Hi Alex, this is your first video I've seen and I became very interested in your journey since I'm also wanting to start writing stories. I'm in my junior year and all I'm doing right now is reading as much books I can; taking inspiration from the great minds of the past, hoping one day I can write my own novel. Sometimes I doubt myself on my ablility to write, but I guess that's a process every writers experience. I hope you don't give up on your journey, good luck!
this is my first video i’m seeing from your channel and i wanna tell you how awe-inspiring your ideas and writing samples are as a young writer myself. great work!!
hi alex, i think this is my first time commenting here, as an aspiring novelist myself i just felt the need to. i really like your prose, it sounds very poetic and it's all very descriptive. i've been writing more fragmented pieces and i believe that is because of what i've been reading recently, so maybe your style now is still a good reflection of what you've been reading and has impacted you. that's not bad at all, nothing's 100% original. just feel it in your bones. if you have an idea that you genuinely like, stick to it and work on it. everything else will come to you as you go. i appreciate your willingness to share a bit of the process here, it makes me feel motivated to go back to my writing. please keep going. i would definitely read anything you put out, i'm very intrigued by your thoughts
hi alex this is my first time ever commenting on one of your videos and before i get into this particular one i’d like to say ive been actively watching your channel for a while now and i really enjoy hearing your perspective on the many things you read so i always look forward to a new video from you! I was really hesitant to pick up any of Nabokov’s work but your video on ‘The Luzhin Defense’ really peaked my interest for that particular novel. As for the excerpt you shared, i really enjoyed it and would love to see what you do with it in the future and maybe even see the creative process behind the whole story if youd be open to share that to the channel.
Hi! I'm so happy you've been enjoying the videos and that you took the time to comment. Let me know what you think of The Luzhin Defense if you have read/get around to reading it--I was worried that video was wayyy too long but I really did like the novel and I'm glad you liked hearing about it. And thanks for the encouragement on the excerpt, I definitely want to share more of my process. It's always a little scary to share work in general, but I think it's good for me and it's always incredible when other people are able to get something out of it, so I plan to do more of that in the future. Thanks so much for watching!
like I siad on your last writing video "dude ya can write!" keep up with the story and just do whatever feels right, novel short story or turning it into a poem.. all works
Boy sees a lot of what's wrong in the painting. Is there something special about this scene that gives him a strong feeling about how it should look? Does he habitually judge things harshly? Top knot violates the rules of the space and is ignored. This hangs over the scene as more important than what you move on to. The description of her clothing feels flat. Do her clothing choices say something about her; does his observation of them reveal something about him? Is this another opportunity to show him judging what he sees? It seems like you abandoned the plan to focus on sensation, and pivoted to thought, which is fine unless you really want to commit to the idea. Thanks for sharing!
I wasn't thinking of the painting that way at all, but harsh judgement could be a great piece of his character to focus on. I'm definitely going to try that out. Maybe it could help with the clothing descriptions too, as you pointed out. Really interesting. And yes I agree about the sensation, it's a hard line to toe because I want things to be fluid but also obviously need to get inside the heads of the character for both the work's and my own sake. I really appreciate your thoughts on this, they're very helpful. Thanks for watching!
hi alex, been watching your videos for a while but wanted to say its really inspiring watching your writing process. i love reading, but never had the confidence in myself to write. its hard to get over the initial pain when you have this amazing idea in your head and then you write it down and you realize your skill isnt on the same level as your taste. anyway, this video has inspired me to keep trying. btw - have you read "stoner" by John Williams? would be curious to hear your thoughts on it. looking forward to your future vids.
Hi Alex, I've been watching your videos for a few months now, but this is the first time I've really felt compelled to comment. This video was amazing, as always, but I think the vulnerability of exposing your work encouraged me to leave my (not so relevant) feedback. English is not my first language, and although I read books in English all the time, some of the more poetic prose like yours is a challenge for me. I had to go back through some of the passages to really understand what you were trying to say, it felt like I was reading David Foster Wallace in a way, I rarely have to reread the same passage that much. This is not a criticism in any way, I tend to write the same way, even when I try not to. Maybe it's a challenge for you too, not to describe everything so deeply, trying to put into words every act and feeling, or maybe that's your biggest goal, if so, know that the execution is excellent. I don't know your age, but I'm sure that if I heard this fragment of your story without associating it with your face, I would imagine that a much older person wrote it. Anyway, I'm looking forward to your next videos!!!
There's nothing wrong with working with the elements of a story like you're doing. Sometimes, you work a sentence or paragraph or a few pages and you find something you couldn't have planned out. But, I noticed that you have a way of writing a sentence and then having a concluding phrase which you elaborate in three or four different phrases. Try to tighten this up. Those phases are good but they're pointing you back to the main sentence... you were trying to say something and each of those attempts are attempts to get at it. I suppose what I'm saying is: read more Hemingway. Very much enjoyed listening to this.
That's such a good point, and I appreciate the way you phrased it. Definitely similar to some feedback I've gotten on other pieces. I do extend some sentences too far. I wonder if adding a shorter sentence to the end could break up the structure too? Anyways, thanks for the feedback. And glad you liked the video.
Glad I found this channel today 😭 currently hiding away from the Christmas partying to listen to this
SAMEEEE
@ no way 😭 we in this together 🤝
Man you could read for audible, Your voice is great for it.
Hi Alex, this is your first video I've seen and I became very interested in your journey since I'm also wanting to start writing stories. I'm in my junior year and all I'm doing right now is reading as much books I can; taking inspiration from the great minds of the past, hoping one day I can write my own novel. Sometimes I doubt myself on my ablility to write, but I guess that's a process every writers experience. I hope you don't give up on your journey, good luck!
you're doing it the right way bro! you gotta read a lot before you can write
Your prose is smooth. It sounds like a poem.
Thank you so so much:)
this is my first video i’m seeing from your channel and i wanna tell you how awe-inspiring your ideas and writing samples are as a young writer myself. great work!!
hi alex, i think this is my first time commenting here, as an aspiring novelist myself i just felt the need to. i really like your prose, it sounds very poetic and it's all very descriptive. i've been writing more fragmented pieces and i believe that is because of what i've been reading recently, so maybe your style now is still a good reflection of what you've been reading and has impacted you. that's not bad at all, nothing's 100% original. just feel it in your bones. if you have an idea that you genuinely like, stick to it and work on it. everything else will come to you as you go. i appreciate your willingness to share a bit of the process here, it makes me feel motivated to go back to my writing. please keep going. i would definitely read anything you put out, i'm very intrigued by your thoughts
hi alex
this is my first time ever commenting on one of your videos and before i get into this particular one i’d like to say ive been actively watching your channel for a while now and i really enjoy hearing your perspective on the many things you read so i always look forward to a new video from you! I was really hesitant to pick up any of Nabokov’s work but your video on ‘The Luzhin Defense’ really peaked my interest for that particular novel.
As for the excerpt you shared, i really enjoyed it and would love to see what you do with it in the future and maybe even see the creative process behind the whole story if youd be open to share that to the channel.
Hi! I'm so happy you've been enjoying the videos and that you took the time to comment. Let me know what you think of The Luzhin Defense if you have read/get around to reading it--I was worried that video was wayyy too long but I really did like the novel and I'm glad you liked hearing about it. And thanks for the encouragement on the excerpt, I definitely want to share more of my process. It's always a little scary to share work in general, but I think it's good for me and it's always incredible when other people are able to get something out of it, so I plan to do more of that in the future. Thanks so much for watching!
like I siad on your last writing video "dude ya can write!" keep up with the story and just do whatever feels right, novel short story or turning it into a poem.. all works
Boy sees a lot of what's wrong in the painting. Is there something special about this scene that gives him a strong feeling about how it should look? Does he habitually judge things harshly?
Top knot violates the rules of the space and is ignored. This hangs over the scene as more important than what you move on to.
The description of her clothing feels flat. Do her clothing choices say something about her; does his observation of them reveal something about him? Is this another opportunity to show him judging what he sees?
It seems like you abandoned the plan to focus on sensation, and pivoted to thought, which is fine unless you really want to commit to the idea.
Thanks for sharing!
I wasn't thinking of the painting that way at all, but harsh judgement could be a great piece of his character to focus on. I'm definitely going to try that out. Maybe it could help with the clothing descriptions too, as you pointed out. Really interesting.
And yes I agree about the sensation, it's a hard line to toe because I want things to be fluid but also obviously need to get inside the heads of the character for both the work's and my own sake. I really appreciate your thoughts on this, they're very helpful.
Thanks for watching!
Keep the good work
hi alex, been watching your videos for a while but wanted to say its really inspiring watching your writing process. i love reading, but never had the confidence in myself to write. its hard to get over the initial pain when you have this amazing idea in your head and then you write it down and you realize your skill isnt on the same level as your taste. anyway, this video has inspired me to keep trying. btw - have you read "stoner" by John Williams? would be curious to hear your thoughts on it. looking forward to your future vids.
Alex you are so beautiful it makes my heart ache 😔
Hi Alex, I've been watching your videos for a few months now, but this is the first time I've really felt compelled to comment. This video was amazing, as always, but I think the vulnerability of exposing your work encouraged me to leave my (not so relevant) feedback. English is not my first language, and although I read books in English all the time, some of the more poetic prose like yours is a challenge for me. I had to go back through some of the passages to really understand what you were trying to say, it felt like I was reading David Foster Wallace in a way, I rarely have to reread the same passage that much. This is not a criticism in any way, I tend to write the same way, even when I try not to. Maybe it's a challenge for you too, not to describe everything so deeply, trying to put into words every act and feeling, or maybe that's your biggest goal, if so, know that the execution is excellent. I don't know your age, but I'm sure that if I heard this fragment of your story without associating it with your face, I would imagine that a much older person wrote it. Anyway, I'm looking forward to your next videos!!!
There's nothing wrong with working with the elements of a story like you're doing. Sometimes, you work a sentence or paragraph or a few pages and you find something you couldn't have planned out.
But, I noticed that you have a way of writing a sentence and then having a concluding phrase which you elaborate in three or four different phrases. Try to tighten this up. Those phases are good but they're pointing you back to the main sentence... you were trying to say something and each of those attempts are attempts to get at it.
I suppose what I'm saying is: read more Hemingway.
Very much enjoyed listening to this.
That's such a good point, and I appreciate the way you phrased it. Definitely similar to some feedback I've gotten on other pieces. I do extend some sentences too far. I wonder if adding a shorter sentence to the end could break up the structure too? Anyways, thanks for the feedback. And glad you liked the video.