In this episode of New Material, Hamza announces the launch of his new blog, (https://hamzak.com/) marking a return to his writing roots. Inspired by Herbert’s daily writing practice (https://herbertlui.net/), Hamza reflects on his feelings after years of instrumentalizing his creative work and seeks to reclaim writing as a liberating, personal act. Herbert shares his approach to maintaining a 1,400+ day writing streak, emphasizing low barriers (writing five original sentences counts as a blog post), generative creativity over explosive bursts, and writing for joy rather than optimization. They discuss the “trance of ambition” and how it can, sometimes, get in the way of creative fulfillment. They consider blogs as calling cards rather than revenue sources, and discuss how to resist the urge to over-format or instrumentalize every post. The conversation explores how to maintain creative discipline while avoiding the trap of turning every personal moment into content, with both hosts celebrating the return to authentic, unoptimized expression.

Useful links:

• Dance With Your Darlings (via Hamza’s blog)

• Stop exploiting yourself (via Herbert’s blog)

  The asymptotic queue (via Herbert’s blog)