"when I am free to do whatever I please, such as right now, my desire is to dance at the edge of my understanding." - stunning metaphor, along with the trapdoors.
I completely relate to this definition of what makes a "good essay" for ME. Meaning, what yields a positive experience, based on the process of creation itself. I can feel the difference in my body when writing for authentic internal growth and expansion, vs. external validation. The former feels liberating, the latter suffocating.
This resonates a lot. I'm definitely a version of a scrub when it comes to leveraging social tools to connect with my audience. I choose to do things I know are detrimental (or not do things I know will help expand my reach) because I tend to put my ideals before everything else. For instance, I know that Substack has a ton of dark patterns due to which, I stopped using it for 7 months. Of course that hurt my subscriber growth. However, I decided to move back when I realized that nobody cares about my ideals and I'm the only loser in this race (and I'd hate to become someone who criticizes Taylor Swift just because I don't get her and because my musical taste continues to go back in time.
Also, I've had my fair share of struggles when it comes to choosing between quality and quantity. I've always prioritized the former and have refused to publish when I'm not happy with my work. I have refused to publish just for the sake of consistency. However, even though focusing on quality and optimizing for resonance helped me stand out and gain attention in my early days of publishing online, it hasn't served me very well in recent times. And now, even though I don't intend to compromise on quality, I am working towards a system to produce more work that is good enough rather than aiming to make everything of the best.
I particularly like the way you describe what a good essay is for you, "A good essay for me is no longer something that’s spectacular or shiny. A good essay can be a bunch of muck that helps me get unstuck. A good essay is something that challenges and inspires me to write the next one." This also reminded me of one of your videos I watched recently where you say that one should try and make a lot of stuff. And this is a timely essay on this exact topic by someone whose work I admire a lot: https://jayacunzo.com/blog/quantity-or-quality-answer-something-else
The metaphor with the trapdoors gave me a fresh and clearer idea of what “going deep” really means. Lots of people have called me out on what I mean when I say that that’s what I want to do with my own work, and I haven’t really been able to answer it for myself or for them. So thank you for writing this.
Visa, your essay beautifully articulates the struggle many of us face: balancing the desire for creative exploration with the need for structure and "good information architecture" in our work.
Your concept of "trapdoors" leading to deeper layers of meaning resonated with me, as did your reflection on the paradox of "artful incompleteness." It seems the most profound creations often arise from embracing the limitations of our understanding and allowing space for the unknown.
I'm curious, though, about the role of audience in this process. While exploring those trapdoors and navigating the unknown can be deeply fulfilling for the creator, how do we ensure our readers are engaged and not lost in the meandering? Is there a balance to be struck between self-discovery and creating a shared experience for the audience?
I too have recently found joy in stacking or creating chains with my essays. When an essay leads me to a new understanding, I now pause, publish, test said idea, and find myself writing a follow up.
“I often come up with good ideas in the middle of other ideas.”
"when I am free to do whatever I please, such as right now, my desire is to dance at the edge of my understanding." - stunning metaphor, along with the trapdoors.
I completely relate to this definition of what makes a "good essay" for ME. Meaning, what yields a positive experience, based on the process of creation itself. I can feel the difference in my body when writing for authentic internal growth and expansion, vs. external validation. The former feels liberating, the latter suffocating.
This resonates a lot. I'm definitely a version of a scrub when it comes to leveraging social tools to connect with my audience. I choose to do things I know are detrimental (or not do things I know will help expand my reach) because I tend to put my ideals before everything else. For instance, I know that Substack has a ton of dark patterns due to which, I stopped using it for 7 months. Of course that hurt my subscriber growth. However, I decided to move back when I realized that nobody cares about my ideals and I'm the only loser in this race (and I'd hate to become someone who criticizes Taylor Swift just because I don't get her and because my musical taste continues to go back in time.
Also, I've had my fair share of struggles when it comes to choosing between quality and quantity. I've always prioritized the former and have refused to publish when I'm not happy with my work. I have refused to publish just for the sake of consistency. However, even though focusing on quality and optimizing for resonance helped me stand out and gain attention in my early days of publishing online, it hasn't served me very well in recent times. And now, even though I don't intend to compromise on quality, I am working towards a system to produce more work that is good enough rather than aiming to make everything of the best.
I particularly like the way you describe what a good essay is for you, "A good essay for me is no longer something that’s spectacular or shiny. A good essay can be a bunch of muck that helps me get unstuck. A good essay is something that challenges and inspires me to write the next one." This also reminded me of one of your videos I watched recently where you say that one should try and make a lot of stuff. And this is a timely essay on this exact topic by someone whose work I admire a lot: https://jayacunzo.com/blog/quantity-or-quality-answer-something-else
Thanks again for writing this!
The metaphor with the trapdoors gave me a fresh and clearer idea of what “going deep” really means. Lots of people have called me out on what I mean when I say that that’s what I want to do with my own work, and I haven’t really been able to answer it for myself or for them. So thank you for writing this.
Great essay Visa!
Visa, your essay beautifully articulates the struggle many of us face: balancing the desire for creative exploration with the need for structure and "good information architecture" in our work.
Your concept of "trapdoors" leading to deeper layers of meaning resonated with me, as did your reflection on the paradox of "artful incompleteness." It seems the most profound creations often arise from embracing the limitations of our understanding and allowing space for the unknown.
I'm curious, though, about the role of audience in this process. While exploring those trapdoors and navigating the unknown can be deeply fulfilling for the creator, how do we ensure our readers are engaged and not lost in the meandering? Is there a balance to be struck between self-discovery and creating a shared experience for the audience?
I like the concept of false starts in writing being sketches/mapping attempts. As long as we keep going, the territory will reveal itself
Good stuff visa!
I too have recently found joy in stacking or creating chains with my essays. When an essay leads me to a new understanding, I now pause, publish, test said idea, and find myself writing a follow up.
“I often come up with good ideas in the middle of other ideas.”
"What is the bare minimum i need to do to write a good essay? Do goofy spiderman, got it." *runs off*