The Curtain Falls on The Comic Muse

Dear Friends,

In the end, it comes down to the fact that there is other writing that is more important to me, that has more of a claim on my limited time and attention.

This is to explain why you haven’t seen many posts from me in 2026, and why I have decided to step away from writing here on the Substack newsletter I have called The Comic Muse.

I am a writer of fiction, drama, and philosophy. Which means I am committed to more than one very demanding craft, any of which could deservedly insist upon all of my available energies. The practice of these crafts is what I am called to be as a writer, and so they brook no rivals.

For me, writing on Substack has shown itself to be such a rival. Not only because it takes time and effort away from other writing, but also because it is its own species of writing, one with its own criteria of excellence, its own medium of expression, and its own kind of audience. To write on Substack well, I have discerned, I would have to make much more of an effort than I have hitherto made to master its particular craft. But such mastery is simply not a priority for me. Other crafts have my allegiance.

However much I have connected, and look forward to continuing to connect, with audiences online, my best and my most enjoyable writing has always been on offline platforms, and I take that as a sure sign of the kind of writer I am called to be, and of where I should concentrate my endeavors.

None of which diminishes the gratitude I feel for all of you who have read, encouraged, and supported my writing here on Substack over the years. I thank you profoundly for your sympathetic considerations of my work.

And though I have thanked them privately, I would like here publicly to thank all those who have been paid subscribers to The Comic Muse. Your special encouragement and maintenance of my work has been truly outstanding, and so much appreciated.

For those who haven’t yet made contact with my non-Substack writing, you might be interested in knowing about my novel, The Good Death of Kate Montclair, and my book: Beauty & Imitation: A Philosophical Reflection on the Arts.

I am also pleased to announce that the follow-up to Beauty & Imitation, a work tentatively entitled The Artist’s Wisdom: A New Vision of Creativity for Our Time, is scheduled to appear from Word on Fire Academic in the summer of 2027.

I will provide updates on the publication of The Artist’s Wisdom, and of my other writings, too, in Substack Notes. Which means that I won’t be utterly disappearing from Substack, even if my appearances will be only occasional.

I will also maintain this website here on Substack, but only in the most basic way, as something of a digital business card. But I will no longer be contributing posts.

Blessings upon you all, and thank you once again for your generous attention to my work here on Substack.

I hope we’ll stay in touch!

Sincerely,

Daniel McInerny