Welcome to My Backshop

How one man had an idea and ran with it

Hello future readers,

My name is Naum Milyavskiy and I am a filmmaker and transmedia artist based in Los Angeles, California.

So what am I doing on Substack? Here’s a non-exhaustive list of reasons:

1. I enjoy writing for the sake of writing

2. I enjoy sharing my writing for the sake of sharing

3. I don’t have a current platform through which I could share my writing

That’s pretty much the core of it. But maybe you’d like to know why I called my substack “the backshop.” It’s a phrase that comes from one of my favorite writers, Michel de Montaigne.

Montaigne wrote in the 1500s and wrote without many inhibitions. He coined the term “essay,” which to him was a simple attempt to express his thoughts in writing. In an essay on solitude, Montaigne suggested folks keep a room in the back of their shop where they could retreat to think and write. I think he was onto something.

So, taking a leaf out of Montaigne’s book, I plan on keeping a back shop here on Substack.

It is here that I’ll share my humble musings on the world. And write about some current and past projects. It’ll be a good, medium-speed form of expression. Writing as reflection, and reflection as writing.

And how often will I post? We’ll see. As often as I feel I need to retreat into this space to express something bubbling up, and when 280 characters won’t do.