The optimistic opposite of flat is multi-dimensional. You are many faceted. You just have to let one of the facets take the wheel. The others will help steer.
Congratulations on your third anniversary, Michael (they used to be called Blogversaries, maybe they still are). Here’s to your next 40,000 subscribers, dude!
I’ve only been subscribed for a short time, but you can count me among your biggest fans. I don’t come here for jokes, because you’ve made me cry too. Call it honesty, whatever it is, you’re just a damn good writer.
Thank you! I've never heard the term blogversaries, but I wasn't really part of the golden age of blogging. But hey, let's keep the term. It's a good one. Also, thank you so much for joining the Situation Normal community. Your comments are always such a pleasure. One other thing: be on the lookout for the next podcast. You're gonna hear one of your comments referenced on the pod!
Nov 5, 2023·edited Nov 5, 2023Liked by Michael Estrin
Anyone who writes humor (or anything, probably) knows that flat feeling. At least, I do. I can’t force funny. And stress/feeling down/burned out is the funny killer.
Fortunately, I don’t write epic, funny, intelligent essays about my life each week like some Substack writing wizards do. Instead, I knock out short (often humorous) fiction and “one minute wit.” And slap three of them into a newsletter once per week. And keep my day job. I have a fairly large stockpile of stories and “one minute wit” nuggets in a Scrivener file. So it is easy for me to schedule several weeks ahead and slay the deadline dragon. Then there is almost no pressure to write. I can wait until I am inspired. I also currently write a serial but I post chapters whenever I write them. No schedule. No deadline.
I know my method of newsletter writing probably isn’t helpful to you (or very lucrative. 🤨) But taking breaks helps me, also. Walking is a great idea generator and soul refresher for me too. Or I focus on other creativity (mostly music) when writing feels flat. Beats cleaning toilets.
Anyway, congratulations on three years. It is a major accomplishment. 🤓
Thank you, Mark! And you make a good point about physical activity beyond cleaning toilets. Walking and yoga are my go-to types of exercise. Both always make me feel better.
Oh yes!! Thank you Michael! I feel flat a lot when it comes to writing. I’m newish on Substack (but not new as a writer). Fascinating to see that procrastinating and writer’s block are BIG consistent themes here. I guess that makes me feel better or more relaxed or something. Glad you posted this week!
1. When I’m feeling flat--and I love your word for this feeling--I get in the shower and sing/ howl or get outside and take a long walk in the woods. Or I go to a coffee shop or another public place to surround myself with people energy, even if I don’t feel like it. Key is to get out of your own head and shake, or wash, off the flats.
A new font is a perfect gift for a newsletter’s birthday! Also, people energy and nature energy are both great advice. But I LOVE the singing in the shower tip! Thank you, Christina!
I just want to say that I loved this essay and I think it was one of your best and most relatable. I'm so glad you wrote about the feeling of flatness. If anything, it just demonstrates how great a writer you are. You make flat interesting!
Love your jokes but also love to read your serious thoughts. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Chris! I am so glad this one hit for you. Hearing that means a lot. Also, as I wrote that procrastination line, you were foremost in my mind.
Every situation normie should go read this piece Chris wrote about procrastination, then subscribe to Bright Spots.
1. I too feel flat these days, and I know we're not alone. I don't think there's a quick or even temporary fix. You just keep going and eventually the vibe shifts.
2. I don't have time for such luxuries.
3. Fancy podcast microphone.
4. I listen to The Economist in audio while cleaning my bathrooms. Strong recommendation.
5. Only when the liar gets caught.
7. Yep. Really good production value. I can hear the Todd effect.
I think you’re right. Just keep going and eventually the vibe shifts. Nice to know The Economist audio version pairs well with household chores. I wonder if their editors know that?
1. Of course - I often feel flat. Usually I sit in it until I get fed up with myself, then I put one word after another until I have something. Or I play with my grandson.
2. I’ll get back to you.
3. Something from Fisher-Price. A third birthday is a third birthday.
4. I usually sing; something soulful, or “Barnacle Bill The Sailor.”
5. Yes, when it’s held up to truth. See the scene between Mel Brooks and Bea Arthur in “History of the World Part One.”
Happy 3rd birthday to SN! Imho I don't think it matters if you're flat or bumpy or hexagonal, the most important thing is you keep showing up for your ppl/readers! That is a major achievement. Also these are freaky deaky times. Maybe being flat is a sign of yr sanity or relatively good mental health. Anyway, I am cheering for you: & I wrote a v nice review abt yr new podcast on Apple podcast app, using that cool link you provided at top of newsletter. HBD, rock on.
Sometimes flat is the move. There’s a lot of wisdom in this answer, Gabe. Always appreciate your perspective. Also, really appreciate you leaving a review of the podcast!
That flat feeling is one I recognize. It's best not to fake it so I'm glad you wrote about it. In my own life, periods like this one usually precede a surge of creativity or a new turn in direction. It's as though the psyche is going into brief hibernation where we empty out and let things be quiet..it's not always pleasant to come face to face with myself at these times. When it breaks though, I can usually see and hear with new appreciation. I appreciate this post very much. Congratulations on your Substack birthday! I will listen to my first Estrin story on the podcast tonight.
Thank you for this! Every word. Your comment makes me feel hopeful, and I think I need that right now. Here's to that creative surge. Enjoy the podcast & thank you for reading and listening🙏
We are here to PUMP YOU UP!! Just kidding. Flat is ok. It makes the non-flat days that much better. Speaking of flat, I did the opposite of flat today. I hiked up some major hills, more like steep ass sides of mountains. I could hardly wait to get to the flat part. So, sometimes you wish for flat. And flat is actually better than the hills--especially if you're going up. I'm not funny, but you are even when you're flat and not a hill. Hills are to die on. You don't want to go to the hill. Stay on the flat. There's always next week! And happy third birthday!!! WOOT WOOT! It gives me hope that if you keep at it the readers will come. Congratulations.
Kim, thank you for picking up the GIF and running with it! That's one of my favorite SNL sketches. Also, I love what you're saying about the flat parts of the mountain. Sometimes I go on hikes in the hills around Los Angeles. Nothing too crazy. But enough to get up above the city and take it all in. I'm always eager for the flat parts on those hikes.
“people read Situation Normal because they trust me to tell the truth, and OK sure, the truth is funny, or rather, it’s funny because it’s true, but really, the main thing is that it has to be true, above all else.”
This is EXACTLY right, ME. And I enjoyed this week’s post as much as any of your others, because of what you said here.
But I do also feel flat and I very much relate to this post because I’ve been struggling with the very same thing: my newsletter has taken on a “funny” quality, and my readers seem to love that about it, which then makes me feel like I have to keep being funny, and turn into a funny factory, but the truth is, I don’t always feel funny. Your post this week is a good lesson for me: give the people what you’ve got. If it’s authentic to you, it’ll be well-received. And also, even your post on being flat had some amusing tones to it.
So, thank you for your honesty. I got more from it than you probably ever intended, and isn’t that nice? 😊
Amy, it is so NICE to know that you got a lot out of this one. Thank you for saying that! Your comment about humor in your newsletter is really interesting. I think we make this odd distinction in public between funny and serious. Mostly, I think funny and serious each have their place, but I think it's good, sometimes, for one to intrude on the other. Comedy has gotten a lot more serious in recent years. Maybe that's a good thing?? I don't know. But serious spaces seem to be even more serious. Earnest times, I suppose. But I try to inject humor into the serious stuff too because I have this fear that if we take something too seriously, we can't see the absurdity in a lot of problems. This probably a good topic for an essay at some point, but I guess what I'm getting at is that I appreciate serious stuff with a dash of humor because it makes everything more human and approachable. But I also appreciate serious stuff in comedy because it grounds comedy and gives it the heart that makes it meaningful. Does this make sense, or am I rambling? Both can be true, I suppose, but give it to me straight 🤣
I felt so much of this today, Michael. Our spirits process life's ebb and flow in a similar "real shit" way, it seems.
1. I do. But I call it feeling Grey. Or Gray. Not kidding, I look up what spelling is correct every time and the internet always tells me "both." Either way, I've been in a stretch of Greigh lately. Hoping to bust out of it soon. I plan to clean out my closet today. So... I get that part of putting off the work doing something valuable. I GET IT, man.
2. Yes and no. I'm a catastrophizer, so I see a project's failure before I even start. That causes temporary paralysis during which I can't take any steps forward on a project. It's annoying AF, as you can imagine.
3. I support the giving of cake and socks. Happy birthday, SITCH NORMZ!
4. I think about how I'm the only one in my house who thought the toilet needed to be cleaned, and how disturbing that is, given the state of the toilet when I get to cleaning it.
5. I'm a truth teller, too. Lies feel like pranks to me. Both make me very uncomfortable. Meanwhile, I lie to myself without shame all the time. But those lies aren't very funny. Just mean.
6. He-man. It was awkward, but we got over it. Eventually.
Holy shit, Meg! Not only do we seem to process the ebb and flow of real shit in a similar way, but we also have to google the spelling of gray / grey every time we use that word. Do you think we are related? Maybe a mix-up at the hospital? How solid are you on your origin story? I'm checking my birth certificate. Also, thank you for those wonderful comment! I'm not quite sure how old SN was when you joined, but I do know that the newsletter is so much better with you here!
fortunately enough and for most people unflinching unguarded honesty is the foundation most good things are built on in your case it allows for us to see a uniquely nuanced and extremely entertaining take on the world around us and in a way which excludes really only the deeply unfunny amongst us (there must be an Easter Island for those people where the stone statues stand mute, perpetually frowning in exile heh) i would caution conflating "flat" with the "blues" because the latter is a necessary catharsis which has created so much joy over the years it needn't be explained further but i will anyways: when you turn yourself inside out you expose the inner vulnerable parts like hands not used to scrubbing toilet bowls to new sensations, perhaps even strategies. The blues sets you free and IMO are far preferable to the flatness which is also natural self protection but more of an aneasthesia , a numbing buffer....this piece really explains what i assume many feel exactly on here trying to pull weekly rabbits out of a hat that was finally left out too long lately in the manure pile of accumulated sad and bad news ...again you did what you normally do even without the hysterical undercurrent we have come to expect (ok DEMAND so like uhhh get your shit together!!!) universal, real and connecting the dots at the same time hey if michelle pfeiffer can do it so can you right?
thank for this! you make a damn good point about the difference between flatness and the blues. appreciate you setting me straight. also, i just wanna say, it's always a pleasure seeing you in the comments. working on getting my shit together!
The optimistic opposite of flat is multi-dimensional. You are many faceted. You just have to let one of the facets take the wheel. The others will help steer.
Excellent metaphor. That describes what I think I do but like your take on the matter!
Thank you, Christie! I really love how you put this!
😂😂😂
Congratulations on your third anniversary, Michael (they used to be called Blogversaries, maybe they still are). Here’s to your next 40,000 subscribers, dude!
I’ve only been subscribed for a short time, but you can count me among your biggest fans. I don’t come here for jokes, because you’ve made me cry too. Call it honesty, whatever it is, you’re just a damn good writer.
Thank you! I've never heard the term blogversaries, but I wasn't really part of the golden age of blogging. But hey, let's keep the term. It's a good one. Also, thank you so much for joining the Situation Normal community. Your comments are always such a pleasure. One other thing: be on the lookout for the next podcast. You're gonna hear one of your comments referenced on the pod!
No way! I will be there!
WAY!
Anyone who writes humor (or anything, probably) knows that flat feeling. At least, I do. I can’t force funny. And stress/feeling down/burned out is the funny killer.
Fortunately, I don’t write epic, funny, intelligent essays about my life each week like some Substack writing wizards do. Instead, I knock out short (often humorous) fiction and “one minute wit.” And slap three of them into a newsletter once per week. And keep my day job. I have a fairly large stockpile of stories and “one minute wit” nuggets in a Scrivener file. So it is easy for me to schedule several weeks ahead and slay the deadline dragon. Then there is almost no pressure to write. I can wait until I am inspired. I also currently write a serial but I post chapters whenever I write them. No schedule. No deadline.
I know my method of newsletter writing probably isn’t helpful to you (or very lucrative. 🤨) But taking breaks helps me, also. Walking is a great idea generator and soul refresher for me too. Or I focus on other creativity (mostly music) when writing feels flat. Beats cleaning toilets.
Anyway, congratulations on three years. It is a major accomplishment. 🤓
Thank you, Mark! And you make a good point about physical activity beyond cleaning toilets. Walking and yoga are my go-to types of exercise. Both always make me feel better.
Oh yes!! Thank you Michael! I feel flat a lot when it comes to writing. I’m newish on Substack (but not new as a writer). Fascinating to see that procrastinating and writer’s block are BIG consistent themes here. I guess that makes me feel better or more relaxed or something. Glad you posted this week!
Thank you, Debbie!
1. When I’m feeling flat--and I love your word for this feeling--I get in the shower and sing/ howl or get outside and take a long walk in the woods. Or I go to a coffee shop or another public place to surround myself with people energy, even if I don’t feel like it. Key is to get out of your own head and shake, or wash, off the flats.
3. A new font?
4. Cleaning the toilet is crap.
A new font is a perfect gift for a newsletter’s birthday! Also, people energy and nature energy are both great advice. But I LOVE the singing in the shower tip! Thank you, Christina!
I just want to say that I loved this essay and I think it was one of your best and most relatable. I'm so glad you wrote about the feeling of flatness. If anything, it just demonstrates how great a writer you are. You make flat interesting!
Love your jokes but also love to read your serious thoughts. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Chris! I am so glad this one hit for you. Hearing that means a lot. Also, as I wrote that procrastination line, you were foremost in my mind.
Every situation normie should go read this piece Chris wrote about procrastination, then subscribe to Bright Spots.
https://open.substack.com/pub/chrisduffy/p/do-nothing-and-then-panic-my-technique?r=1fqhx&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
1. I too feel flat these days, and I know we're not alone. I don't think there's a quick or even temporary fix. You just keep going and eventually the vibe shifts.
2. I don't have time for such luxuries.
3. Fancy podcast microphone.
4. I listen to The Economist in audio while cleaning my bathrooms. Strong recommendation.
5. Only when the liar gets caught.
7. Yep. Really good production value. I can hear the Todd effect.
I think you’re right. Just keep going and eventually the vibe shifts. Nice to know The Economist audio version pairs well with household chores. I wonder if their editors know that?
1. Of course - I often feel flat. Usually I sit in it until I get fed up with myself, then I put one word after another until I have something. Or I play with my grandson.
2. I’ll get back to you.
3. Something from Fisher-Price. A third birthday is a third birthday.
4. I usually sing; something soulful, or “Barnacle Bill The Sailor.”
5. Yes, when it’s held up to truth. See the scene between Mel Brooks and Bea Arthur in “History of the World Part One.”
6. Ah, using the “Dobrenko Blank Space,” eh?
7. I began. I will continue. I’m procrastinating.
I’m so glad someone took note of the Dobrenko blank space, and I’m really glad it was you. Thank you for making me smile!
Happy 3rd birthday to SN! Imho I don't think it matters if you're flat or bumpy or hexagonal, the most important thing is you keep showing up for your ppl/readers! That is a major achievement. Also these are freaky deaky times. Maybe being flat is a sign of yr sanity or relatively good mental health. Anyway, I am cheering for you: & I wrote a v nice review abt yr new podcast on Apple podcast app, using that cool link you provided at top of newsletter. HBD, rock on.
Sometimes flat is the move. There’s a lot of wisdom in this answer, Gabe. Always appreciate your perspective. Also, really appreciate you leaving a review of the podcast!
That flat feeling is one I recognize. It's best not to fake it so I'm glad you wrote about it. In my own life, periods like this one usually precede a surge of creativity or a new turn in direction. It's as though the psyche is going into brief hibernation where we empty out and let things be quiet..it's not always pleasant to come face to face with myself at these times. When it breaks though, I can usually see and hear with new appreciation. I appreciate this post very much. Congratulations on your Substack birthday! I will listen to my first Estrin story on the podcast tonight.
Thank you for this! Every word. Your comment makes me feel hopeful, and I think I need that right now. Here's to that creative surge. Enjoy the podcast & thank you for reading and listening🙏
You’re not alone Michael! I’ve been feeling flat too. The whole world feels flat 🌏🫠 (but not actually, very round indeed).
Thank you for saying that, Sabrina. The world will turn and the flatness will fade.
We are here to PUMP YOU UP!! Just kidding. Flat is ok. It makes the non-flat days that much better. Speaking of flat, I did the opposite of flat today. I hiked up some major hills, more like steep ass sides of mountains. I could hardly wait to get to the flat part. So, sometimes you wish for flat. And flat is actually better than the hills--especially if you're going up. I'm not funny, but you are even when you're flat and not a hill. Hills are to die on. You don't want to go to the hill. Stay on the flat. There's always next week! And happy third birthday!!! WOOT WOOT! It gives me hope that if you keep at it the readers will come. Congratulations.
Kim, thank you for picking up the GIF and running with it! That's one of my favorite SNL sketches. Also, I love what you're saying about the flat parts of the mountain. Sometimes I go on hikes in the hills around Los Angeles. Nothing too crazy. But enough to get up above the city and take it all in. I'm always eager for the flat parts on those hikes.
I know flat. I hear you. Flat for a month. Avoid the news. 🙏
Yeah, I generally have a rule: no news before noon and no news before bed either. These days, it's tough to stick to that rule.
“people read Situation Normal because they trust me to tell the truth, and OK sure, the truth is funny, or rather, it’s funny because it’s true, but really, the main thing is that it has to be true, above all else.”
This is EXACTLY right, ME. And I enjoyed this week’s post as much as any of your others, because of what you said here.
But I do also feel flat and I very much relate to this post because I’ve been struggling with the very same thing: my newsletter has taken on a “funny” quality, and my readers seem to love that about it, which then makes me feel like I have to keep being funny, and turn into a funny factory, but the truth is, I don’t always feel funny. Your post this week is a good lesson for me: give the people what you’ve got. If it’s authentic to you, it’ll be well-received. And also, even your post on being flat had some amusing tones to it.
So, thank you for your honesty. I got more from it than you probably ever intended, and isn’t that nice? 😊
Amy, it is so NICE to know that you got a lot out of this one. Thank you for saying that! Your comment about humor in your newsletter is really interesting. I think we make this odd distinction in public between funny and serious. Mostly, I think funny and serious each have their place, but I think it's good, sometimes, for one to intrude on the other. Comedy has gotten a lot more serious in recent years. Maybe that's a good thing?? I don't know. But serious spaces seem to be even more serious. Earnest times, I suppose. But I try to inject humor into the serious stuff too because I have this fear that if we take something too seriously, we can't see the absurdity in a lot of problems. This probably a good topic for an essay at some point, but I guess what I'm getting at is that I appreciate serious stuff with a dash of humor because it makes everything more human and approachable. But I also appreciate serious stuff in comedy because it grounds comedy and gives it the heart that makes it meaningful. Does this make sense, or am I rambling? Both can be true, I suppose, but give it to me straight 🤣
You’ve the mind of a philosopher, my dear sir. So, as Dobrenko would say, BAT. I agree with all of it.
That's very kind, but I don't know about the philosopher mind. My grades in that subject were nothing to write home about.
I felt so much of this today, Michael. Our spirits process life's ebb and flow in a similar "real shit" way, it seems.
1. I do. But I call it feeling Grey. Or Gray. Not kidding, I look up what spelling is correct every time and the internet always tells me "both." Either way, I've been in a stretch of Greigh lately. Hoping to bust out of it soon. I plan to clean out my closet today. So... I get that part of putting off the work doing something valuable. I GET IT, man.
2. Yes and no. I'm a catastrophizer, so I see a project's failure before I even start. That causes temporary paralysis during which I can't take any steps forward on a project. It's annoying AF, as you can imagine.
3. I support the giving of cake and socks. Happy birthday, SITCH NORMZ!
4. I think about how I'm the only one in my house who thought the toilet needed to be cleaned, and how disturbing that is, given the state of the toilet when I get to cleaning it.
5. I'm a truth teller, too. Lies feel like pranks to me. Both make me very uncomfortable. Meanwhile, I lie to myself without shame all the time. But those lies aren't very funny. Just mean.
6. He-man. It was awkward, but we got over it. Eventually.
7. Duh squared. 💜
Holy shit, Meg! Not only do we seem to process the ebb and flow of real shit in a similar way, but we also have to google the spelling of gray / grey every time we use that word. Do you think we are related? Maybe a mix-up at the hospital? How solid are you on your origin story? I'm checking my birth certificate. Also, thank you for those wonderful comment! I'm not quite sure how old SN was when you joined, but I do know that the newsletter is so much better with you here!
fortunately enough and for most people unflinching unguarded honesty is the foundation most good things are built on in your case it allows for us to see a uniquely nuanced and extremely entertaining take on the world around us and in a way which excludes really only the deeply unfunny amongst us (there must be an Easter Island for those people where the stone statues stand mute, perpetually frowning in exile heh) i would caution conflating "flat" with the "blues" because the latter is a necessary catharsis which has created so much joy over the years it needn't be explained further but i will anyways: when you turn yourself inside out you expose the inner vulnerable parts like hands not used to scrubbing toilet bowls to new sensations, perhaps even strategies. The blues sets you free and IMO are far preferable to the flatness which is also natural self protection but more of an aneasthesia , a numbing buffer....this piece really explains what i assume many feel exactly on here trying to pull weekly rabbits out of a hat that was finally left out too long lately in the manure pile of accumulated sad and bad news ...again you did what you normally do even without the hysterical undercurrent we have come to expect (ok DEMAND so like uhhh get your shit together!!!) universal, real and connecting the dots at the same time hey if michelle pfeiffer can do it so can you right?
thank for this! you make a damn good point about the difference between flatness and the blues. appreciate you setting me straight. also, i just wanna say, it's always a pleasure seeing you in the comments. working on getting my shit together!