Salman Ansari
@salmanscribbles
embracing my inner polymath — writing, drawing, coding, playing
Salman Ansari
salman.io
From here, my recommendations go niche, and I want to make a case for why.
For any writer, but especially a writer of fiction, this is an arbitrage play. You don’t want to be reading the books that everybody else is reading. Possibly you don’t want to be reading the books that ANYbody else is reading. This is totally achievable; there are plenty... See more
For any writer, but especially a writer of fiction, this is an arbitrage play. You don’t want to be reading the books that everybody else is reading. Possibly you don’t want to be reading the books that ANYbody else is reading. This is totally achievable; there are plenty... See more
» From Advocate to Activist: Cheryl Alexander and the outsized influence of Takaya the Lone Sea Wolf
Kristen Weissprojectcoyote.org
I asked Cheryl what she thought was the most effective way to dispel people’s misplaced fears and animosity towards wolves, and replace it with awe and respect for life. She emphasized the importance of telling stories about individual lives like Takaya’s. Our tendency as humans is to glaze over when we are overwhelmed by numbers and statistics; but when we learn about the injustices faced by an individual, or the challenges they’ve overcome, we naturally build an emotional connection. Empathy takes root. That’s where real change can happen.
On how the Montana, Wyoming and Idaho wildlife policies have regressed to political goals rather than biological ones. They are aggressive and cruel, and not even effective.
On the extortion of sensitivity:
We also live in a culture that has warped sensitivity from the measure of our porousness to life — the openhearted porousness from which all creative work springs — into a means of manipulation, extorting sympathy and slack, unconcerned with creation.
I think that being an artist ultimately is about searching for a kind of freedom, a freedom of spirit, and a freedom in making. The moment when that is possible comes at different times for different people. You should never give up, because being an artist—there’s no one path to it. It’s not like some other fields. If you’re an artist, you’re... See more
When it comes to creativity, optimize for freedom
on juggling multiple projects:
it was actually the first time in my life where I’d really consciously been working on two projects. There’s sort of a nice procrastination effect; one of them is always easier than the other, so there’s always something to do.
—A Kendra Greene
Living a multi-pursuit life has kinda been my thing for a while. But I’m
... See more
A good summary of the positives from leaving Substack