In our work there is a character Dr. Con or as they like to call themselves, Con/Jur/d who claim to be a writer but spends too much time dithering on the poison path and not writing. It seems most of the scraps he produces are directly or indirectly related to the Pharmakon, so much so,they lose followers faster than gaining them, despite the brevity of their work it seems to require a certain amount of prepoisoning to appreciate 😸
I guess people can’t always see our intentions as writers - or understand. Have you found some who do? I try to remind myself that repelling people can also show power in one’s work. Stay strong!
O Yes, some very devoted members of the cohort. I didn't mean to complain😸 it's an ongoing experiment, negative results are meant to hone not to hinder👍
Very interesting. I was discussing a story I wrote, with Winston Malone: NO SIMPLE REMEDY, and he was asking me where I came up with the name. I didn't do it intentionally, but the ending of the story fits that motif somewhat. The child narrator has to make a decision, and that choice is both the remedy as well as his personal poison as he has to turn his back on his uncle in support of his brother and sister. (Here's the link if you or any of your readers are curious.) https://benwoestenburg.substack.com/p/no-simple-remedy
I do have a 'writer' character in my latest novels, a survivor of the apocalypse in the book who was a teacher. He 'awoke' in the school's library, and takes it upon himself to write down what is happening, to record the lives of other survivors and their quest to try and save the children of the world, and the quests beyond that. Because of that, he tends to be my exposition guy - he reads a lot and is the one trying to solve the bigger mysteries behind all the alien events going on in the universe I have created.
As for ambiguity, I tried, but in the end felt I had to answer everything unanswered in the second novel of my duology. It was kind of to discover for myself as well - how could I explain these deus ex machina-ish events and spiritual beliefs?
And maybe the light superpower-esque force in my stories is a pharmakon, a remedy for the shadow and also a poison for its bearer...
Sounds great, Harvey. I love so much literature in libraries - Borges, Doer (Cloud Cuckoo Land), and Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library come to mind. All seem to consider the pages of books as types of alternative realities.
Excellent set of questions. I love reading anything that touches upon #1, leaving me as the reader to perhaps question what is real, what is meant, what is implied rather than explicit. I also love it when there is some hint of multilingualism thrown in, the most prominent example (that I've read recently) being Lolita. It was incredible read, and Humbert Humbert's penchant for French inspired me to write something shortly after: https://slake.substack.com/p/dreams-of-jug-and-jar
I also really enjoy fiction that is from the perspective of a writer. King has done this a lot, as has Murakami at times. It feels like the author is often saying something about their own craft in such pieces, which I'm quite OK with.
2) No/yes. Maybe. Not sure 😅 Endings are not my forte, so I'm consciously trying to analyse them as I read. I am perfectly OK with a multiple-interpretation endings in books I read, though. The same goes for films. I think *too* ambiguous can be an issue, but offering one of several strands of interpretation is good.
3) I think my (current) tendency to want to write of the meanings of relationships can perhaps embody the notion of both remedy and poison for the characters.
Lolita! Yes. What an amazing, fantastical book. It fits so well in this discourse in many ways. I will check out your writing on it, too. I’m way behind and also have your recent post saved. Look forward to them!
Agree on too ambiguous endings. I guess I feel there should at least be clues one can put together or it could just be lazy ha or at least very unsatisfying. But subtle clues give us ways to read the ending so it still exists.
Also interesting in regards to relationships. So complex -- I’m thinking of Ben’s comments here about the family story.
In our work there is a character Dr. Con or as they like to call themselves, Con/Jur/d who claim to be a writer but spends too much time dithering on the poison path and not writing. It seems most of the scraps he produces are directly or indirectly related to the Pharmakon, so much so,they lose followers faster than gaining them, despite the brevity of their work it seems to require a certain amount of prepoisoning to appreciate 😸
https://www.thegateless.org/
I guess people can’t always see our intentions as writers - or understand. Have you found some who do? I try to remind myself that repelling people can also show power in one’s work. Stay strong!
O Yes, some very devoted members of the cohort. I didn't mean to complain😸 it's an ongoing experiment, negative results are meant to hone not to hinder👍
Like it 🙌🏽 I’m also losing subscribers all the time! But gaining readers and interesting community
Very interesting. I was discussing a story I wrote, with Winston Malone: NO SIMPLE REMEDY, and he was asking me where I came up with the name. I didn't do it intentionally, but the ending of the story fits that motif somewhat. The child narrator has to make a decision, and that choice is both the remedy as well as his personal poison as he has to turn his back on his uncle in support of his brother and sister. (Here's the link if you or any of your readers are curious.) https://benwoestenburg.substack.com/p/no-simple-remedy
That is really fascinating and I like the title! Those kinds of family choices are filled with complexity. Thanks for sharing, Ben
Thanks for looking at it!
I'm glad I followed the link. Exceptional writing, Ben
Thank you so much!
Very good 👍
Thank you, Hari!
What am ace summary.Thanks so much for this.
Thanks Jon! ☺️
I do have a 'writer' character in my latest novels, a survivor of the apocalypse in the book who was a teacher. He 'awoke' in the school's library, and takes it upon himself to write down what is happening, to record the lives of other survivors and their quest to try and save the children of the world, and the quests beyond that. Because of that, he tends to be my exposition guy - he reads a lot and is the one trying to solve the bigger mysteries behind all the alien events going on in the universe I have created.
He's introduced in Chapter Eight of the novella I've almost finished serialising on here: https://harveyhamer.substack.com/p/children-of-shadows-ba8
As for ambiguity, I tried, but in the end felt I had to answer everything unanswered in the second novel of my duology. It was kind of to discover for myself as well - how could I explain these deus ex machina-ish events and spiritual beliefs?
And maybe the light superpower-esque force in my stories is a pharmakon, a remedy for the shadow and also a poison for its bearer...
Sounds great, Harvey. I love so much literature in libraries - Borges, Doer (Cloud Cuckoo Land), and Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library come to mind. All seem to consider the pages of books as types of alternative realities.
Thanks for sharing your work!
Excellent set of questions. I love reading anything that touches upon #1, leaving me as the reader to perhaps question what is real, what is meant, what is implied rather than explicit. I also love it when there is some hint of multilingualism thrown in, the most prominent example (that I've read recently) being Lolita. It was incredible read, and Humbert Humbert's penchant for French inspired me to write something shortly after: https://slake.substack.com/p/dreams-of-jug-and-jar
I also really enjoy fiction that is from the perspective of a writer. King has done this a lot, as has Murakami at times. It feels like the author is often saying something about their own craft in such pieces, which I'm quite OK with.
2) No/yes. Maybe. Not sure 😅 Endings are not my forte, so I'm consciously trying to analyse them as I read. I am perfectly OK with a multiple-interpretation endings in books I read, though. The same goes for films. I think *too* ambiguous can be an issue, but offering one of several strands of interpretation is good.
3) I think my (current) tendency to want to write of the meanings of relationships can perhaps embody the notion of both remedy and poison for the characters.
Lolita! Yes. What an amazing, fantastical book. It fits so well in this discourse in many ways. I will check out your writing on it, too. I’m way behind and also have your recent post saved. Look forward to them!
Agree on too ambiguous endings. I guess I feel there should at least be clues one can put together or it could just be lazy ha or at least very unsatisfying. But subtle clues give us ways to read the ending so it still exists.
Also interesting in regards to relationships. So complex -- I’m thinking of Ben’s comments here about the family story.
Thanks for this reflection, Nathan!