Celebrating the first full season of Still Space—includes giveaways & guided tour!
Happy Birthday to me, and to you too! 🎈🎈🎈
I’ve never been a huge fan of birthdays as an adult, in fact I often have to take a considerable pause when anyone asks what I did to celebrate my most recent one because I genuinely can’t remember. My age too can be a bit of a mystery unless I press myself to really think about it for a second. I don’t really go in for obligated festivity (though I confess, I do love a ritual!) but it seems odd to me how excited I am to celebrate a year of being on Substack—or not, even as I wrote that it seems unreal to me, probably because of what that actually means in real terms:
A year of risk taking.
A year of artistic endeavour.
A year of dedication and commitment.
A year of trying something new.
A year of feeling the fear and doing it anyway.
A year of learning.
A year of growth and transformation.
A year of community and connection.
A year of defying the little voice that couldn’t.
It actually feels pretty momentous to have finally followed through on something that was so far out of my comfort zone. And more importantly, to have surrendered to the process, in the er, process. But come rain or shine alongside a full schedule of acting work (somehow the strike barely touched me), loss and grief, travel, unbelievably stressful life admin gumph, I have shown up and you have too. Thank you to every single one of you that has chosen to come along for the ride and support me on this journey through all the experimentation and tangents (and pivoting. My god, the pivoting.) Whether you’ve been here from the very beginning or you’ve just discovered my small patch of the internet—I love having you here.
In terms of my actual metrics thus far: 103 posts published, 3,000 plus subscribers - I hit that milestone only this week, Happy Birthday, indeed! And somehow I am just shy of becoming a best-seller. I’m not big on focusing too much on the numbers - shared a little on this already and more on that coming soon enough - but I can undeniably see an evolution from when I started out. This is a community that is growing alongside me as I dare myself to grow more into it. Again, THANK YOU, I cannot tell you how much your support means and compels me to keep going.
To celebrate, I am sharing all those pieces (with the exception of those that just provided links for our much loved but short-lived Cult Film Club) so 99 in all if my maths is correct (which I guess makes this post the true 100th! How very tidy) but in bitesize pieces, organised by mood! I thought about doing a shorter list of just my faves or the ones I thought were the best written but that felt disingenuous and actually I want to treat them all with equal reverence, as the stepping stones that propelled me forward that they are.
These 99 offerings can be dipped in and out of to get lost in as you please but consider this a bit of a mind library, a guided tour mapping out all the weird and wonderful avenues my imagination and curiosity have led me down over the past twelve months—getting lost is about right! But I’ve also discovered some gems along those meandering pathways, even if I was ultimately met with a dead end. I can promise you that if nothing else they are an eclectic collection so with any luck that means something for everyone, but I’m also hoping that you’ll find something new previously missed and maybe even something to inspire you! As ever I shall encourage you to let your intuition lead the way… I am also inviting readers to share their own small victories or things they’re celebrating in themselves this month in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!
Side note: if you’re into presents and you’re not yet a paid subscriber needless to say this is the best gift you could give me—this supports me and my work, lets me know you’re enjoying it and helps keep some aspects of Still Space free for all to enjoy (including my most popular offering, my monthly In Case You Missed It curations.) My suggestion is that if you find yourself lapping up at least three of the below pieces (I’ve temporarily removed tons of paywalls for you to properly be able to explore!) then you should sign up. Most of what I publish now is for full subscribers only and I recently reduced my subscription fee to as low as Substack would let me which I hope makes it much more accessible—currently £2.92 per month on the annual subscription. And Happy Birthday to You: for anyone that signs up as a paid subscriber or is already an existing paid subscriber within this birthday month of Feb (annual or monthly/ new or long-term), I am going to gift you a free month to say thank you proper, just make sure you’re subscribed below—this offer will be applied to your account on March 1st.
For free subscribers if you find yourself unable to cover the monthly fee for the time-being, please just email me sianclifford@substack.com with Free Month Please in the subject line and I will gift you a free month too so you can sample what’s on offer. You will need to be subscribed for me to do this so sign up below—you won’t be notified as Substack doesn’t do this yet so just check in periodically under your paid subscriptions settings for updates. I will get to each request as soon as I see them (usually within a few hours.) You can also choose to gift a subscription to a friend or loved one that you think might enjoy what Still Space has on offer.
Now then, let’s do this—Happy Still Space New Year! And happy wandering… (please note this post is best enjoyed on desktop rather than mobile where possible! For the visuals, ya know)
Feeling contemplative
Moody long-form deliciousness.
Feeling dreamy
Sleepy-mind meanderings.
Feeling overwhelmed
Learning to slow things down (a work in progress.)
Feeling in need of a challenge
Thought-provoking fayre.
Feeling in need of inspiration
Creative kick-starters.
Feeling stuck
Seeking permission to change direction.
Thank you so much for being here. If you enjoyed this piece and would like to support my work, the best way is by taking out a paid subscription. Gift subscriptions are also available.
Feeling disorganised
Spit-spot, Mary Poppins-esque resets.
Seeking funny/ Feeling friendly
Light-hearted and heart-filled easy reads.
Feeling open
More left-field interests.
Feeling nostalgic
Rebellious back to school vibes.
Feeling highbrow
Culture Vultures ahoy!
Feeling culty
Movie nerds rule.
Seeking something new
Recommendations station!
Feeling adventurous
Forget what you think you know.
Feeling curiouser and curiouser
Readings and writings from way way down the rabbit hole.
Feeling in need of a little stardust
Readings and writings from the far reaches of the universe.
I consider myself a very nostalgic person but also incredibly analytical. This makes for a perfect storm of constant self-enquiry and reflection but it’s been pretty magic to look back through all these pieces, to see what worked, what didn’t, what I miss, what I’m glad I left behind, the moments where my confidence grew, where it waned and also to bear witness to an inner evolution as it happened in real time.
Are you someone who looks back over their work periodically? Are you reflective or do you tend to look forward? If you’re someone who journals do you ever return to what you’ve written? What are you celebrating in your life right now? Any milestones? I’m a big fan of the small victory, I’d love to hear about any of those that are manifesting for you right now too.
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Thank you Emma, you are such a valued member of this community! Thank you for always being so generous with your contributions and of course I’m thrilled that this platform has supported you so much in your own adventure ✨✨✨
I have so so so enjoyed being among you Sian & all these gorgeous girlies. ❤️❤️
I’m not very good with words like you, but just know it means a great deal to me and has done since day 1.
I hope you keep writing forever !! Xxxxx