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☕ Happy Saturday, friends.

I was a small kid.

Throughout my time at school, I was always a few inches shorter than everyone else. I was shrimpy, weedy, unathletic. I was usually the last one to be picked for any sports team and the first one to get put out of any challenge at PE. My eyesight deteriorated at a young age and I had to wear glasses from the age of 8, which only exacerbated my uncool image.

I was also super dorky, at least in comparison to my closest friends. I loved cartoons. I loved drawing, and reading. I was a dinosaur nerd. At holiday resorts, I was the one who stayed inside, sketching and writing and reading graphic novels while all the other children were outside splashing in the pool.

By all accounts, I should have been a prime target for bullies. But for whatever reason, the scariest kids in my school year tended to protect me rather than hunt me down. Maybe I was just so small they felt I wasn’t a worthy target, or I was just that charming. Either way, my school years were mostly good. I look back on them fondly.

I was a small kid. But as an adult (who’s still pretty vertically-challenged), I try my best to avoid being a small creator.

And when I say “small”, I don’t mean in terms of how my followers or subscribers I have, or how many posts I publish, or how much income I generate from what I create.

I’m talking about my mindset.

I don’t want to be a “small” thinker when it comes to how I view myself as a creator and, crucially, I don’t want to have a “small” attitude to other creators.

A “small” attitude towards others might manifest itself as jibes, mockery, or the active tearing-down of fellow writers and creators on a platform. Attacking others by quoting their posts or lines from their articles solely to degrade their reputation. Calling out other creators for using an unconventional approach you disagree with, even if that approach actually works and does no harm to anyone else. Creating parody content purely to mock someone who was simply trying to help others by sharing their experience.

Sadly, this is becoming a more frequent occurrence. It’s happened to me, and I’ve seen it happen to others. It’s infuriating.

And unfortunately, the “bullies” tend to be those with bigger audiences the gatekeepers who’ve been on the platform longer. I think they see smaller, newer accounts as easy pickings, users who don’t yet have the platform clout to avoid being targeted, or enough followers to rally behind them in support. They know there’ll be no serious repercussions for sizing the little guys up in their digital crosshairs — no-one’s coming to save them. It’s just like shootin’ fish in a barrel, ma.

And I’m pretty sure the driving force fuelling that need to tear others down is fear. Fear that others have hit upon something you missed. Fear that they’ll do just fine without you. They’re a threat and they need to be neutralised.

As I’ve already said, school was a mostly positive experience for Wee Dave (one of several clever nicknames branded on my over-large forehead at the time). I had plenty of very good friends, who’re still some of my best mates to this day. But one incident has always stuck with me. Every so often, it swims back to the forefront of my memory and I’m forced to momentarily relive it.

Midway through high school, a good chunk of our year group went on a trip to Alton Towers, a theme park in England. It was where I rode my first roller coaster, and quickly realised I love them. One thing I didn’t love, however, was the moment I tried to step into an elevator with a bunch of my classmates on our way to the pool, and one of the bigger boys shoved me back out. The guys smirked, the girls sniggered. The doors closed, and Wee Dave made his way down to the pool via the stairs.

That seems like a pretty apt metaphor for what’s happening right now on most internet platforms. Creators step enthusiastically into a new space and are immediately pushed back by the larger ones who’re already there. There’s no room here, squirt. This is our place — you’re not welcome.

As a young teenager, that theme park experience left a mark. I’m a tough lil’ son of a gun now, but back then, that sort of blatant rejection hurt like hell.

Kids can be mean. Adults should know better.

If you have a decent-sized audience on a platform and you know you’re doing well there, use your influence to help others rather than actively try to hinder their progress. Offer advice. Share their content. Choose to be kind when cruelty is the easier option. Don’t kill your reputation by trying to squash other people.

A rising tide lifts all boats. Let’s help others hoist their sails instead of trying to sink them.

Imposter Syndrome is my fourth novel. It’s a spooky young adult mystery set in the weird town of Shady Springs, where nothing’s ever quite what it seems. Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing serialised instalments of the story exclusively on Substack. You can read the first portion here:

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Thanks for spending a little time with me this Saturday morning!

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Have an amazing weekend! 😊

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