I’ve been thinking about ditching the long form posts in favor of snippy, Hemingway-esque, direct writing. I think there is less resistance to engage with short form writing here on Substack. I’ll test this with an experiment. 🧐
Have you read the essay "the Crane wife" in the Paris review? It's a piece I come back to almost annually and every time take something new. Good writing just hits!
Thanks, Melinda! I've added it to my reading list. Always appreciate a recommendation (and I'm biased by anything Paris related, because I love everything Parisian).
Your side-by-side is an awesome illustration of the impact of details—putting us in that scene with you made the next morning's decision much more impactful! Thank you for sharing this with us.
And thank you for this shoutout! I'm so honored you found my essay moving enough to share. I've enjoyed getting to know you as I edit alongside you—I'm also learning so much from our students. What a wonderful bunch of people WoP'ers are! <3
Thanks, Erin! You're such a beautiful writer. Likewise, I'm learning a lot from our students and feel so lucky to be on the Editing team with such an incredible bunch of writers. <3
I remember chatting with Simone (Silverstein) ahead of our first cohort as mentors and we didn't know what to expect. But she said something I'll never forget:
"All I know is it'll be rewarding."
And man was it ever! Editing is proving to be the same. :)
So good, and so true about specifics (what a difference in the before and after). Awesome to see you mention the cohort and feature some essays. Glad to hear that editing is sparking craft revelations!
Haha, yah! Anthony and I actually connected through the Feedback Gym so it's all thanks to you kicking that off that I was able to have that eye-opening moment. So thank you!
Definitely makes me think more students should take advantage of the gym. It's so valuable to talk through stuff and aligns well with our "write from conversation" pillar.
Anyway, thanks for being at the helm of the "Editing Ship." The program you've built out is unreal, and we all appreciate what a phenomenal job you're doing leading the team.
So with you on the initial dismay of getting a mirror on my writing, but the ultimate huge benefit of having that many helpful eyes on my work and getting the reflections needed to improve.
Yes, feedback is amazing because it gets you closer to your goal. But I think it's important to acknowledge that *initially* it can feel discouraging to hear "you have more work to do" when you think you're further along than you are.
That doesn't mean you can't get excited about the challenge of integrating the feedback! I always do once the initial sting wears off (and that can be as short as a few minutes). Then I'm back to my quest.
A big reason I'm sharing this is I find people talk about feedback "attitudes" as if people either embrace it wholeheartedly or reject it as a whole. When in reality, it's normal for us to be pro-feedback and yet still feel the odd frustration in accepting it before getting to work. This is why I tell myself (and others) to make space to process it when you feel a knee-jerk reaction to push back on it out of pride or ego.
This is really important advice, and the stages you describe mirror with my experience. I think you could do a whole piece on how to take and work with feedback. It kind of reminds of me of Elizabeth Kubler Ross's stages of grief. It could be funny to apply those stages to our understanding of the feedback process. How to grieve the death of the essay you thought you wrote, or something like that.
"The death of the essay" LOL I love that! I'm here for the dramatic flair.
As I was responding to your comment, I was thinking the same thing - I could write a newsletter on this. Thanks for the validation! I'll have to check out EKR's stuff.
That side by side is night and day. Way to show me rather than tell 😎
🙏🏻😎
I’ve been thinking about ditching the long form posts in favor of snippy, Hemingway-esque, direct writing. I think there is less resistance to engage with short form writing here on Substack. I’ll test this with an experiment. 🧐
Have you read the essay "the Crane wife" in the Paris review? It's a piece I come back to almost annually and every time take something new. Good writing just hits!
Thanks, Melinda! I've added it to my reading list. Always appreciate a recommendation (and I'm biased by anything Paris related, because I love everything Parisian).
Your side-by-side is an awesome illustration of the impact of details—putting us in that scene with you made the next morning's decision much more impactful! Thank you for sharing this with us.
And thank you for this shoutout! I'm so honored you found my essay moving enough to share. I've enjoyed getting to know you as I edit alongside you—I'm also learning so much from our students. What a wonderful bunch of people WoP'ers are! <3
Thanks, Erin! You're such a beautiful writer. Likewise, I'm learning a lot from our students and feel so lucky to be on the Editing team with such an incredible bunch of writers. <3
I remember chatting with Simone (Silverstein) ahead of our first cohort as mentors and we didn't know what to expect. But she said something I'll never forget:
"All I know is it'll be rewarding."
And man was it ever! Editing is proving to be the same. :)
So honored by your mention!
I'm glad! Your piece is fantastic and I want as many people to read it as possible.
So good, and so true about specifics (what a difference in the before and after). Awesome to see you mention the cohort and feature some essays. Glad to hear that editing is sparking craft revelations!
Haha, yah! Anthony and I actually connected through the Feedback Gym so it's all thanks to you kicking that off that I was able to have that eye-opening moment. So thank you!
Definitely makes me think more students should take advantage of the gym. It's so valuable to talk through stuff and aligns well with our "write from conversation" pillar.
Anyway, thanks for being at the helm of the "Editing Ship." The program you've built out is unreal, and we all appreciate what a phenomenal job you're doing leading the team.
So with you on the initial dismay of getting a mirror on my writing, but the ultimate huge benefit of having that many helpful eyes on my work and getting the reflections needed to improve.
Yes, feedback is amazing because it gets you closer to your goal. But I think it's important to acknowledge that *initially* it can feel discouraging to hear "you have more work to do" when you think you're further along than you are.
That doesn't mean you can't get excited about the challenge of integrating the feedback! I always do once the initial sting wears off (and that can be as short as a few minutes). Then I'm back to my quest.
A big reason I'm sharing this is I find people talk about feedback "attitudes" as if people either embrace it wholeheartedly or reject it as a whole. When in reality, it's normal for us to be pro-feedback and yet still feel the odd frustration in accepting it before getting to work. This is why I tell myself (and others) to make space to process it when you feel a knee-jerk reaction to push back on it out of pride or ego.
This is really important advice, and the stages you describe mirror with my experience. I think you could do a whole piece on how to take and work with feedback. It kind of reminds of me of Elizabeth Kubler Ross's stages of grief. It could be funny to apply those stages to our understanding of the feedback process. How to grieve the death of the essay you thought you wrote, or something like that.
"The death of the essay" LOL I love that! I'm here for the dramatic flair.
As I was responding to your comment, I was thinking the same thing - I could write a newsletter on this. Thanks for the validation! I'll have to check out EKR's stuff.
Appreciate you, Rick!
What a generous essay--in the advice, example, and spotlighting. I love this, Alexandra. Also, are you still in London???
Thanks, Alissa! Appreciate you. And no, I'm back in Montreal so let me know if you ever roll through! :D