The good creatures

A check-in on the good ones

I’ve been here for the last three weeks or so. My entire timeline on this app is short, yet abundant. I truly am milking Substack.

There’s something, though, that I entered this domain to track. I came in intentionally, a woman set out on a mission to collect data (the texture of who resides here), and have since been swept away in a series of love stories with writers’ works. Their work has changed both how I view the platform and myself.

My brain: Silly girl, don’t you know you get sucked into social commentary faster than Fancy Nancy with a grandiose idea?

Ooh la la!

But here’s something I picked up right away:

As much as I complain about hierarchy, there are some genuinely good creatures here. I don’t think the goodies get enough spotlight. I want to share with you a few of the people I delight in on this Substack. Creatures of substance. And since my tastes are broad and vast, people who the algorithm may not bless you with encountering. So let me play god for a moment.

I’ll start with a creature whom I quickly clocked as— ‘oh, we’d have been good internet friends in the 2000s’ Absolutely.

That is:

Rebecca Watson (ReBe)

This woman can write. When I first encountered her, we were talking toots, and I loved that she dabbles in the sillier side of life. That is craft. It’s also what makes her someone who, when her work pops up, I click on immediately. I don’t read a lot of things, and very few all the way through. My brain loves to devour and savour her work because she leaves enough nuggets to keep me satiated until the next hit.

However, I’ve recently dug into a few of her other pieces, and I’m delighted by what I’ve found, especially the one below. No spoilers, ya toots.

Stay weird isn’t just her work, it’s her heart, and it’s pure and delightful. Read her latest:

It Thinks It’s Me

"Stupendous... that's a fancy word for great!" - Fancy Nancy

Next up is:

Barbro (aka Moa)

This is a woman who will walk you through an experience she has danced in, before the invitation is made. That is safety. Intimacy is what I entered her world through, and I told her, you make me jealous. I realize now it’s envy, because the passion in her words is… just plain killer.

And then the more I read, the more I began to realize this is someone whose depth is unanchored (but, like, in a healthy way). I feel her work in my sternum, and that’s a rare and magnificent gift for me.

Give yourself the chance to feel something.

Her words will leave you breathless, regardless of the context. Read her latest:

Poem: Chuck Palahniuk wrote that the word talent is like heroin to the young

"Why don't we go somewhere fancy tonight?" - Fancy Nancy

Next up is:

Rishard Allen

This creature is changing how I see people. I think his first message to me was something along the lines of “why were people mean to you?” while I stood in dragon’s fire in a comment thread. Rishard is not only a lovely human being but an insanely talented writer. I could never be more fond of a story about three dogs, intrigued about a man who loves fake boobs, or charmed by the way he folds who he is into stories that have more depth than a void of knowing.

I can’t fully grasp all the nuances, and my brain delights in that unknowing.

His work will leave you perplexed in that sort of delighted, dreamy way. Read his latest:

What does success look like to you ?

"Posh... that's a fancy word for fancy" - Fancy Nancy

Next up is:

Michael Mortimer

Michael Mortimer is saving us from the AI apocalypse, and his writing is a doorway into how we can all survive.

He doesn’t even write about AI, but I need you to understand: He’s joined our circus, and there will be a pension plan.

But truly, Michael does something that I haven’t seen or felt since I was a kid reading adult fantasy, and he doesn’t WRITE adult fantasy (I don’t think? Prove me wrong, Michael). Michael takes people on a fucking JOURNEY in his work. And he does it in the same way as authors who were always way too good for their time, not just as writers but as human beings. Modest af, and sincerely resplendent.

He doesn’t know I read his work, because I usually take a few days to process what I’ve read. For the resistance and the circus, I’ll share these impacts with you all later on. I’m still digesting this one:

Three Knocks

“A princess is supposed to keep her tiara on“ - Fancy Nancy

Next up is:

The Adult Orphan

I was going to keep this neat and tidy at four, and then I remembered, Jesus H, I can’t forget what I read just this morning, and I cannot forget the man who wrote it.

The A.O. is one of those writers who sneaks up on you with this sort of smooth, calm sincerity, and then discovers the line and spreads truth like butter on it. That is a strange metaphor, but I can’t think of another way to describe his writing. I was immersed this morning, sitting in the sun, drinking Crystal Light with him and his grandparents, as I read the latest chapter from his memoir (below).

Someone who sees the world and shares it, all of it, without being cruel.

Enough of me. Read his latest:

Chapter 16 WAKE UP!

“Papillon... that's French for butterfly” - Fancy Nancy

—

I like doing this. I might do more, as many more people’s faces and work popped into my head as I was writing. So many. Too many.

You think I’m thinking of you? Maybe. Probably.

(Note of caution: If you do this, and I recommend you do, don’t do it with 10 tabs of articles yet-read open. If you’re like me, you’ll lose yourself, and a 4-minute post becomes a 90-minute internal struggle to avoid this becoming a 20-minute post because there are just so many amazing people here.)

Note note: If you’re feeling down, this really helped perk me up. Maybe it will for you, too, or maybe these amazing people will inspire you.

That’s the goal of this, anyway.

Who are some of your favourite creatures? Writers, non-writers, real, fictional.