's actually more than that. The badge is like a passport to the Farcaster ecosystem.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Jan 5, 2024

Any tips for sleep arrangements while traveling with an almost-two-year-old?

We'll be traveling through various hotels, so something fairly lightweight that we can transport.

Any recommended pack-and-plays? Something else?

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Sep 5, 2023

Ratatouille is better the day after.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Aug 30, 2023

If I lost my active badge does that mean I’m no longer in the arena?

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Aug 17, 2023

The Unnerving is coming soon!

What is it? A collection of creepy tales. Last year I wrote 52 short stories and I’m excited to share them in my new Substack.

What’s it all about? Check it out here:

https://unnerving.substack.com/about

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Aug 2, 2023

Does it go in the history channel or the meme channel? 🤔

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Aug 2, 2023

The problem with online fiction is that you can’t tap into the native features of the medium, namely, hyperlinks.

In fiction, the author creates a dreamscape for the reader to inhabit. Even the smallest interruption to the narrative flows dismantles the fragile dream.

Hyperlinks are a hard break.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Jul 27, 2023

Evolution needs death to function.

Death is a feature, not a bug.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Jul 24, 2023

You are not one person but (at least) two.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Jul 18, 2023

These aren’t the vibes you’re looking for.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Jul 13, 2023

The Unnerving is coming soon! A collection of creepy stories inspired by the works of Shirley Jackson, H.P. Lovecraft, and Jeffrey Ford.

Over the past year, I’ve written a ton of short stories, and I’m excited to start sharing them!

The first story drops September 8. Subscribe here: https://unnerving.substack.com

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Jul 12, 2023

GN meme channel

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Jul 7, 2023

The best thing about Threads is that it’s a Twitter clone. The worst thing about Farcaster is that it’s a Twitter clone.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Jul 7, 2023

My one year-old son knows only a handful of words. They include popsicle, Costco, and Don Quixote.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Jul 6, 2023

It’s funny because I joined Farcaster in November.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Jun 28, 2023

Build in public. Create in private.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Jun 1, 2023

I’ll put this one on the fridge. 😂

chain://eip155:1/erc721:0x9340204616750cb61e56437bEfC95172C6Ff6606/304

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

May 31, 2023

Today I wrote my 52nd story! One new story every week for the last year. 🥳

Now, what to do with them? 🤔

Some ideas: - Post them to Substack - Post them to a different newsletter (Paragraph? Mirror?) - Post them somewhere else (static site?) - Publish in trad journals

What's the new angle for creative fiction?

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

May 24, 2023

This is why it's called the em dash.

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

May 23, 2023

I created an AI Balenciaga video. 😅

It was a fun experiment and a great way to play around with the tools. ChatGPT prompts to Midjourney is quite addicting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aByEIuj6aDo

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

May 1, 2023

Pretty surreal, dream-come-true type experience to see my self-published poetry chapbook for sale in a local bookstore. https://i.imgur.com/IIAPo51.jpg

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tombeck.eth](https://paragraph.com/0xf647d081bb4498ad217bd65aff9e694f039c7a20)

Apr 18, 2023

"Two Trees" by Don Paterson. From the September 2007 issue of Poetry. https://i.imgur.com/iVqkm9j.png

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