In this second part of my interview with Marlon Weems, founder of The Journeyman newsletter on Substack, where he covers American culture, anti-Black racism, and growing up Black in the Deep South, we talk about the mindset side of writing, including:
- The best place to look for your closing paragraph
- How having to make cold calls for a living is excellent training for dealing with (read: ignoring) trolls
- The story of how he almost went to federal prison after getting entangled with some primo money launderers
- The story of how THAT story became one of Medium's best articles of the year (and has inspired Marlon to start writing a book)
- Why he has 50+ drafts of articles in his Notes app at any given time, and how he decides it's time for a particular article to see the light of day
- Writing to leave a legacy, and hearing the clock ticking as a motivator to keep going
- The myth that if you just work hard enough, anything is possible
- The difference between anti-Black racism in the North and in the South
Visit Marlon at thejourneyman.substack.com.
Thanks to this week's sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save up to 30% off an amazing indoor air filter and get a free 3-year warranty ($84 value).
For full show notes, visit katehanley.substack.com.
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Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley