Love this attitude toward writing - and while I think we can be critical with results and move toward a certain type of finished or valuable something - most of the importance for the writer is in the creating & if you get that right, it just might go somehwere --
"And I realized people are extremely forgiving when they can tell you are genuine, when they can see you are lost in it, presenting your truest self, and within this truest self, uncovering something universal—in this case, the ecstatic reverie of the guitar solo we all dream of as we air-guitar in the mirror. They were cheering for my triumph of trying, not my music."
i agree, in this instance i went back and critically saw it wasnt great. but if in the future i just keep going to kokomo, maybe there will be something.
I like this Motes invention. I recently ate at a place called Mad Yolks so even eggs can be mad and what I ate was mad good:)
Authenticity is the human part of the show, it’s the connection with the person that matters so if the person isn’t inside the person performing there’s this kind of generic quality that doesn’t leave a lasting impression.
I could keep going. Compiling these are great because some of the notes this mote draws from didn’t end up on my feed even though I subscribe to you.
One of the things I enjoy most about your writing is how my initial takeaways are often different from the point you make, so I get a 2-for or 3-for 1 out of the scene or story. I remember that happening in The Big T several times. Loved the guitar solo story. I couldn’t help think about how the roar of a crowd can be both an accurate and false measure of quality, depending on the medium. I’d like to think writing is more like music than sport in that ultimately, the crowd (readers) want most to be entertained.
Like this format. Hope you continue posting these.
thanks matt. I like to think that it's because my writing doesn't deal in absolutes or hardness, which is very much outré these days when polarization gets views. I have a reputation for being "shallow" in my content sometimes, so i'm glad you see my occasional ambiguity for what it is, which is anything the reader might pull from it.
i'll definitely keep posting these because i already have a few more written. it's amazing what you can do when you're off of Notes.
Man, anyone calling your writing shallow is missing the mark, bigtime. Tabula imperfecta maybe. Personally, I’d much rather have art and stories that helps me think about different things, process a few different (and conflicting) thoughts and feelings over the course of the reading / viewing.
Around here we sometimes say "wicked" when we mean "very." I kind of liked saying that when I was young, but - like you - I've grown out of it.
I often dream of buildings, too, but when I enter one, it will go on and on in an endless, impossible maze of passages and rooms, no matter how large or small it looks from the outside. No idea what that means psychologically, but sometimes it's fun. In one dream, I found another whole family living in a hidden set of rooms attached to my own home.
As far as your guitar playing goes - the few times I've seen live performances, the ones I loved best were when the players were obviously completely consumed by the music and I could see that they just loved it. The technically perfect, but cocksure, artists weren't anywhere near as interesting - I might as well have stayed home and listened to the albums. The folks playing with their eyes closed, ignoring the audience and just plain sucked into the notes they were playing, THEY were the ones I enjoyed watching.
I really like your "Mote" idea! I've been trying to ban myself from Notes because they are dangerous for people like me... there's no such thing as a quick peek, they just go on and on, and before I know it the time is gone. Weekly "Motes" from my favorite authors would save me from the Note hellhole!
someone else also pointed out wicked! my cousins said it growing up.
if we take my interpretation of building dreams as a mapping of our minds, it seems like you feel you havent explored yours enough! or there is something (or someone) there lurking you want to meet. very interesting!
these motes are the same kind of performance as my guitar solo. just closing my eyes and rocking it out there. i'm glad you said that about escaping Notes -- this is what it's about for me, and also for my readers. i don't want my subscribers trawling through Notes indefinitely either. so I'm glad you like it! hopefully more soon.
I always enjoy your writing, and these snippets are inspiring. Maybe I’ll try this . . . Grab a net and try to capture some of the random wisdom that flutters around between the ears every now and then.
I have dreams where it’s “a mad dash” to get where I should be. Now that my knees are messed up and I use a cane or walker, I perceive the dream as past or present depending on whether or not I’m able to move without an aid.
Varies. Sometimes it’s my home, or at least an echo of a house I’ve lived in; sometimes it’s another place I’ve visited. Usually starts as familiar before becoming wildly new.
I loved the guitar solo mote. Dare I say — profound? I think so. Mostly I feel authentic connection and love of art from vol. 1 of motes, but I’ve got this scene in my novel that is one of those random tropes you mentioned (I won’t say which) and I’ve never been sure about it and now I’m questioning it again. haha
well I will say this: tropes aren’t bad. certainly my work is full of them. it also has a random happenstance midway through, which is what prompted the thinking behind this Note. I still think back on it and I’m not sure.
but my advice would be: close your eyes, and go to kokomo.
These motes were mad delightful, Clancy. I especially enjoyed reading how you approach chance in your storytelling. I have always treated these as little signs of magic, both in my stories and in my life. It's so lovely to see how different writers (no scare quotes needed there, buddy, you're a writer) approach it.
The dream about not attending math class all semester and wandering the halls to look for the room- I had that dream about a month ago. Madness!
Great piece, Motes😊
it's the worst... feels like maybe it's due to ignorance on something in life?
Almost certainly. 😉
I get that one, too - usually when I finally find the classroom, there's an exam (which of course I've not studied for!).
I love motes!
Love this attitude toward writing - and while I think we can be critical with results and move toward a certain type of finished or valuable something - most of the importance for the writer is in the creating & if you get that right, it just might go somehwere --
"And I realized people are extremely forgiving when they can tell you are genuine, when they can see you are lost in it, presenting your truest self, and within this truest self, uncovering something universal—in this case, the ecstatic reverie of the guitar solo we all dream of as we air-guitar in the mirror. They were cheering for my triumph of trying, not my music."
i agree, in this instance i went back and critically saw it wasnt great. but if in the future i just keep going to kokomo, maybe there will be something.
thanks for reading, as ever, kate
I like this Motes invention. I recently ate at a place called Mad Yolks so even eggs can be mad and what I ate was mad good:)
Authenticity is the human part of the show, it’s the connection with the person that matters so if the person isn’t inside the person performing there’s this kind of generic quality that doesn’t leave a lasting impression.
I could keep going. Compiling these are great because some of the notes this mote draws from didn’t end up on my feed even though I subscribe to you.
thanks Deanna! the next one will be made up of all Notes I never even posted, so it should be worth reading. and they will be mad authentic.
One of the things I enjoy most about your writing is how my initial takeaways are often different from the point you make, so I get a 2-for or 3-for 1 out of the scene or story. I remember that happening in The Big T several times. Loved the guitar solo story. I couldn’t help think about how the roar of a crowd can be both an accurate and false measure of quality, depending on the medium. I’d like to think writing is more like music than sport in that ultimately, the crowd (readers) want most to be entertained.
Like this format. Hope you continue posting these.
thanks matt. I like to think that it's because my writing doesn't deal in absolutes or hardness, which is very much outré these days when polarization gets views. I have a reputation for being "shallow" in my content sometimes, so i'm glad you see my occasional ambiguity for what it is, which is anything the reader might pull from it.
i'll definitely keep posting these because i already have a few more written. it's amazing what you can do when you're off of Notes.
Man, anyone calling your writing shallow is missing the mark, bigtime. Tabula imperfecta maybe. Personally, I’d much rather have art and stories that helps me think about different things, process a few different (and conflicting) thoughts and feelings over the course of the reading / viewing.
Around here we sometimes say "wicked" when we mean "very." I kind of liked saying that when I was young, but - like you - I've grown out of it.
I often dream of buildings, too, but when I enter one, it will go on and on in an endless, impossible maze of passages and rooms, no matter how large or small it looks from the outside. No idea what that means psychologically, but sometimes it's fun. In one dream, I found another whole family living in a hidden set of rooms attached to my own home.
As far as your guitar playing goes - the few times I've seen live performances, the ones I loved best were when the players were obviously completely consumed by the music and I could see that they just loved it. The technically perfect, but cocksure, artists weren't anywhere near as interesting - I might as well have stayed home and listened to the albums. The folks playing with their eyes closed, ignoring the audience and just plain sucked into the notes they were playing, THEY were the ones I enjoyed watching.
I really like your "Mote" idea! I've been trying to ban myself from Notes because they are dangerous for people like me... there's no such thing as a quick peek, they just go on and on, and before I know it the time is gone. Weekly "Motes" from my favorite authors would save me from the Note hellhole!
someone else also pointed out wicked! my cousins said it growing up.
if we take my interpretation of building dreams as a mapping of our minds, it seems like you feel you havent explored yours enough! or there is something (or someone) there lurking you want to meet. very interesting!
these motes are the same kind of performance as my guitar solo. just closing my eyes and rocking it out there. i'm glad you said that about escaping Notes -- this is what it's about for me, and also for my readers. i don't want my subscribers trawling through Notes indefinitely either. so I'm glad you like it! hopefully more soon.
thanks for reading!!
Hmmm, maybe. I'll have to figure out how to do a bit more exploring, I guess.
I love the idea of Motes!
Are your cousins from New England?
yes they are from NH. wicked new hampshah
That would explain it! 😂
I always enjoy your writing, and these snippets are inspiring. Maybe I’ll try this . . . Grab a net and try to capture some of the random wisdom that flutters around between the ears every now and then.
always good to inspire, shannon. thanks for reading. i feel like it's my way of trying to fight the algorithm.
I have dreams where it’s “a mad dash” to get where I should be. Now that my knees are messed up and I use a cane or walker, I perceive the dream as past or present depending on whether or not I’m able to move without an aid.
that's probably a reasonable interpretation. where does such a dream usually take place?
Varies. Sometimes it’s my home, or at least an echo of a house I’ve lived in; sometimes it’s another place I’ve visited. Usually starts as familiar before becoming wildly new.
I loved the guitar solo mote. Dare I say — profound? I think so. Mostly I feel authentic connection and love of art from vol. 1 of motes, but I’ve got this scene in my novel that is one of those random tropes you mentioned (I won’t say which) and I’ve never been sure about it and now I’m questioning it again. haha
well I will say this: tropes aren’t bad. certainly my work is full of them. it also has a random happenstance midway through, which is what prompted the thinking behind this Note. I still think back on it and I’m not sure.
but my advice would be: close your eyes, and go to kokomo.
I like it. All in.
These motes were mad delightful, Clancy. I especially enjoyed reading how you approach chance in your storytelling. I have always treated these as little signs of magic, both in my stories and in my life. It's so lovely to see how different writers (no scare quotes needed there, buddy, you're a writer) approach it.
thanks Sara — that was the only one I hadn’t already posted as a Note, so I’m glad you enjoyed it, however incomplete it might be.
I love the motes format, Clancy. You have given us so much to relate to and think about.