16 Comments
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Wil Reidie's avatar

Love and Theft is one of my favourites. I really enjoy the song factory, Karl. I'll look forward to its return. And good luck with your other endeavours.

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Karl Straub's avatar

Thanks, Wil! I’m excited about the fiction I’m writing, but man does it take up time.

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neena maiya's avatar

I picture you tapping away on your keyboard, getting up to pace the floor.

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Karl Straub's avatar

You are picturing something that is really happening. But read on for a moment— unless you don’t want to have to adjust your picture, slightly.

I don’t have a keyboard. I write exclusively on my phone, or sometimes IPad. I don’t like to write in the iPad. The awkward thumb spacing means many typing errors, and wasted time and energy fixing them. It’s better for reading back, or looking at the outline for the novel.

One advantage of keyboard avoidance— the pacing and the typing can overlap quite a bit. I’ll type an idea onto my phone and then it’s back to the pacing. Or— I can dictate into the phone while I’m walking.

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neena maiya's avatar

So now I’m picturing you tapping away into your phone, pacing, and reading back what you’ve written.

Wow. You’re writing a book on your phone! I have pieces of a book on my iPad. But I’ve been writing by hand too. Pen and paper. Many writers recommend this. I dream of using a typewriter. Instant print without a printer.

Good luck, I hope you finish soon and it’s well received.

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Karl Straub's avatar

I figure everybody writes with the tools they prefer. When I was younger, I wrote in notebooks. At some point I had a blog and sat down and wrote at a keyboard and stared at a large screen. I think the phone thing started happening when I had to write while sitting in my car, waiting for my son to be done with soccer practice.

Thanks for the encouragement! We shall see. I’ve been working hard every day for a while now.

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neena maiya's avatar

Drink water, eat an apple. It’s supposed to help.

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Karl Straub's avatar

I only had an orange on hand, so I had that.

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daisy cashin's avatar

ITS NOT FOREVER!

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Karl Straub's avatar

It’s not forever. I’m proud of what I’m doing here, but it’s also true that too much time on substack can mean not enough time writing.

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daisy cashin's avatar

yes I have been reckoning with this fact lately. excited to see the fiction you’ve got cooking!

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Karl Straub's avatar

Thank you! Our colleague Yung baudelaire had to completely leave to balance the scales— a cautionary tale.

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daisy cashin's avatar

Indeed.

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Kathleen Clare Waller's avatar

Thanks for the music and look forward to the return!

In the meantime, have fun with the fiction, Karl. I've also made some choices in the last couple months to make that space. It does take space!

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Karl Straub's avatar

Ugh, you just can’t do it all! But I can definitely say I’m excited about the offline writing I’m doing; it’s getting better, and there’s no way it would be as good without the stuff I’ve been doing on substack, and the generous support from people like you and Wil. Thanks for all your help!

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Karl Straub's avatar

I can give you tips on how to be more productive, any time you like!

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