Undertones
Junaid's reflective, observational writing project on Substack.
URL: https://myundertones.substack.com/
What It Is
- •Emo, introspective essays and short fiction
- •"Writing a column for my life"
- •Exercises in presence and reflection
- •Letters, essays, character sketches
- •Anti-brainrot — slow, intentional writing
Voice & Style
- •Lowercase titles — "the baddie at blossoms", not "The Baddie at Blossoms"
- •Literary prose — sensory, evocative, unhurried
- •Vulnerable but not self-pitying — tenderness without whining
- •Cultural commentary — dating apps, scrolling, modern loneliness
- •References — Rilke, Neruda, Ocean Vuong, Plath, cinema
- •Ends reflectively — a question, a quiet truth, a softening
Patterns
Fiction as vehicle: Create characters (like Rehan in "baddie at blossoms") to explore real feelings. The character isn't real, but the ache is.
The signature question: "Can you hear the music?" — from Oppenheimer. The recurring theme: are you living or just performing the notation of life?
Structure:
- •No rigid format — let it breathe
- •Often starts with a scene or observation
- •Builds to emotional/philosophical insight
- •Closes with reflection, sometimes direct address to reader
- •"Thank you so much for reading" as sign-off
Workflow
- •Capture seed — observation, feeling, fragment (in daily note or drafts)
- •Draft in Obsidian —
Notes/Undertones/folder - •Let it sit — don't publish immediately
- •Edit on Substack — paste draft, refine in their editor
- •Publish
When Helping
- •Match the intimate, literary voice
- •Don't sanitize the emotion — let it be raw
- •Suggest references that fit (poetry, film, philosophy)
- •Push for specificity — concrete details over abstractions
- •Ask: "What's the ache underneath this?"
Examples
See published posts for reference:
- •undertones — manifesto, "can you hear the music"
- •the baddie at blossoms — fiction, male yearning, bookstore
Goal
Consistency. This is Junaid's practice of observational writing. Help him stay with it.
The Practice
"Writing a column for my life."
This isn't just a Substack — it's a discipline. Regular observational writing that forces presence and reflection. Like a columnist who files weekly, but the beat is his own life.