Fahrenheit 451 With Less Flame

Preserving Fiction in a Chaotic Era

The Peculiar World of Substack Authors

Authors on Substack are like the literary rebels at the end of Fahrenheit 451. You remember the scene, right? Montag escapes the burning city and stumbles upon a group of intellectuals who have chosen to memorize books, preserving them for a world that might someday value them again. Well, that’s us—Substack authors—preserving the craft of storytelling in an age when the very fabric of fiction is under threat from AI, social media, and crumbling traditional publisher models.

Ray Bradbury once said, “First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him.” And while that’s solid advice, here on Substack, we’re doing more than that—we’re actually having conversations with our characters! We’re nurturing them, refining them, and sharing their stories with a community of fellow authors, keeping the flame of creativity burning despite the pressures threatening to snuff it out.

But let’s be honest—we’re an odd bunch. Rene Volpe describes us perfectly in his Offbeat Chronicles with his warning about the dangers of overthinking: “Are you an Overthinker? (It’s) The double-edged sword that could destroy your life.” If we’re not careful, we can lose hours spiraling into research rabbit holes, tweaking sentence structures, or overanalyzing plot twists. Still, there’s something satisfying about it, even if it leaves us with less to show at the end of the day than we planned.

Are you an Overthinker?

And Prester John nailed it in his Dispatches from the Golden Horde when he described Substack as “the expats of every other social media site, like a digital FEMA camp.” It might sound extreme, but Substack does feel like a haven for writers exiled from traditional platforms, where we’re free to collaborate, critique, and share our work without the noisy distractions of algorithm-chasing or influencer culture. We may not be making tons of money (or any at all), but we’re honing our craft and preserving the art of storytelling—one short story, episodic novel, flash fiction or Haiku at a time.

Substack’s eclectic mix of collaboration tools feels like a creative refuge for exiled writers. We’re not here to get rich (though it would be nice), but to build our audience, refine our skills, and keep the craft of storytelling alive. It’s a self-made space for authors to preserve the storytelling craft in an age dominated by social media and shrinking attention spans.

Keep the Fiction Flame Burning

So here’s to all the Substack authors, typing away in their corners of the world. We may not be raking in the cash, but we’re doing something even more important—we’re keeping the flame of fiction burning for future generations. Keep writing, keep overthinking, and keep creating stories that matter.

Is it hypocritical for Characters on Call to claim a goal in helping rescue storytelling from AI? It’s not, and here’s why. The chatGPT-style AI models can produce endless streams of sample plots, dialog, cliffhangers and twists. Characters of Call provides chats with your character that get you into flow state where your own talent can get the job done.

Ready to Collaborate With your Characters?
Subscribe for free, request your free character profile, and start spending more time in flow state.