This is wonderful. There’s a voyeuristic thrill about peeking into a conversation between two smart people - and excellent writers - but there’s also the simple joy of feeling human connection. I’ve been musing about a fiction based on correspondence - it’s an idea lurking in my notebook of prompts. But it’s going to surface, inspired by this delightful exchange. Thanks for sharing.
I love me a good ole yarn of epistolary fiction. Frankenstein was the first I remember reading, maybe it's time for the missives to make their mark. See you tomorrow in Gay Paree to discuss and philosophize. Perhaps there's a letter to be written between us, too ...
The first letter will have to confirm we’re arriving in Paris on Monday! Our supper guest tonight will be most surprised to turn up and find we’re elsewhere. I’ll buzz a note through.
Love this. I now want to write letters more often. Especially with the fact that handwritten letters were not replaced by email because they were ineffective, but only because they weren't as fast. I think in this digital world, we all need something to slow us down a bit, to make us think and feel. It's the same way writing on paper may feel more heavenly than clacking away at keys like we're used to. The time is worth the hustle. The message is worth the wait.
It's such an edifying way to connect with folks these days ... I often find myself expressing myself best via email, writing a summary to friends of my past months, etc., a kind of journaling for someone else's benefit that (hopefully) avoids the worst instincts to self-indulgence. The time is always worth the hustle, and it's a precious resource, indeed.
Thank you for reading, Trevor. I'm all for slowing down when I'm talking with friends. Or anyone I respect and admire for that matter.
It's standard for me to treat emails as letters. Yes, they are faster to send, but I really take my time crafting them, much like stories. I think I'm always trying to create an experience for the person on the other end. Whether that experience is to find humor in a situation, or feel confident about an upcoming project, or just discover that someone is thinking of them and wondering how their day is going. Sometimes, I'll just send a check in to someone I haven't heard from in a while. On more than one occasion, I get a response akin to, "Wow. I didn't think people did this kind of thing anymore."
They do! Hopefully "this kind of thing" catches on. 💛
Interesting, I hadn't thought about it that way, but of course 'tis true. It was a treat doing a similar exchange with you last year. It feels like ages ago that we had a real-life drink in Chicago. Just an excuse for you to get to Paris.
My voice has a habit of adapting to my surroundings, and the company in them. It goes back to that chameleon poem I wrote. I'm like a voice shapeshifter. If someone ever studied my comment trail on this platform, they would probably surmise it was the work of several different people. For instance, I'm a snarky Hell beast in your comments.
But I'm not like that in here.
I should have been a spy. 🕵🏼♀️ Another missed calling. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This is wonderful. There’s a voyeuristic thrill about peeking into a conversation between two smart people - and excellent writers - but there’s also the simple joy of feeling human connection. I’ve been musing about a fiction based on correspondence - it’s an idea lurking in my notebook of prompts. But it’s going to surface, inspired by this delightful exchange. Thanks for sharing.
I love me a good ole yarn of epistolary fiction. Frankenstein was the first I remember reading, maybe it's time for the missives to make their mark. See you tomorrow in Gay Paree to discuss and philosophize. Perhaps there's a letter to be written between us, too ...
The first letter will have to confirm we’re arriving in Paris on Monday! Our supper guest tonight will be most surprised to turn up and find we’re elsewhere. I’ll buzz a note through.
Monday it is. Dare I say you join us at the local watering hole for Monday Night festivities? I shall be in touch.
Hooray for inspiration and human connection! Thanks for reading, Barrie. 💜
Very inspiring exchange. Lovely stuff. Meeting humans through Substack has been such a joy!
Love this. I now want to write letters more often. Especially with the fact that handwritten letters were not replaced by email because they were ineffective, but only because they weren't as fast. I think in this digital world, we all need something to slow us down a bit, to make us think and feel. It's the same way writing on paper may feel more heavenly than clacking away at keys like we're used to. The time is worth the hustle. The message is worth the wait.
It's such an edifying way to connect with folks these days ... I often find myself expressing myself best via email, writing a summary to friends of my past months, etc., a kind of journaling for someone else's benefit that (hopefully) avoids the worst instincts to self-indulgence. The time is always worth the hustle, and it's a precious resource, indeed.
Yes, yes, and yes. ✒️💜🥂
Thank you for reading, Trevor. I'm all for slowing down when I'm talking with friends. Or anyone I respect and admire for that matter.
It's standard for me to treat emails as letters. Yes, they are faster to send, but I really take my time crafting them, much like stories. I think I'm always trying to create an experience for the person on the other end. Whether that experience is to find humor in a situation, or feel confident about an upcoming project, or just discover that someone is thinking of them and wondering how their day is going. Sometimes, I'll just send a check in to someone I haven't heard from in a while. On more than one occasion, I get a response akin to, "Wow. I didn't think people did this kind of thing anymore."
They do! Hopefully "this kind of thing" catches on. 💛
A thoughtful exchange indeed. I like how you both seemed to inhabit the voice of the other as you considered your correspondence.
Interesting, I hadn't thought about it that way, but of course 'tis true. It was a treat doing a similar exchange with you last year. It feels like ages ago that we had a real-life drink in Chicago. Just an excuse for you to get to Paris.
True enough!
My voice has a habit of adapting to my surroundings, and the company in them. It goes back to that chameleon poem I wrote. I'm like a voice shapeshifter. If someone ever studied my comment trail on this platform, they would probably surmise it was the work of several different people. For instance, I'm a snarky Hell beast in your comments.
But I'm not like that in here.
I should have been a spy. 🕵🏼♀️ Another missed calling. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Life is long Meg. Or should I call you Madame DeCanter Von Hibblesworth. The drop is in Boston. July 5. Be ready.
Plot thickened.