18 Comments
Jun 28Liked by Eric Falden

“I refuse to give you crap. Well, I refuse to give you crap intentionally.“ — this is the way. congrats on the new gig!

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Thanks, JC! :)

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Wow, what a brilliant story. Simple and beautiful, bravo.

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A splendid story.

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Thank you, Sean!

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Great story! And congrats on the new job!

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Thanks and thanks!

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Congratulations on the new day job! I can relate to having so much more to write but not enough time to get it all done and polished. I post about every couple weeks (it's getting close to a month now), but I want to put out quality stuff and there's only so much time (and energy) in the day! Looking forward to more stories from you.

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Thanks for the encouragement. I'm not looking forward to the lessened creative time, but I think I'm in a place where that slower cadence will help me creatively. I do believe Quality is better than Quantity, but for too long my Quantity equaled zero. For a long time I'd just sit on my work and not finish things or never move to publish... The last four months have been an exercise in discipline and not holding back waiting for a story to become "perfect." A commitment to a cadence has been a boon to me, in that regard. But now I'm at a place where I'm not scared to publish—I'm scared not to publish—I know I'll be able to use the extra head-space time for higher quality without fading away into indecision or a lack of writing.

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Your story gave me some sort of odd flashbacks. Not in images, but in feelings. It's difficult to describe, but they were warm, like sitting in a comfortable chair, bundled by blankets, a good book in my hand. I loved that feeling, and the story. Thank you ☺️

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Aw, thanks Miranda. Happy to provide that feeling of nostalgia.

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Hey, this is great! It’s not the first time visuals draw my attention to a newsletter, but it’s the quality of the writing that makes me stick around. For you, I’ll stick around, Eric.

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That means a lot, Andrei. I do my best to keep delivering 👍

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I love that this story focuses on the smaller perspective. The peasants who don't know about the greater scheme of politics and battle, just know that they are expected to serve. What is it like for them when a soldier barges in? That may be even more terrifying than the battlefield.

I like your stuff and I support you not producing crap. Enjoy your new job and don't drive yourself insane!

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Thanks for coming by “the forge,” Michael. I think you’re right that this ordeal could have been scarier for these folks than the battle itself.

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This story stumbled across my Notes feed, so glad I read it. Congratulations on the job!

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Thanks, Cat. Can I call you, Cat? Or Ms. Writes? Anyway, thanks for reading. Glad I could stumble into your feed today

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Also, I just read your About page. Always nice to stumble across a fellow Tad Williams fan. 😀😍

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