As someone who is a fan of writing essays, but who of late has been playing with short stories - this piece got me really excited to get back to having fun with my essay writing. And by the way I loved the idea of the thing that makes and essay good is the intangibles - thank you 😊
Re: note 6, it was Derrida. He wrote a whole book in this, in fact -- a book I'm revisiting because I'm writing an essay on it for the 'stack soon! I'm gonna be referencing the hell out of this when I do, probably... Great work here, man. Thank you for making me reimagine the potency of my second favorite medium.
"When we are absolutely drowning in information and opinions and narratives, it is being read to the end that counts and it is being remembered after that which really counts." - That's why I make sure I read everything you write to the end. One of the bests in our age, thank your for ~being.
Such a great post - and congratulations on the #100 milestone!
"An essay is not homework, it is creative expression." This is how I too view the art of the essay. It's not for nothing that 'essayer' means 'to try' - all of my own essays are trials, try-outs, of creative expression.
That’s the way I see it too. We are all in the shadow of Montaigne when it comes to essay writing and he was certainly above all else someone who took a topic and had a go at talking about it in an entertaining way. That’s the name of the game.
I enjoyed the #6 footnote and truth be told, most of my most moving and impactful books do indeed have wonderful footnotes.
Question: I am not a writer, but I give a medium number of (non powerpoint) talks. In these talks, they start (the planning part) off as lifeless and dull, but once it reaches a critical mass, and a bit of emotion is kindled (perhaps "the time in the bread") the talk will literally/magically write itself. Many times I will have to trim it back for time constraints. As a writer, do you feel the same way, where the essay writes itself? When you have the breath suddenly in you and your job is to orderly exhale in an understandable fashion.?. I wonder too if storytellers and poets have this same path. Congrats on #100!
You say you are not a writer but you consistently leave wonderful comments here that show me that you have it in you (and that is something that I don't just say to everyone).
And to answer your question, yes I do feel that way. This is the primary magic and consolation of writing to achieve that flow state. In my experience you have to ponder and daydream on the topic for a while (often while walking) and at some point you will intuitively know you are ready to start drafting. And once you are at that point you simply have to get out of your own way and write.
“The great joy of writing is in the surprise, is in the times you feel that you are a conduit and so are yourself genuinely enlightened by what has just been written” Yes, exactly. I tend to write absent any plotted structure. And I’m always amazed where it takes me. I literally wonder, “Where did that come from?” As if I’m channeling something.
I think it was Miles Davis who said that he played the spaces between the notes. As an essayist, I am very cognizant of the spaces between the nouns and the verbs. I try, no, TRY, to avoid adjectives, adverbs, and articles. They exist to make writing more specific, but it doesn't translate into clarity necessarily. BTW, if you keep writing, I'll keep reading. Best to you in your next century of essays.
Thanks Ed! I definitely find it fruitful to look at writing in terms of music- develop your 'sound', try to improve your feel and improvisation chops etc etc. Jazz is especially useful in this regard as it marries technique and adventure whereas writers who do not lean too much on one of those facets tend to go overboard on the other, in my experience.
Do. After ploughing through too many 'how to' books, which drove me to distraction with their emphasis on rising tension, climax and resolution (which she calls masculo-sexual), I came across this one. It gladdened my heart and reminded me that it's possible for the narrative process to take many forms.
Ah this statement "To create a space, an oasis from the commotion of reality where we can stop time and ponder and ruminate for a while, and discuss differing perspectives with curiosity instead of pomposity." is so true about your essays - you captured exactly how I feel when reading your essays, and thus are very self aware about your own writing. I always feel satisfied too - full and warm.
Also, love that you both brought up bread (flour water salt etc) and the "breath" as it reminds me of this essay i remember enjoying over a decade ago https://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/37/smith.php - enjoy! And thank you. Oh also, I never considered myself an "essayist" until you put my first piece of writing under the "essays" category and i thought "cool, i write essays!"
Yeah, essays are a far wider receptacle for words than we assume them to be (again I blame school, as I so often do). Your approach sounds exactly right to me. 'Oh cool, I write essays' is how I feel about it too.
I definitely had to cultivate self-awareness with my writing once I became self-aware enough to see that a part of me could simply go on weekly 'tech is bad, waa waa waa' diatribes if I let myself. (This, of course, is what the podcast is for!)
Thanks as always for reading and for leaving a lovely comment Trilety.
I’ve found that to be the best method, too, though sometimes I say the hell with it and post the raw words. It’s often counterproductive to gaining subscribers.
Cheers Adam. That the voice is the brand is an excellent way of articulating and framing something that I have been trying to put my finger on for a while, so thanks for this. And I’m looking forward to seeing what work you have in store for us in 2023 and beyond.
נפש!
I throughly enjoyed this essay on essays.
As someone who is a fan of writing essays, but who of late has been playing with short stories - this piece got me really excited to get back to having fun with my essay writing. And by the way I loved the idea of the thing that makes and essay good is the intangibles - thank you 😊
Re: note 6, it was Derrida. He wrote a whole book in this, in fact -- a book I'm revisiting because I'm writing an essay on it for the 'stack soon! I'm gonna be referencing the hell out of this when I do, probably... Great work here, man. Thank you for making me reimagine the potency of my second favorite medium.
My pleasure Lyle, I look forward to reading what you come up with. Cheers!
One of the best essays on essays.
Read it, played on Twitter, then came back and reread it.
Thanks for reading, Kevin. And thanks even more for rereading!
"When we are absolutely drowning in information and opinions and narratives, it is being read to the end that counts and it is being remembered after that which really counts." - That's why I make sure I read everything you write to the end. One of the bests in our age, thank your for ~being.
Having someone always read to the end is the goal, the only really worthwhile goal that keeps you on the right track. I’m honoured Mauro.
Brilliant as always. I agree with everything you said there, it’s how I have been feeling it throughout my journey—thanks to you, Tom.
And congratulations on the 💯
The essay collection vol2, when?
Thanks. And in answer to your question- next month, hopefully!
Wonderful thoughts as usual. I may have found a kernel of new project in them. We'll see what happens...
Yes! Always good to hear that. Keep me posted.
Such a great post - and congratulations on the #100 milestone!
"An essay is not homework, it is creative expression." This is how I too view the art of the essay. It's not for nothing that 'essayer' means 'to try' - all of my own essays are trials, try-outs, of creative expression.
That’s the way I see it too. We are all in the shadow of Montaigne when it comes to essay writing and he was certainly above all else someone who took a topic and had a go at talking about it in an entertaining way. That’s the name of the game.
I enjoyed the #6 footnote and truth be told, most of my most moving and impactful books do indeed have wonderful footnotes.
Question: I am not a writer, but I give a medium number of (non powerpoint) talks. In these talks, they start (the planning part) off as lifeless and dull, but once it reaches a critical mass, and a bit of emotion is kindled (perhaps "the time in the bread") the talk will literally/magically write itself. Many times I will have to trim it back for time constraints. As a writer, do you feel the same way, where the essay writes itself? When you have the breath suddenly in you and your job is to orderly exhale in an understandable fashion.?. I wonder too if storytellers and poets have this same path. Congrats on #100!
You say you are not a writer but you consistently leave wonderful comments here that show me that you have it in you (and that is something that I don't just say to everyone).
And to answer your question, yes I do feel that way. This is the primary magic and consolation of writing to achieve that flow state. In my experience you have to ponder and daydream on the topic for a while (often while walking) and at some point you will intuitively know you are ready to start drafting. And once you are at that point you simply have to get out of your own way and write.
“The great joy of writing is in the surprise, is in the times you feel that you are a conduit and so are yourself genuinely enlightened by what has just been written” Yes, exactly. I tend to write absent any plotted structure. And I’m always amazed where it takes me. I literally wonder, “Where did that come from?” As if I’m channeling something.
That's exactly it. Even if you scrap it subsequently there is definitely something to be said for travelling without a map, as it were.
Thanks John.
I think it was Miles Davis who said that he played the spaces between the notes. As an essayist, I am very cognizant of the spaces between the nouns and the verbs. I try, no, TRY, to avoid adjectives, adverbs, and articles. They exist to make writing more specific, but it doesn't translate into clarity necessarily. BTW, if you keep writing, I'll keep reading. Best to you in your next century of essays.
Thanks Ed! I definitely find it fruitful to look at writing in terms of music- develop your 'sound', try to improve your feel and improvisation chops etc etc. Jazz is especially useful in this regard as it marries technique and adventure whereas writers who do not lean too much on one of those facets tend to go overboard on the other, in my experience.
Cheers.
As one flâneur to another, I totally agree about the need to break away from prescribed structure, and the primacy of style. Jane Alison's book on writing, Meander, Spiral , Explode captures it perfectly. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/673519/meander-spiral-explode-by-jane-alison/
I'm usually not drawn to books on writing but from that title alone I can tell that Jane Alison *gets it*. I'll have to check that book out. Thanks.
Do. After ploughing through too many 'how to' books, which drove me to distraction with their emphasis on rising tension, climax and resolution (which she calls masculo-sexual), I came across this one. It gladdened my heart and reminded me that it's possible for the narrative process to take many forms.
Masculo-sexual. Hahaha. It’s sadly true though. Now I’m really gonna have to check that book out.
Ah this statement "To create a space, an oasis from the commotion of reality where we can stop time and ponder and ruminate for a while, and discuss differing perspectives with curiosity instead of pomposity." is so true about your essays - you captured exactly how I feel when reading your essays, and thus are very self aware about your own writing. I always feel satisfied too - full and warm.
Also, love that you both brought up bread (flour water salt etc) and the "breath" as it reminds me of this essay i remember enjoying over a decade ago https://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/37/smith.php - enjoy! And thank you. Oh also, I never considered myself an "essayist" until you put my first piece of writing under the "essays" category and i thought "cool, i write essays!"
Yeah, essays are a far wider receptacle for words than we assume them to be (again I blame school, as I so often do). Your approach sounds exactly right to me. 'Oh cool, I write essays' is how I feel about it too.
I definitely had to cultivate self-awareness with my writing once I became self-aware enough to see that a part of me could simply go on weekly 'tech is bad, waa waa waa' diatribes if I let myself. (This, of course, is what the podcast is for!)
Thanks as always for reading and for leaving a lovely comment Trilety.
Thank you, Tom
🤌
I am trying to avoid writing those “wa wa wa” pieces. It’s so easy to allow an essay to slip into a rant.
Yeah, it is *really* easily done. You have to write it out for catharsis sake and then drop most of it in the edit. That’s possibly the best approach.
I’ve found that to be the best method, too, though sometimes I say the hell with it and post the raw words. It’s often counterproductive to gaining subscribers.
Sometimes you have to thin the herd. Sometimes the world needs both barrels.
That’s a great way of looking at it.
Cheers Adam. That the voice is the brand is an excellent way of articulating and framing something that I have been trying to put my finger on for a while, so thanks for this. And I’m looking forward to seeing what work you have in store for us in 2023 and beyond.
Yes!