Reaching for the (Literary) Stars
A Friday 13th surprise
“When you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either.”
— Leo Burnett
Hello there,
I hope you’re having a good Friday the 13th and looking forward to the weekend.
First, thank you very much to Candy for suggesting that quote via the chat on our substack publication. It’s worth popping online to visit the publication or you can use the app (links further down).
If you received this via email, and most people do, it may seem strange to be invited to comment and chat. We usually respond to an email by hitting reply, but while you can still do that, it becomes more of a community conversation when we interact in the same place. For instance, here’s a chat thread I’ve just started:
I’m travelling again this weekend, so I’ll be sure to snap some photos while I’m roaming about. There are some below, of course.
First though, I’d like to share some news. One of the great things about substack is the ability to follow authors, some famous and some starting out, and I chanced upon Chuck Palahniuk’s publication. If you don’t already know, Mr P wrote Fight Club amongst other things, and whether you like his stories or not, he is a significant writer.
I immediately signed up for a paid subscription, and that allowed me to volunteer a story for a gloves-off critique. I offered up In Front of the Mirror Alone, and today I found out that he’d chosen it to critique. This made my head spin. He’s also shared the story with his followers, and that’s exciting too.
One of the wonderful things about writing is that when it’s done, it goes out into the world and is shared by many readers, each one bringing their own experiences and expectations. But that’s also one of the scariest things about writing. Will people like it? Will they understand what I was trying to do? And anyway, did I really make it the best it could be before I shared it?
There is no way to answer these questions ahead of time. The only thing to do is publish and be damned, hoping the work will find its audience.
But being judged by other writers—that brings a whole new level of suspense. So now I’m on tenterhooks, wondering what the response will be.
If you’d like to read the original story, it’s here:
Meanwhile, on with the photos.
Featured Photos
We went to a food fair in the nearby town of Bovey Tracey, and autumn decided to make an early appearance, complete with rain and leaden skies. I felt sorry for the stall holders, having made such an effort to offer their wares. We ate a Caribbean style curry while sheltering in a doorway to prevent our lunch from getting doused.
Thanks to the rain, the only photo I took was of the folk musicians, bravely playing on and brightening the day. After diligently touring the stalls we were soaked, so we retired to the craft centre for tea and cake in the dry.
As always, the craft centre was stocked with gorgeous handmade items. The mirror pictured above had a beautiful wooden frame crafted by a cabinet maker, and it cost £4,000. I have to confess that it made me nervous, not for superstitious reasons but for practical ones. I assumed all breakages would have to be paid for, and I was wearing a small rucksack which I sometimes use to knock things over by the simple act of turning around. Fortunately, the mirror remained fastened to the wall and the shelves of pottery and glassware were still intact when we left.
The gentleman pictured is called Stephen Manning, and he makes wonderful linocut prints depicting landscapes. He was showing how it was done, and I could only marvel at his skill and artistry, both of which had taken him years of effort to acquire.
Forget AI, I thought. Real art has value and beauty and worth.
What’s Next?
The novel is coming together at long last. I am working on another piece for The Blank Page, but I ran out of steam the other day and didn’t finish it. But I have started to post episodes of my author podcast again, including responses to my mailbox, and the latest one is here:
I’m also tinkering around with the substack publication, and I’m steering towards making more of it free, or maybe even all of it, leaving the paid option available for those who want to offer a bit more support if they can afford it. There will be perks for going paid, though, and I’m looking at offering regular live sessions to give that bit of extra access. This might be video or audio in which I can respond to subscribers and give some behind-the-scenes info on me and my writing process.
Right, I’d better sign off.
Wish me and my story luck for the upcoming scrutiny and critique. I’m always ready to learn from others, so I’ll take any feedback in that spirit. Any kind of recognition is good, and it’s certainly a lot better than a handful of mud.
Take care and have a lovely weekend.
All the best,
Mikey
