Reminder: Tenacious Magic Virtual Book Club Is Tomorrow Evening 6-7pm EDT
Join me and some fellow reader-contributors for a lively discussion about the emergent novel I've been sharing every Friday
Dear Friends,
Just wanted to remind you that I will be hosting a live book club chat about Tenacious Magic tomorrow night from 6-7pm EDT. It’s open to anyone…come if you’re interested in the writing, the story, or the process. I loved our first session together and I know this one will be rich, too. I feel excited to hear about your experience and field any questions or suggestions that are arising.
I want to offer from my perspective, what’s been happening in the story since we last met…from a process standpoint and a content standpoint. We can talk more about it tomorrow.
From a process standpoint—This week on Friday, I will release Chapter 12. That means I’ve been at this for 12 weeks. Though, of course, I’ve been living it for over a decade. But, the active and public act of releasing the story into the world, into your inboxes, hearts and minds, has been going on since January. It’s now Spring. I feel like we are on a roll.
The pace is doable, but daunting. As I write, I find there is more and more to say. The chapters started around 3K words and now they are coming in around 5-6K. Substack has a limit and each week I am working to stay under that limit. I think this is partly because the story is opening up fractally in so many dimensions for me. My big juggling act during the week is editing and finding the right pieces to convey the spirit of the events. I have so many anecdotes. So many sessions with H. So many thoughts and reflections. It’s a big story. But, this is an important part of the art of storytelling—knowing what needs to be included.
Reader comments have been most helpful in helping me focus. When you express particular interest in an aspect of the action—like when Sam and Holly both expressed interest in hearing more about ‘the dark feminine’—I can focus with confidence. Chapter 12 will begin to unfold the teachings of the dark feminine as they came to me at that time (they have since come in other ways).
I try not to think ahead more than a week. Because the stories thread and weave together, I often think of KM’s next chapter while I am writing mine and vice versa. In this way I am writing two chapters at once all the time. I am trying NOT to worry about how long the story will be or where it’s going.
Probably I could let go of what little control I do have and we’d get an even more interesting experiment, but I do find myself concerned with not LOSING people, as I know I have already “lost” many who don’t understand this project or don’t care for it. I can understand all of the above, but whatever tenacious magic I am beholden to, will not let me go until this is “done.” I am grateful for those who are with me and I hope those who are not will stick around for my other work.
I also have heard from friends who are simply “behind” in their reading and taking it in more slowly than I am releasing it. Those folks sometimes express a concern at feeling “behind” but I like to reassure them, if this story is to stay alive, I need their engagement, too. I hope people will keep picking this up at Chapter 1 and coming along whenever it suits.
Finally, I began to put the story behind a paywall around Chapter 7. This has definitely thinned out the number of people who have stayed engaged. Part of me wants to just keep publishing for free, but I also want to try this financial model Substack offers. I believe creators should be compensated for their work. I am not doing it FOR that and I believe in other forms of compensation (like karma ;) I haven’t had many new paid subscriptions, so maybe it’s not working. Or maybe it will take time to migrate folks over. I’m not sure. I’m happy to receive guidance here.
From a content standpoint—The themes that seem to me to be most alive right now as I write are:
Motherhood/Artistry and the Spiritual Path, especially as that “choice” is presented to women. I know men feel it, too, but there is a particularly visceral and generational quality to the experience of the mother who’s attention is split. How to integrate this? KM was dealing with it and I am dealing with it in my story (and as I write today, still dealing with it).
What is the Tenacious Magic? I have some hypotheses. My first guess is the reconciliation and ultimate union of the masculine and feminine within and between us. My second guess is the magic that has been woven through time between the four main characters and who we are to each other—what bigger picture are we a part of and what engaged us in this mission through space and time. My third guess is the act of writing, the alchemy of metabolizing trauma and repairing archetypal integrity through art. Probably it’s all of the above. I don’t think I will know until we are done, but I am curious what you think!
The accurate and fair representation of characters and motives in situations that are about to get murky in terms of ethics and integrity—as seen from a conventional viewpoint. Yikes. I pray for guidance from KM, the Above, and YOU here.
If any of this speaks to you, come! You’re welcome. Bring your tea or wine or whatever and let’s have a nice chat about it all.
With love.
The thing that came up for me (and I don't know if it will provide any help or guidance) was this sense of being ahead of your time. That often people who are pushing boundaries and experimenting with ideas that are coming through them are not fully recognized until well after the seeds of their work have been planted. I imagine this was also true of Gurdjieef's and KM's work. Interesting to think about how they navigated this issue as well--finding a way to stay afloat in the reality of mortality and all its demands, while also remaining devoted to the magic that was tenaciously moving through them. I know Jung spoke of the torment of being called to be a creator (his 2 personalities). Again, I don't have much guidance here, only reflections that were calling to be shared.
I admit I stopped reading when it went behind the paywall. Even though I agree writers should be compensated, I'm not in a position to do so right now. Also editing and suggesting changes is work, so it could be seen that you are asking people to pay to work, which is probably why only a few extra people signed up. I don't have the answer I'm afraid, and I think this is a great project. I will buy the book when it's done.