Matthew Clapham
2 min readMay 30, 2024

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Similarly, Zivah. Though it tends to be more a couple of pots and pans than the entire kitchen sink.

But the 'Hmmm... That was okay, but I need something new now' feeling is certainly one I share. I seem to have passed that gene on to my daughter, unfortunately. Or fortunately - nomadism is, after all, our natural human state.

On Medium, as I wrote recently, I've also explored different genres, and now feel fairly settled with my stuff on Spain, language, (mainly 80s) music, a spot of political philosophy.

And the pub.

This is both reassuring and - of course! - a new source of angst.

Because I know it won't last, and I'll start getting fed up. And I'm not sure where else I can go from here.

I feel the greatest long-term potential comes from the pub. It's a very different feeling, because rather than doing stuff just for my own amusement, I'm also working with and for other writers, trying to do the best I can on their behalf. That sense of community, loyalty and service helps make it feel worth continuing. I can see a future in which I write very little, but keep Iberospherical going as my main activity here on Medium, and maybe fill my creative time with work on a single book. If I can decide which one I want to pursue, because that would require the focused deployment of the kitchen sink, draining board and dishcloth drawer to do properly.

So my advice - for what little it is worth - would be to think about the possibility of setting up a pub on some topic you care about, and inviting your Medium community to join in.

I think that could generate a sense of critical mass and focus which you might find beneficial. I would certainly be keen to contribute, if it was within any of my areas.

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Matthew Clapham
Matthew Clapham

Written by Matthew Clapham

Professional translator by day. Writer of silly and serious stuff by night. Also by day, when I get fed up of tedious translations. Founder of Iberospherical.

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