Whoa! This looks different. Still simple and straightforward, but attached to the left. What the heck is going on? Well, I’ve switched from Substack to Buttondown. One of Buttondown’s selling points is its barebones simplicity, though maybe some might find that simplicity to be a detriment. I’ve come around to really liking it, and hope you don’t find the change too jarring.
Anyway, hello friends, and welcome to Hello Void issue 3. Right off the bat we get existential with Is Anybody out There, followed by a musical interlude, and ending with Insert Text.
Is Anybody out There?
Photo by I’ve been flip-flopping a lot on what I want to do with this whole writing thing. Some days I have the urge to dropout of publishing and instead just upload everything I write to an anonymous blog. It would definitely cause me less existential dread.
And yet I keep going, probably because I’m stubborn.
The few works I’ve lobbed out into the universe haven’t made a splash. Add onto that how I find it hard to see a path toward getting a novel (or another novella) published. I end up asking myself if this is self-imposed stress that I could shed.
Writers write. Don’t fixate on things you can’t control. Finish the damn book.
It’s a mantra that’s gotten a dull edge over time. I don’t know how long stubbornness can propel me forward. And my spite reserves were never particularly robust. Pretty soon I’m going to be hovering through the void without any means of propulsion, alone yet acutely aware of all the other millions trying to dogpaddle toward the same goal. I’ll cheer when someone reaches their goal, but that won’t stop me drifting away from mine.
One bit of solace is knowing that not only have other writers gone through this as well, but they found a way through to the other side. It’s heartening to know that there is a path forward, even if I can’t see it.
I don’t have an insightful or declarative way to end this segment. I’ve just been stewing on this idea for awhile now. There are a lot of days when I get to the knife’s edge of tapping out. Thankfully, I’ve still got some stubbornness reserves.
Interlude
I absolutely adore this cover of “I'm Outta Love” by Hannah Boulton and Rabea Massaad, alongside a bunch of talented folks. All around mesmerizing (and vastly different from the original), I’ve been listening to it on repeat ever since I first heard it.
Insert Text
Okay, listen. This issue ended up being a little ramshackle. And, full disclosure, I couldn’t think of a segment to put here. Instead, we’re going miscellaneous, I’m hoping no one out in the endless net will take umbrage. Next issue—if all goes well—I plan to do a double feature talking about my replays of Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy IV. I just finished both and didn’t want to rush it for this issue, hence its ramshackle nature.
This year the Writing Excuses podcast has been doing a series of master classes. One of which is about poetry (eps 16.11–16.18) with Amal El-Mohtar—who has her very own and very good newsletter that you should check out. I’ve dabbled in poetry before, but have never been very good at it. It’s been extremely enlightening (all the master classes and their teachers have been!), and given me a newfound respect for poetry and its power. One of the exercises was to write three haikus. Which I did. Two of them aren’t very good, but there is one I like. I’ve shared it below and hope you dig it.
Superhero
Flying through the sky.
Hope on the horizon, give,
love, and never stop.
This was inspired by my frustration with current media trends of making Superman knockoffs that are bloody and violent. I’ve found myself wishing for a hopeful Superman. I hadn’t expected it to manifest in an impromptu poetry exercise, but I guess that’s the value of working within constraints. It forces you to give your ideas a shape.
Signing Off
Thus concludes Hello Void issue 3, and the first issue sent out via Buttondown! You can view the Buttondown archive here, and as always I maintain an archive on my website at matthewmarchitto.com/hello-void
If you’d like to find me around the web, you can follow me via Twitter, tumblr, Instagram, and Goodreads.
Or check out my website, matthewmarchitto.com, where you’ll find links to all my work and more.
Thanks for reading!
Banner Photo by Patrick Carr on Unsplash