Brilliant! I am a card-carrying member of the Samuel fan club. I love that this space has created a digital home for so many writers, readers, and creative spirits in general. Great work Eleanor and Samuel. Thanks.
I will be checking your papers, sir. And if your card is not up to date, I shall do absolutely nothing, because the Substack Tribe abides by no documentation, only kindred spirit.
Love the idea of a sculptor with a block of marble as a metaphor for the writer with a huge pile of words to whittle down.
And love that friendships emerge from this space in the way that they do. What a delight to be able to offer our little corner of rural France to Sam and Gus as a spark for creativity.
The enduring value of this space continues to be in the quite spaces and the comments and the lifelong connections made thanks to a few thoughtful words. Looking forward to our next glass of wine together, wherever it may be
Love this interview! Samuel, I sooooo relate to the sculptor analogy. I sometime think of it like an accordion that swells and then shrinks or a garden gone wild—so much pruning. And also the bit about sharing a part of yourself that deepens connections being a marker of good writing.
I love that image of the accordion ... and that it takes a delicate touch to guarantee the right notes are played (and at the right time). I've always dug Michelangelo's analogy for the final piece being contained in the original block of marble, even if I certainly never see all of the details until the end. Thanks for reading and chatting!
Your thoughts about being true to yourself in your writing and with what you have to share are so important for keeping yourself centered and existing for others as a kindred soul and writer friend as well as existence as yourself. It is not the easiest path but it can be very fulfilling. Great company and great community.
It's certainly the main concern I have about putting work out into the world when it's not a book or a song which I've spent years on ... but then there's the other side of the pendulum of not being too precious and being willing to make mistakes. It's in the in-between where the dialogue happens, I suspect
I may take your "write something short every week or so" to heart. After all, I have a list of ideas, I *want* to write... It's just my beast Procrastination I need to soothe. But writing something small somewhat on schedule? I think I can do that again.
Yes! And the key is to not be *too* precious about it. After all, very few folks end up reading much of what we put up here, the joy is in the process!
Brilliant! I am a card-carrying member of the Samuel fan club. I love that this space has created a digital home for so many writers, readers, and creative spirits in general. Great work Eleanor and Samuel. Thanks.
I will be checking your papers, sir. And if your card is not up to date, I shall do absolutely nothing, because the Substack Tribe abides by no documentation, only kindred spirit.
Love the idea of a sculptor with a block of marble as a metaphor for the writer with a huge pile of words to whittle down.
And love that friendships emerge from this space in the way that they do. What a delight to be able to offer our little corner of rural France to Sam and Gus as a spark for creativity.
The enduring value of this space continues to be in the quite spaces and the comments and the lifelong connections made thanks to a few thoughtful words. Looking forward to our next glass of wine together, wherever it may be
Paris on a frosty January day. Plans are afoot!
Love this interview! Samuel, I sooooo relate to the sculptor analogy. I sometime think of it like an accordion that swells and then shrinks or a garden gone wild—so much pruning. And also the bit about sharing a part of yourself that deepens connections being a marker of good writing.
Thank you, Eleanor and Samuel.
I love that image of the accordion ... and that it takes a delicate touch to guarantee the right notes are played (and at the right time). I've always dug Michelangelo's analogy for the final piece being contained in the original block of marble, even if I certainly never see all of the details until the end. Thanks for reading and chatting!
Oh, yes, that’s a good one too. Thank you for the reminder. :)
Your thoughts about being true to yourself in your writing and with what you have to share are so important for keeping yourself centered and existing for others as a kindred soul and writer friend as well as existence as yourself. It is not the easiest path but it can be very fulfilling. Great company and great community.
It's certainly the main concern I have about putting work out into the world when it's not a book or a song which I've spent years on ... but then there's the other side of the pendulum of not being too precious and being willing to make mistakes. It's in the in-between where the dialogue happens, I suspect
I may take your "write something short every week or so" to heart. After all, I have a list of ideas, I *want* to write... It's just my beast Procrastination I need to soothe. But writing something small somewhat on schedule? I think I can do that again.
Yes! And the key is to not be *too* precious about it. After all, very few folks end up reading much of what we put up here, the joy is in the process!