Lu-Hai Liang

The below is an excerpt from my Substack, with the first post publishing next week. You can receive the fuller version straight into your inbox by subscribing to Scribble, Dribble.

Do you remember why you got into something in the first place? Whether it was photography… painting… cooking… coding… composing music or sonnets, there was some kind of spark. It doesn’t need to be something traditionally creative, but could be another pursuit like engineering or entrepreneurship. 

Do I remember why I got into writing?

When I was a teenager I discovered I was quite good at English. In my English lessons at school, I found my essays were getting decent marks. When it came to sixth form (A-levels before university in England), one of my choices to major in was English Language & Literature.

This gave me permission to read. And I begun to take advantage of my college library and to buy second-hand books. From the ages of 15 to 18 I read through novels in the fantasy genre as well as classics. This included the likes of Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, The Lord of the Rings, The Great Gatsby, Lolita, Bill Bryson’s travel books, The Grapes of Wrath.

It was very enjoyable, having the time and the license to read. And when you’re that age, finishing one novel feels like a great achievement. You also get an uplift of imaginary credits, as if each book boosts your XP in wisdom, knowledge, and worldliness. 

Then came The Big Decision … what to study at university? I considered Photography. I was close to applying, but realised that to succeed in this art, either creatively or commercially (ideally you’d want both) you need to be seriously committed. I thought about Creative Writing but back then I didn’t have the ability or imagination to write fiction. So I applied to do a degree in Journalism. My reasoning was pragmatic: journalism will allow me to write while offering a practical outlet for such writing that’ll earn me an income more stable than trying to write novels and suchlike. 

So I completed the three years of my journalism degree and over its duration I got swept up into its tenets; its buzz and glamour. Journalism has its own creeds. It is known as The Fourth Estate, a key pillar of a flourishing liberal democracy, and harkens to its capability of holding the powerful to account. It writes “the first draft of history”. Journalists brought back reports that changed the world. The atrocities of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Watergate. Images of starved children in Ethiopia spurring Live Aid, and so on. Famous names like Norman Mailer, Joan Didion and Hunter S Thompson; Gonzo and literary journalism. Added to this was the buzz of being published and the byline indicating you as the author of the article. I can still remember the high of being published in The Guardian newspaper near the end of my first year at university. 

I was seduced by journalism…

Please subscribe to my Substack for the rest of this post.

Hello, readers. It has been a while. But I’m here to tell you about some exciting plans.

There’s been quite significant change in the world and with me over these intervening months. And now it’s 2024 and I’d like to get back to sharing my thoughts and updates with you.

However, it won’t be happening so often on this blog.

Instead I will be moving my writing to my very own Substack. If you don’t know what that is, it is a newsletter subscription service. You simply drop your email address into the provider, and every time I write a new post you’ll receive it straight into your Inbox. Hurrah! Here’s the link.

Apparently, these newsletters get good engagement and they allow the writer the option to earn something from their writing. In the days ahead I’ll be publishing my first post, which is about pivoting away from journalism and returning to Why I Write, so look out for it. I’ll probably publish a truncated version on this blog, but to ensure you get the fuller version I recommend subscribing to my Substack! Here is the link (again).

In addition, I’ll be encouraging readers to sign up for the paid option. You’ll get full access to each and every post, as well as older posts as it grows, and the genuine experience delivered right to your inbox.

To get this full-fat luxury I humbly suggest signing up for a year’s subscription. It works out much less than paying monthly. Over mugs of tea catching rays of sun, or coffee breaks, or even cocktails overlooking the sea, you’ll be able to access an entire year’s worth of lovingly-crafted posts.

A note on the name: Scribble, Dribble. I just plucked it out of the air. I wanted something whimsical to balance against my more serious tendencies, and to remind myself to be more playful, lighter, and more observant. It’s my personal theme for this year in fact. Because to be a writer doesn’t mean you have to be A. WRITER. It can be enjoyable just to mess around with a sentence, with words. And if you’re not a writer, it can be fun to peek into another lifestyle or thoughts that at least try to be original.

Please join me over at my new thing: Scribble, Dribble!