I loved hearing the backstory, the grief, the build-up, the original direction, and then Lamb revealing his own story through the process. Almost feels like time needed to work on your insides for a bit, the loss too complex, too near, to write as non-fiction. I love it when creativity asserts herself and says, Hell no, we’re going this way buddy! So looking forward to learning more when we connect for an interview.
Thank you my dear, looking forward to our tête-à-tête (no I do not know how to put all those accents in, that's a cut and paste job ;) I was delighted to salvage Lamb's story from the flames of oblivion...
Super cool to read the story of how Lamb came to be. It’s so interesting how one story/idea will spring out of another. Sometimes I feel like some of the ideas I want write about don’t work just so that they can give birth to another.
Looking forward to reading the rest of Lamb, Troy :)
It's been a revelation of sorts, I must admit - and I've been tempted to go back to some earlier aborted novel ideas and see if I can salvage them as short stories. Thanks Michael!
Really appreciate reading the pieces of backstory here Troy, and how it went it one direction but ultimately found it's way into what it is now. Such things are always fascinating. It's a wonderful, rich tale and it fits the serialisation here so well.
Thanks Nathan - really hoping at some point Substack pulls things together for fiction writers in terms of formatting and such, although in our own underdog way, it feels a little like the Fiction Resistance... ;) We need a flag, or a handshake or something...
I keep my fingers crossed. There's a bit of an influx perhaps, especially with the Killing Eve guy getting a big following and feature on Substack, so maybe more tools will get rolled out. Maybe! 🤞
Something that's already been said, about Lamb feeling familiar, I do think there really is something to this, compounded, for me, by the image of Lamb (the photo reminds me of someone but it's vague), and the qualities dip into a shared experience of being tender,-and here the name Lamb just melts me- and the suffering too. The wrench of not knowing, of what could have been; you have brought together such relatable experiences with the magic of your pen, Troy, and your highly endearing mind.💜
Thank you Mya! That's so sweet of you to say - and look at me inventing all sorts of reasons for why Lamb is resonating in a familiar and touching chord other than my writing... 😹😻😽
I really appreciate this bit of backstory, Troy. It's interesting to know how the story, and perhaps Lamb, have been brewing for a while. I know I said I wasn't going to keep on about (I lied, apparently!) but isn't it wild how many people have the sense that Lamb is someone they knew / know..?? Is this something that is interesting to you, too, or am I fixating on it unnecessarily..?! Help! 💜
It's fascinating to me, and it is curious too - I wonder if it has something to do with the way we click with certain people in an immediate way? Or perhaps Lamb reminds you of someone you really did once know, and there's something about him that's plucking that string for you? This is a sort of ghost story, in a way, since we've known since the first episode that he died, and sometimes that "haunting" factor can be very powerful - I would say that in both this story and my novel, the things that haunted me were the ones that felt most important to write about... As ever, thank you, my dear - I'm so glad for your empathy, this is a very personal story to me. 🩷🧡🩵
It's interesting how things that happen in our youth stick with us and impact us even years later. Amazing that you are creating such a wonderfully written and amazing adventure loosely based on your own experience. Your writing rings true and is both raw and touching because of it. Keep it up!
It was interesting to hear the backstory. I’m always fascinated about the things that I subconsciously hit the record button on in my life that come up in my stories much later. I also applaud the table of contents, and the usability polish you’ve done to help readers.
Felt like a good time before too too many episodes passed to get that ToC up.
I have found since I stopped trying to write in the fantasy genre that I'm connecting with my realistic stories much more - even when there's just a drop of personal experience involved, it still rings more true for me. Thanks Ben!
From pain - and dissonance, we write, and we learn about ourselves along the way. I'm so sorry that high school was shit and that your friend died. It's incredible the way some things stick with us and just won't come unstuck in our brains no matter how much we think we've tried to create with them already. Poor Lamb but lucky us for this story. Hope it will reach some people who might need to hear it for whatever reason.
Thanks Kate! I do still wonder about my friend, no further info has ever been forthcoming since I found his brief obituary - I guess this is my way of memorializing something I will probably never know for sure.
Oooh yay! Thank you for this one-stop shop, since we can’t access Sections on the app. I shall put it in the Saves. Now I know by the 💖 where I left off!
Forever fascinated by the creative process, I love knowing how this awesome tale came into being. With these deep, impactful losses… we who process through fiction do this. 🤓 They start out as one thing and so often become Themselves. I’m so glad you have this to navigate that kind of pain. The not knowing…I have a mystery loss like that and I’ve never been able to learn WHAT actually happened. It’s everywhere in certain tales my fiction. Thank you so much for sharing yours with us—both the fiction and its origins.
Sounds like you and I are writing from a similar place in some of our work - it is hard, the not knowing. Thank you so much for reading and your comment, Alexx - much appreciated!
Thank you for sharing all these things with us! I look forward to getting the breathing space to dive back in. This story is one of my dangling carrots right now. 🥰
Thank you for sharing your life story, dear Troy. I'm sorry for your loss. Sometimes real life is hard to write about, but parts of it can be true and real in fiction. It's good you pursued the story further at least in the form of Lamb's story. And it's an absolute delight and ache to read, in the greatest way possible! <3
Thank you my dear - I was very glad to salvage the story that fizzled, and find a way to give voice to the memory. Hope you are feeling better/more rested... 🧡🧡🧡
Thank you for sharing the backstory, Troy. It somehow makes the novel even more poignant.
Thanks Jeffrey!
I loved hearing the backstory, the grief, the build-up, the original direction, and then Lamb revealing his own story through the process. Almost feels like time needed to work on your insides for a bit, the loss too complex, too near, to write as non-fiction. I love it when creativity asserts herself and says, Hell no, we’re going this way buddy! So looking forward to learning more when we connect for an interview.
Thank you my dear, looking forward to our tête-à-tête (no I do not know how to put all those accents in, that's a cut and paste job ;) I was delighted to salvage Lamb's story from the flames of oblivion...
Super cool to read the story of how Lamb came to be. It’s so interesting how one story/idea will spring out of another. Sometimes I feel like some of the ideas I want write about don’t work just so that they can give birth to another.
Looking forward to reading the rest of Lamb, Troy :)
It's been a revelation of sorts, I must admit - and I've been tempted to go back to some earlier aborted novel ideas and see if I can salvage them as short stories. Thanks Michael!
That’s a good idea. Could be a gold mine :)
Really appreciate reading the pieces of backstory here Troy, and how it went it one direction but ultimately found it's way into what it is now. Such things are always fascinating. It's a wonderful, rich tale and it fits the serialisation here so well.
Thanks Nathan - really hoping at some point Substack pulls things together for fiction writers in terms of formatting and such, although in our own underdog way, it feels a little like the Fiction Resistance... ;) We need a flag, or a handshake or something...
✍️🤜🤛
I keep my fingers crossed. There's a bit of an influx perhaps, especially with the Killing Eve guy getting a big following and feature on Substack, so maybe more tools will get rolled out. Maybe! 🤞
Something that's already been said, about Lamb feeling familiar, I do think there really is something to this, compounded, for me, by the image of Lamb (the photo reminds me of someone but it's vague), and the qualities dip into a shared experience of being tender,-and here the name Lamb just melts me- and the suffering too. The wrench of not knowing, of what could have been; you have brought together such relatable experiences with the magic of your pen, Troy, and your highly endearing mind.💜
Thank you Mya! That's so sweet of you to say - and look at me inventing all sorts of reasons for why Lamb is resonating in a familiar and touching chord other than my writing... 😹😻😽
Yes, which is why the comment section is so precious, so we can remind you that it is who you are and how you connect that creates such magic..💛
I really appreciate this bit of backstory, Troy. It's interesting to know how the story, and perhaps Lamb, have been brewing for a while. I know I said I wasn't going to keep on about (I lied, apparently!) but isn't it wild how many people have the sense that Lamb is someone they knew / know..?? Is this something that is interesting to you, too, or am I fixating on it unnecessarily..?! Help! 💜
It's fascinating to me, and it is curious too - I wonder if it has something to do with the way we click with certain people in an immediate way? Or perhaps Lamb reminds you of someone you really did once know, and there's something about him that's plucking that string for you? This is a sort of ghost story, in a way, since we've known since the first episode that he died, and sometimes that "haunting" factor can be very powerful - I would say that in both this story and my novel, the things that haunted me were the ones that felt most important to write about... As ever, thank you, my dear - I'm so glad for your empathy, this is a very personal story to me. 🩷🧡🩵
It's interesting how things that happen in our youth stick with us and impact us even years later. Amazing that you are creating such a wonderfully written and amazing adventure loosely based on your own experience. Your writing rings true and is both raw and touching because of it. Keep it up!
Those formative years of youth - they shape everything, in ways we don't always anticipate... Thanks ducks! 💚🦆💚
It was interesting to hear the backstory. I’m always fascinated about the things that I subconsciously hit the record button on in my life that come up in my stories much later. I also applaud the table of contents, and the usability polish you’ve done to help readers.
Felt like a good time before too too many episodes passed to get that ToC up.
I have found since I stopped trying to write in the fantasy genre that I'm connecting with my realistic stories much more - even when there's just a drop of personal experience involved, it still rings more true for me. Thanks Ben!
From pain - and dissonance, we write, and we learn about ourselves along the way. I'm so sorry that high school was shit and that your friend died. It's incredible the way some things stick with us and just won't come unstuck in our brains no matter how much we think we've tried to create with them already. Poor Lamb but lucky us for this story. Hope it will reach some people who might need to hear it for whatever reason.
Thanks Kate! I do still wonder about my friend, no further info has ever been forthcoming since I found his brief obituary - I guess this is my way of memorializing something I will probably never know for sure.
Oooh yay! Thank you for this one-stop shop, since we can’t access Sections on the app. I shall put it in the Saves. Now I know by the 💖 where I left off!
Forever fascinated by the creative process, I love knowing how this awesome tale came into being. With these deep, impactful losses… we who process through fiction do this. 🤓 They start out as one thing and so often become Themselves. I’m so glad you have this to navigate that kind of pain. The not knowing…I have a mystery loss like that and I’ve never been able to learn WHAT actually happened. It’s everywhere in certain tales my fiction. Thank you so much for sharing yours with us—both the fiction and its origins.
Sounds like you and I are writing from a similar place in some of our work - it is hard, the not knowing. Thank you so much for reading and your comment, Alexx - much appreciated!
Thank you for sharing all these things with us! I look forward to getting the breathing space to dive back in. This story is one of my dangling carrots right now. 🥰
Thank you for sharing your life story, dear Troy. I'm sorry for your loss. Sometimes real life is hard to write about, but parts of it can be true and real in fiction. It's good you pursued the story further at least in the form of Lamb's story. And it's an absolute delight and ache to read, in the greatest way possible! <3
Thank you my dear - I was very glad to salvage the story that fizzled, and find a way to give voice to the memory. Hope you are feeling better/more rested... 🧡🧡🧡
I'm glad you were able to as well. Thank you my lovely friend. I will soon. I hope you're taking care. :-* <3