this!! I’ve been writing about how photos feel like little containers of attention - proof I noticed. maybe that’s just another form of passive obsession too
"Your attention is smarter than you are." Really resonates with me.
There an interesting thing that can happen where I can not allow myself to feel proud of creating the things that comes the easiest to me. I've been obsessed with skateboarding for 30 years. I now get to design custom signature models for new professional skaters. I've got two models out now and they have done extremely well. People love the look and function and they've sold great. I don't feel that "proud" because to me the process felt easy and they reception felt inevitable. Not in a cocky way, but like duh, it's easy to know what a good skateboard is.
hi! I'm new on substack and I really enjoyed this piece. Re your thoughts on listening to intuition / attention - I think this is esp relevant for artists, because a lot of art is driven by emotional resonance. We see something that makes us feel a certain way immediately, but the rationalization for why it makes us feel that way usually comes later, if it ever comes at all. For a piece of art to 'work' - for it to have an effect on a reader - the writer doesn't necessarily need to have the rationalization down. Trusting the instinct + the emotional response is usually enough to instill a similar response in the reader. But imo it's also rlly fun and interesting to figure out the 'why' - why does smth make us feel a certain way (plus usually it's easier to trust the instinct after we come up with the rationalization)
This feels so real! I recently noticed how my brain almost “pulls” me to act on something thats been playing in my head for awhile. Once I note it, I feel calmer and can explore freely. Kinda like adjusting into a bike ride lol
Reading your essays these days feel like reading the essays of older established female writers like.. Ann Patchett or Robin Wall Kimmerer
I love California! I moved here recently from Virginia
this!! I’ve been writing about how photos feel like little containers of attention - proof I noticed. maybe that’s just another form of passive obsession too
"Your attention is smarter than you are." Really resonates with me.
There an interesting thing that can happen where I can not allow myself to feel proud of creating the things that comes the easiest to me. I've been obsessed with skateboarding for 30 years. I now get to design custom signature models for new professional skaters. I've got two models out now and they have done extremely well. People love the look and function and they've sold great. I don't feel that "proud" because to me the process felt easy and they reception felt inevitable. Not in a cocky way, but like duh, it's easy to know what a good skateboard is.
Anyone else?
hi! I'm new on substack and I really enjoyed this piece. Re your thoughts on listening to intuition / attention - I think this is esp relevant for artists, because a lot of art is driven by emotional resonance. We see something that makes us feel a certain way immediately, but the rationalization for why it makes us feel that way usually comes later, if it ever comes at all. For a piece of art to 'work' - for it to have an effect on a reader - the writer doesn't necessarily need to have the rationalization down. Trusting the instinct + the emotional response is usually enough to instill a similar response in the reader. But imo it's also rlly fun and interesting to figure out the 'why' - why does smth make us feel a certain way (plus usually it's easier to trust the instinct after we come up with the rationalization)
This feels so real! I recently noticed how my brain almost “pulls” me to act on something thats been playing in my head for awhile. Once I note it, I feel calmer and can explore freely. Kinda like adjusting into a bike ride lol
Ava, appreciate you. One of my obsessions is the novel Red Rising. It’s a sci-fi school story, enough said.
This is crap. You're writing is crap
Timothy Callaway talks about the same concept in his book - Inner Game of Tennis
You'd love the book - Inner came of Tennis