Nice one. Also, I like what's unsaid, what you've left for readers to possibly read between the lines: that if this woman is real, she's likely not used a clear photo because she knows that reduces her odds of getting initial engagement. Other potential explanation: this person isn't who they say they are and chose a black woman's photo because they sense distrust on the part of the main character - and they are trying to reassure him. I'm guessing it's the former - third time lucky (esp as this is the third scene of him trying for a hook-up). Good luck to him!
Are the chapters in the book this short, or have you segmented further for Substack? Asking, as I recognise 'lengths that work best on Substack' might be shorter than more typical chapter lengths that work in novels.
Thank you! It was an interesting trick to pull off in this book, leaving things unsaid while buckled into the mind of a chronic over-thinker. Before this book, I was a HUGE over-explainer in my writing. I think the voices experience (and writing the book, but mostly the experience itself) partially cured me of that.
About your theories: no comment, of course.
All of these chapters are posted as they appear in the book. They don’t have titles in the book (or illustrations, haha), but these last two chapters just happen to be short. The next two are much longer.
I’m curious about your feelings as a subscriber—are the short/long chapters a satisfying or frustrating surprise to receive weekly? I wouldn’t have grouped these last ones together, because as you pointed out, there’s a suspenseful rhythm to Alex’s experiences on the site. But I’m curious about reader experience, because the chapter length varies throughout the book.
‘Resisting the urge to explain’ (RUE as Julie Cohen, one of my favourite authors, put it once in a writing class) is something I remind myself of when editing. I default naturally to overexplaining in every kind of communication imaginable.
The experience of receiving the chapters this way is working fine for me. I’m surprised by the brevity of the shorter ones, as I’m psyched up to read for longer, but because I made up my mind to receive the story in this interrupted way, I’m quite at peace with it. I think what would be a bit destabilising for my reader experience is if you suddenly switched things up, or got erratic and started releasing three chapters a week just because they were short, or skipping weeks accidentally or intentionally.
The one chapter a week, long or short, is working because it’s meeting the expectations you set.
“I default naturally to overexplaining in every kind of communication imaginable.” I sympathize. I guess I shouldn’t have said “cured” but rather that the experience and writing about it made me see how too much explanation can distract and lessen the impact of a story. RUE is a great mnemonic, I’ll keep that in my back pocket, thank you!
I’m glad this release schedule is working. No curveballs, I promise. At least not beyond the story itself. ;)
Nice one. Also, I like what's unsaid, what you've left for readers to possibly read between the lines: that if this woman is real, she's likely not used a clear photo because she knows that reduces her odds of getting initial engagement. Other potential explanation: this person isn't who they say they are and chose a black woman's photo because they sense distrust on the part of the main character - and they are trying to reassure him. I'm guessing it's the former - third time lucky (esp as this is the third scene of him trying for a hook-up). Good luck to him!
Are the chapters in the book this short, or have you segmented further for Substack? Asking, as I recognise 'lengths that work best on Substack' might be shorter than more typical chapter lengths that work in novels.
Thank you! It was an interesting trick to pull off in this book, leaving things unsaid while buckled into the mind of a chronic over-thinker. Before this book, I was a HUGE over-explainer in my writing. I think the voices experience (and writing the book, but mostly the experience itself) partially cured me of that.
About your theories: no comment, of course.
All of these chapters are posted as they appear in the book. They don’t have titles in the book (or illustrations, haha), but these last two chapters just happen to be short. The next two are much longer.
I’m curious about your feelings as a subscriber—are the short/long chapters a satisfying or frustrating surprise to receive weekly? I wouldn’t have grouped these last ones together, because as you pointed out, there’s a suspenseful rhythm to Alex’s experiences on the site. But I’m curious about reader experience, because the chapter length varies throughout the book.
‘Resisting the urge to explain’ (RUE as Julie Cohen, one of my favourite authors, put it once in a writing class) is something I remind myself of when editing. I default naturally to overexplaining in every kind of communication imaginable.
The experience of receiving the chapters this way is working fine for me. I’m surprised by the brevity of the shorter ones, as I’m psyched up to read for longer, but because I made up my mind to receive the story in this interrupted way, I’m quite at peace with it. I think what would be a bit destabilising for my reader experience is if you suddenly switched things up, or got erratic and started releasing three chapters a week just because they were short, or skipping weeks accidentally or intentionally.
The one chapter a week, long or short, is working because it’s meeting the expectations you set.
“I default naturally to overexplaining in every kind of communication imaginable.” I sympathize. I guess I shouldn’t have said “cured” but rather that the experience and writing about it made me see how too much explanation can distract and lessen the impact of a story. RUE is a great mnemonic, I’ll keep that in my back pocket, thank you!
I’m glad this release schedule is working. No curveballs, I promise. At least not beyond the story itself. ;)