thanks for the comment on my essay about revision -- so happy it struck a chord! i guess it goes without saying but i think "i would be more satisfied with my writing" is a perfectly good justification to edit!
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americasdecline
1 year ago
love this! I was going to comment something similiar — part of my attraction to the slow web is that I don't have to focus on what would get maximum views if I don't want to. Good writing should always keep audience and context top-of-mind, but at the heart of great writing is authentic self-expression. That's the sort of stuff that sticks with people, as opposed to something they "like", scroll past and forget.
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saddleblasters
1 year ago
thanks for this, i find myself struggling wrt this a lot. i *know* that i would be more satisfied with my writing if i spent more time revising, and yet it feels hard to justify when there's so many other things to write about. i can imagine people getting really excited about a big famous writer revisiting and reediting their older work, but when i mention reediting some of my own posts i feel like "who cares?"
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americasdecline
1 year ago
Really interesting thoughts! I have a master's in English and I heard throughout my education that writing is never finished, it's abandonded. You can fine-tune and edit to no end, so often you just have to put it out there. But the great thing about the internet is that you can go back and update. Of course that raises a lot of questions, which you explore here.
americasdecline
1 year ago
Also, to your point about albums, Charli XCX's BRAT remix album was described by her as a direct challenge to the idea that existing music can't be further developed.
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ghostscape
1 year ago
interesting, I might try out some of your phone organisation style! I did a totally phone and computer-free 24 hours recently that I similarly found useful/illuminating. don't think I'll be repeating that too often, but I do find myself turning off the internet on my phone a lot now for similar reasons
in light of all the crappy generative ai stuff that's coming out, allow me to direct you toward this wonderful post (https://mrgan.com/ai-email-from-a-friend) and (undoubtedly preach to the choir as I) say: TECHNOLOGY IS ONLY GOOD WHEN IT BRINGS US CLOSER TOGETHER
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murid
2 years ago
The problem I have with modern western salads is that they are mostly some sort of Brassica. There are so many other types of interesting edible leaves in this world, why do you choose to only eat variations of one boring leaf?
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mikegrindle
2 years ago
Your recent post about capturing tone and choosing interesting topics is all too relatable. For what it' s worth, though, I think your personality comes through well in your writing.
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I love your writing! most recently read your essay on revision, which really spoke to me, and I'm enjoying slowly getting through your other stuff
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ghostscape
2 years ago
also, I am so jealous of/into whatever you've done with your footnotes: still in the process of establishing my own format for longform writing but I need to get some capacity for foot/endnotes in
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sorbier
2 years ago
wow, thank you! obviously feel free to inspect source for the footnotes! good luck with your phd (:
I'm sorry for your loss. I know you said you did not know her well, but death, especially at that age, has a way of messing with us and making us think more about what we want out of life, who to spend it with, how we wish to be remembered. I wish you well on the dating front!
thank you -- even though i didn't know her personally, in a way, i felt like i did. we were both active on the forum and read/replied to each others posts often. i'm sad it won't happen ever again. and you're right, it has me reflecting.