What
This is the first post of A Flood of Ideas, the Substack of the writer M. Flood. You're probably wondering what this is all about. Quite simply, my aim is to provide my subscribers with diverse, thoughtful essays that are not in the slightest bit of the moment, are focused on things of permanent value, and try to “think the next thought,” rather than score points in cultural wars or affirm tribal allegiances in the contemporary, so-called discourse (also known as Pandaemonium)
Less modestly, my ambition fot this Substack is to be a home for writing worth reading 10, 100, and 1000 years from now. To that end, my goal is to write things that are worth rereading. I cannot promise to deliver on that every single post, but I will do my best to make the reading (and rereading) worth your time.
The focus on things worth rereading applies to what will be a regular feature of this Substack: once a month I will post book and essay recommendations. These will only be for books and essays I have read twice through (as in I finished the book, flipped back to the beginning, and started reading again). In addition, these recommendations will include essays by me exploring, expanding, and synthesizing upon ideas in the readings, so you can have a recommendation of something well worth your time to read, and something thought-provoking to read along with it.
Who
I think that autobiographical criticism has serious limits in comprehending any author’s works. As such, I'll say the most important facts up front:
My name is M. Flood
I am a writer
My education was in philosophy
I write primarily fantasy, science fiction, horror an weird stories
More relevant to this Substack is “why are you writing this?” Harlan Ellison said, of authors who claimed they preferred having written to the act of writing, “you picked the wrong fucking profession, buddy.” I am very much not that type of writer.
I love writing: coming up with ideas, putting words together on a blank page, and then revising and rewriting them to make them just right. In full honesty, it is my favorite activity: I will give up a lot of other pleasures and pursuits to do it. I realized that I had no choice but to be a writer, and have set myself the goal of becoming as good as I possibly can at the work. While gainfully and happily employed, my ultimate goal is to have my writing becomes my job. Starting this newsletter is the first step towards that goal.
Whom
Whom is this Substack for? Every writer needs to target audience or audiences in mind, and I am writing for readers who:
Like to read
Are interested in reading science fiction, fantasy, horror, and weird stories. As my stories are published I will post links to them, and occasionally have special stories just for this Substack
Want to read essays more substantial and of greater consequence than the “content” that fills most contemporary websites
Desire a break from the immediacy and emptiness of the news and the commentary on the news, and the endless cultural wars that accompany it
Are looking for recommendations for books and essays that are worth reading at least twice
Believe that thinking well is important, and that we can learn to do it better. I'll regularly be writing about the nature of human cognition, how it works and doesn't work, and ways it can be modestly improved
Are not intimidated by mathematics; I have always found it natural to think quantitatively, and to express myself the same way. I promise all of these mathematical explanations and models will have a verbal explanation as well, and I will strive to keep anything more advanced than Algebra I confined to footnotes
If you fit into one or more of the above categories, I invite you to subscribe.
I am looking forward to this blog!