i had a followup thought after publishing this– it would feel like overkill to include lots of quotes in a single Note. like that would induce a kind of indigestion i think. but it's fine to quote people a bunch in a Post. a book is an even better medium to absolutely bombard readers with all of your quotes. it's totally legal! and it feels good, even. I think if someone dismissively critiqued my books with "nothing much to say, just a whole bunch of quotes in there", I would be happy to affirm it with "and they are damn good quotes, are they not?" haha
ps. there's also something of a hypertext quality to having lots of references and pointers to other people's work, which is something i wanna think about more
To elaborate on the metaphor of inhabitation further with the rhythms of city life, I'm imagining Notes as like casual walkings down the city streets to see what catches your eye, but a Post has you going down to the subway seated down, as a commitment to follow where it wants to take you. Personally, I like reading essays while on the subway especially since there's no data lmao
This post is also a great elaboration on the tavern vs the temple idea that points toward the essay as something more contemplative and intentional than the average piece of writing, which feels so obvious, but we end up filtering it out implicitly, so I appreciate your attempts to gesture at it as clearly as you can. You've got a pretty nice vibe going here so far bruv
I feel like I have this big library of riffs, melodies, phrases, etc, and oftentimes I get stuck with something because I thought it should be one thing but it turns out it should be another thing
As a working traveller of 2 years, I couldn’t agree more with Sagan’s point about writing being home building. I framed it to myself recently in a less eloquent and less empowering way: my life online [by which I mean all the writing related stuff I do] is beginning to feel more real than the real world!
I enjoyed reading this and I like the quick coffee metaphor a lot. My first substack is built around 500-word posts and it kinda works. I was inspired by your 1000-word posts project and went for half the target. I think my Posts are actually quick coffee at a cafe Notes.
i had a followup thought after publishing this– it would feel like overkill to include lots of quotes in a single Note. like that would induce a kind of indigestion i think. but it's fine to quote people a bunch in a Post. a book is an even better medium to absolutely bombard readers with all of your quotes. it's totally legal! and it feels good, even. I think if someone dismissively critiqued my books with "nothing much to say, just a whole bunch of quotes in there", I would be happy to affirm it with "and they are damn good quotes, are they not?" haha
ps. there's also something of a hypertext quality to having lots of references and pointers to other people's work, which is something i wanna think about more
To elaborate on the metaphor of inhabitation further with the rhythms of city life, I'm imagining Notes as like casual walkings down the city streets to see what catches your eye, but a Post has you going down to the subway seated down, as a commitment to follow where it wants to take you. Personally, I like reading essays while on the subway especially since there's no data lmao
This post is also a great elaboration on the tavern vs the temple idea that points toward the essay as something more contemplative and intentional than the average piece of writing, which feels so obvious, but we end up filtering it out implicitly, so I appreciate your attempts to gesture at it as clearly as you can. You've got a pretty nice vibe going here so far bruv
thx! Really appreciate these comments Russell, they’re actually super helpful and I would argue are part of the process of the thing unfolding
As someone new to Substack, I appreciate your post. Thank you for the clarification.
So great. Songs are much the same- what works better as a verse, a chorus, a whole song, an album?
YES
I feel like I have this big library of riffs, melodies, phrases, etc, and oftentimes I get stuck with something because I thought it should be one thing but it turns out it should be another thing
As a working traveller of 2 years, I couldn’t agree more with Sagan’s point about writing being home building. I framed it to myself recently in a less eloquent and less empowering way: my life online [by which I mean all the writing related stuff I do] is beginning to feel more real than the real world!
I enjoyed reading this and I like the quick coffee metaphor a lot. My first substack is built around 500-word posts and it kinda works. I was inspired by your 1000-word posts project and went for half the target. I think my Posts are actually quick coffee at a cafe Notes.
Anyway, will be thinking about this…
I do not have any further information on Browne's life, but the image is from one of his works "Time Well Spent" published 11 May 1643. https://digital.library.yale.edu/catalog/2066462
Thanks