14 Comments

I am a real fan of your work, Alexander. I read everything you post on Substack. I read this piece twice and I feel the vibrant energy, the passion, the angst. The words bristle from the page! I have to say, though, that I am old and this one is over my head, like a foreign language I can not quite de-code. Sometimes comprehension does not matter -- the experience is still keen!

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Thanks so much, Sharron. ❤️❤️❤️ Great to get your impressions, too! Regarding the decoding, it is indeed something I was wondering about, whether this would work, esp. since the story is chopped into five independent pieces with gaps and holes left and right. I was thinking of putting it all into one document and maybe adding a scene or two.

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Yes! I would like to see that! I would definitely give it a third go! I understand how fiction comes to us in bits and pieces sometimes and it doesn't always unfold in the right order. I have often written what I think is a two-page story to find it grows into six parts over time, without my intention. Some stories just want to be told, don't they? an example: https://sharronbassano.substack.com/p/surrender

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Exactly that. When I wrote "Mother Insists" in one sitting, I wrote much more than I had intended, of which the first 1k words formed the first part. I still have more material, fragments, sentences, that would easily fill more pages. Thanks for the link, Sharron, checking!

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I will go back to "Mother Insists" and remind myself. I am sure many writers experience this slow unfolding of stories. I appreciate Substack so much in that we can go back in and amend and add to previously published material.

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"Sometimes comprehension does not matter -- the experience is still keen!"

I love this Sharron. This is so true. There have been books I have read like this, but still loved purely for the rush and experience of the words.

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Well, yes! I remember even as a six-year-old, reading the Oz books and understanding just enough of the words to follow the story. Thrilling. I was mesmerized even then at the words I did not know.

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Well you persevered and succeeded. Powerful images.

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Thanks, Kate. Much appreciated. Perseverance at the 11th hour. 😅

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I think this might be my favourite. The imagery is so rich and vivid. I *think* I have a feeling on this, but I'm with Sharron that I don't know if I fully understand but it's also OK if that's the case.

However, I would totally go an "author's breakdown" type post, decoding and working through your thought experience of writing this 🤩

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Cryptic time shifts and transformations, metamorphosis, and rapid cuts may lead to memory loss and disorientation, a side effect of time travel and reading SSHD episodes.

As Jung once said, Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes. Jamie is finally awake. I will do a merged post, adding the material I have left, an unabridged version so to speak, or an Extended Cut. Thanks for reading, Nathan! Much appreciated. 🙏

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Sounds awesome.

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But first... something else! ;)

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😉

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