Amazing you can write a whole story in your head, for the bigger stories mine comes in serialised format. Also, very well done Clancy. Nicely eloquent.
Wonderful interview Clancy, really enjoyed this and all your points, plus it has of course been wonderful to see your rise to success here. I applaud your dedication to Notes and there's a part of me that has a sense of fomo that I am not doing the same. But I think I'd lose my sanity at the moment as I have too many things to juggle and already struggle keeping up with reading, let alone writing.
Anyway, it's an inspiration to read what you've written and to see your success here :)
Keep it up, brother.
"It needs to turn into work for me to collect payments." -- I've often felt the same, and that gives me a lot to think about.
Fascinating interview. Clancy, you’re obviously one who has worked hard on the craft to be as thoughtful as you are in your answers. I’m curious about your choice to remain anonymous with your pseudonym and artistic avatar. I’m the same way, as you can see.
Thanks T. Dalton. Check out the post pinned to the top of my blog page if you haven’t already, it’s called auto-neurotic as-fiction-ation, it explains a lot about my choice in that regard.
Excellent, you have me convinced. As for myself, my reasons are more mundane. I write in secret about dark themes because if I didn’t I’m afraid I’d self censor in order to preserve people’s good opinion of me.
Great interview, it read as so transparent and down-to-earth. Thanks Eleanor and Clancy! I really appreciated the candid nature of the responses, as well as the specifics of your writing practice. Because of all the "in your head" pre-writing, including having the last line composed before writing (!!) I wonder how much your stories change when you transfer them from your head to the screen. (So hard not to say "to the page.")
Thanks Stephanie! The answer is: There are usually only handful of sentences from my head that make it to the page, and even there they get transformed greatly. And there is still the propensity to change things up a bit, even with the ending. Sometimes I tack something on that wraps back up to the beginning, something I hadn't really been counting on.
Check out my posts tagged #Meta on my blog and the posts called [retros] for details on each story and how I wrote them!
I feel the same about my writing process Clancy. I love tinkering with a draft and a sentence in my head for days. Appreciate your thoughts here. I’m glad to see more people reading your stories. I remember your one note a day!
One of the few writers I really want to subsribe to, for quite some time. Silly but important to me thing is in a way-I can't read white letters on black background..I mean I can but it's a real struggle(I know that for many, it's the other way around)
So glad for this interview, even more, because I can read it:)-thank you, Clancy and Eleanor
Oh no!!! You know what, Victor San Diego remarked as much as well.
I think I am going to change it. I actually initially did the black background to try and make it MORE accessible (most people seem to like that) but I think those people can deal with the opposite better.
They're inseparable in my opinion, but actually I think plot is more important to me, which is mostly what makes it hard to post often. Plot comes slower and thicker.
Clancy (and Eleanor), thanks and great stuff here. Like you, I started with zero and felt like I was screaming into a void that first month or so. Notes helped change things up for me as well. I think that fiction is a tough game online, first to pull of successfully and second to monetize. I have tremendous respect for those of you pursuing that craft. Grateful to get to know you a bit better through this interview. My own porn name would be Shep 10th Street. Not sure how well that goes over but it is growing on me.
The influence Substack has on work is quite true—you learn concision and punchiness to write here, since unlike journals where readers know what their in for, readers here may have just wandered in and you have to grab their attention!
This is to both Eleanor and you: these questions work so well to reveal the writers themselves. It’s great to connect to this voice of yours. The biographical information here is a real draw to your work as well. You’ve become much more “real” to me now. I have not been a faithful reader of all one million Notes, but I will have to fix that.
So, my Porn Name Pseudonym would be...
Pookie Brickyard?
Great interview, Clancy. I've just come from Remy to this! 😅 WTG!
Amazing you can write a whole story in your head, for the bigger stories mine comes in serialised format. Also, very well done Clancy. Nicely eloquent.
Awesome interview.
Thank you Ika :D
Wonderful interview Clancy, really enjoyed this and all your points, plus it has of course been wonderful to see your rise to success here. I applaud your dedication to Notes and there's a part of me that has a sense of fomo that I am not doing the same. But I think I'd lose my sanity at the moment as I have too many things to juggle and already struggle keeping up with reading, let alone writing.
Anyway, it's an inspiration to read what you've written and to see your success here :)
Keep it up, brother.
"It needs to turn into work for me to collect payments." -- I've often felt the same, and that gives me a lot to think about.
Thanks Nathan - I'm starting to come around more on paid. I am thinking of introducing paid option soon.
Fair play. You've perhaps now reached a large critical mass anyway, especially after your last few posts :)
Fascinating interview. Clancy, you’re obviously one who has worked hard on the craft to be as thoughtful as you are in your answers. I’m curious about your choice to remain anonymous with your pseudonym and artistic avatar. I’m the same way, as you can see.
Thanks T. Dalton. Check out the post pinned to the top of my blog page if you haven’t already, it’s called auto-neurotic as-fiction-ation, it explains a lot about my choice in that regard.
Excellent, you have me convinced. As for myself, my reasons are more mundane. I write in secret about dark themes because if I didn’t I’m afraid I’d self censor in order to preserve people’s good opinion of me.
Great interview, it read as so transparent and down-to-earth. Thanks Eleanor and Clancy! I really appreciated the candid nature of the responses, as well as the specifics of your writing practice. Because of all the "in your head" pre-writing, including having the last line composed before writing (!!) I wonder how much your stories change when you transfer them from your head to the screen. (So hard not to say "to the page.")
Thanks Stephanie! The answer is: There are usually only handful of sentences from my head that make it to the page, and even there they get transformed greatly. And there is still the propensity to change things up a bit, even with the ending. Sometimes I tack something on that wraps back up to the beginning, something I hadn't really been counting on.
Check out my posts tagged #Meta on my blog and the posts called [retros] for details on each story and how I wrote them!
Ooh will do!
❤️👏
Enjoyed this interview. Thanks, Clancy and Eleanor.
Super excited to see Clancy go through these questions!
Nice!
I feel the same about my writing process Clancy. I love tinkering with a draft and a sentence in my head for days. Appreciate your thoughts here. I’m glad to see more people reading your stories. I remember your one note a day!
One of the few writers I really want to subsribe to, for quite some time. Silly but important to me thing is in a way-I can't read white letters on black background..I mean I can but it's a real struggle(I know that for many, it's the other way around)
So glad for this interview, even more, because I can read it:)-thank you, Clancy and Eleanor
Oh no!!! You know what, Victor San Diego remarked as much as well.
I think I am going to change it. I actually initially did the black background to try and make it MORE accessible (most people seem to like that) but I think those people can deal with the opposite better.
Thanks for reading Chen!
Thank you!!
I really like how you explain how you pay attention to plot and form and how they are both so important.
They're inseparable in my opinion, but actually I think plot is more important to me, which is mostly what makes it hard to post often. Plot comes slower and thicker.
Clancy (and Eleanor), thanks and great stuff here. Like you, I started with zero and felt like I was screaming into a void that first month or so. Notes helped change things up for me as well. I think that fiction is a tough game online, first to pull of successfully and second to monetize. I have tremendous respect for those of you pursuing that craft. Grateful to get to know you a bit better through this interview. My own porn name would be Shep 10th Street. Not sure how well that goes over but it is growing on me.
It is tough, but it's worth it. Keep at it!
Hmm I've never seen the porn names with the numbered aspect before. There must be some alternate street you can use!
After 10th Street I lived on Rural Route 24. Not sure that is much better!
😂 Mine's Tabby Thurloe 🤷🏻♀️
The influence Substack has on work is quite true—you learn concision and punchiness to write here, since unlike journals where readers know what their in for, readers here may have just wandered in and you have to grab their attention!
You said it better than me!
This is to both Eleanor and you: these questions work so well to reveal the writers themselves. It’s great to connect to this voice of yours. The biographical information here is a real draw to your work as well. You’ve become much more “real” to me now. I have not been a faithful reader of all one million Notes, but I will have to fix that.
Now: tell me about your pet Clancy. 🐈 ? 🦮 ?
Thanks Adam, I'm so glad!
Cat, btw.
Thanks, Adam, and it's funny but somehow I think they do - such a lucky strike (a 3am shot in the dark). Meanwhile, yes, Clancy, about that pet....