I’m not sure if this is lazy or genius but I have just turned my ‘About’ page into an article. I’m new here so go easy on me if this doesn’t comply with Substack etiquette.
Who am I?
My name is David. I am a Dad to three wonderful children, husband to a beautiful wife, and bottom of the pecking order in a home that includes the aforementioned family members as well as - at the time of writing at least - two dogs, two cats and a hamster. Or maybe it’s a guinea pig, I don’t know. She looks like a mouse, her name is Izzy and she sleeps all day and makes a lot of noise all night.
What is Diary of an Ordinary Man?
A weekly publication, documenting the often inane, occasionally exciting but always honest life of an ordinary man.
How often will I publish?
Once per week in normal circumstances, possibly twice a week if something so exciting happens that I can’t wait any longer to share, and occasionally I will go quiet for a couple of weeks when the pressure of putting words on a blank page becomes too much.
Why am I doing this?
This is a battle I have with myself regularly. There’s not much I excel at in life. Go kart racing is one exception. Although at 40 years old and several stone heavier than I ought to be, there is the ever increasing likelihood that I might not make it to Formula One. The second exception is finding humour in the the monotony of daily life and turning that humour into stories. I have always done it, but haven’t always shared it. Occasionally when I do share it, I get requests for more. But rather than listen to the 95% positive feedback and give the people what they want, I succumb to the 5% of negativity and hide it from the world.
I left school at the earliest opportunity so never learned how to write properly. I think I was off sick the day we learned what verbs and nouns are and never really caught up with it. The only way I remember is by singing the opening two lines of Tear Drop by Massive attack.
So what I am trying to say is that I feel because I’m not a ‘proper writer’, I shouldn’t be sharing this stuff publicly. However I also know people like it when I do. So this is me ignoring the inner doubt and putting myself out there. If you enjoy, please subscribe. And if it doesn’t meet your literary standards then no harm done, thanks for giving it a try.
How can I help spread the word and get your page seen by more people?
How thoughtful of you! Subscribe to my page, engage with my content or tell one person you think might relate to it. Here is a good starting point, a story I wrote a few years ago when my wife and I were young dumb and broke, travelling across America and almost not living to tell the tale!
Insightful, David admitting to what so many of us writers do.
This ==> "But rather than listen to the 95% positive feedback and give the people what they want, I succumb to the 5% of negativity and hide it from the world."
Negative Nellie and No-Way Ned are our own worst enemies hiding within our self-talk RAM, the random access memory of our thoughts.
Damn! That's good. I think I'll make that a note!
Write on, David!
"I left school at the earliest opportunity so never learned how to write properly. I think I was off sick the day we learned what verbs and nouns are and never really caught up with it. The only way I remember is by singing the opening two lines of Tear Drop by Massive attack."
Superb.