Tom McCarthy: The Secret to Writing Is Buying Better Paper
Moby-Dick and the Indefinite Sublime: On facing the white page
In a 2026 Santa Fe Institute lecture, novelist Tom McCarthy explores the sublime in Moby-Dick, linking Longinus and Burke to the novel's blanks, silences, and indefinite whiteness. He shares a dream-email from Miranda July with advice: 'If you want to write more, buy more paper. If you want to write better, buy better paper.' The essay argues that thinking, like the sea, is shoreless and indefinite.
If you want to write more, buy more paper. If you want to write better, buy better paper. And most importantly, the first sentence of the book should be indented.