This has had me thinking for a couple of days now about stories that particularly resonate with me. For me I think it’s got something to do with shared experience, or the author putting something into words/images that somehow expresses exactly how you feel, perhaps without even realizing it. For example, at the moment I’m reading a sci-fi novel that others might find a bit dense. I love it, because the author is from the same area as me and includes so many subtle references that I delight in, because I rarely come across writing that’s really from my home culture. Other books have especially resonated because of the characters experiencing vastly different cultures from their own, or being far away from home, expressing things that I’ve felt in living abroad for many years. So maybe it’s when the reader and author share a common thread, perhaps something that isn’t easily expressed?
This is a really interesting idea... a bit like two people (the author and reader) connecting through the text because of shared experiences? It reminds me of that pretty famous quote, I can't remember who said it, I think it's from the film Shadowlands, about the life of C.S. Lewis?... about how we read to know we're not alone... to find others whonhave felt the same way we have. I wonder if that applies to writing as well? Whether we write to find connection? Would you say there's a similarity between your own writing and the stories that resonate with you? I'm curious about whether there's a link there. I think personally, for myself, there probably is.
Yes, I think that at some level we do write (and read) to find connection. I mean, writing is also a lot of fun, but I do feel that part of the reason I write is to express things (and even think through things, in a roundabout way) that are hard for me to express verbally.
And yes, I think there probably is a link between the stories that resonate with me and the stories that I write, at least thematically. I think the ones that resonate most are the ones where I sit at the end and think, "Wow! That's the kind of thing I want to be able to write, some day!"
What if the resonance was deeper? Unconscious. Nothing to do with narrative genre, characters, cultural proximity ... On occasion I get so caught up in a story that I can't help but think about it. It's rare, but I feel it is a "molecular resonance". Have you ever got in that?
That's an interesting idea 🤔 Do you mean that resonance might be something that's beyond knowing or fully understanding? That a story might be striking a chord with some inner factor we're unaware of rather than an external factor that shapes who we are and how we respond? Like on a spiritual/soul level? Or something else? I'll have to think on this a bit longer!
I don't really know what I mean. Imagine some kind of quantum reaction at the subatomic level. It's happening, but you can't control it. The electrons are your own, it's you, but at such a deep level that you can't observe the phenomenon, you can only feel the effect. It is within you, but you don't know where it is happening.
There are definitely stories (or pieces of music, or other types of art) that leave me in such awe and wonder that it does feel "molecular" in that it's going right to the very core of my being. As you say, rare, but an incredible feeling. Personally I feel it's a spiritual more than a physical experience, but that needn't rule out something deep going on at the physical level too.
Watership Down. I'm probably not going to be able to express the resonances I felt with Watership Down but I will try my best. It was the first book where my imagination felt tangible. As a child I always felt an affinity to animals, I humanised my pets,the ducks I fed at the local pond and any animal I came across. I still do to this day. I remember I spent a lot of time daydreaming about conversations with animals. So at such a young age to find an author to brought animals to life just like I did in my head was wonderful, infact it made me feel less alone. I felt like I found a kindred spirit.
I think you expressed that really well. Finding a kindred spirit is a really nice way of putting it and I'd say that's also what I feel when I resonate with a story--like someone has understood me and expressed something that reflects my own imagination and desires. Also, Watership Down is a wonderful book, one of my childhood favourites too! 🧡
This is fascinating, and it really got me thinking—also for far longer than seems sane—about what truly makes a story resonate with me. I wonder if it’s a similar sensation as nostalgia, just more active. I think of Hells Paradise, as I often do. That’s a series that no matter how much I explain why I love it, it never fully captures what that series means to me. It has to be the resonance. It also makes me think that resonance could be a matter of relatability. I relate with Gabimaru’s motivation. I relate with Sakura’s plight in Wind Breaker. But again that doesn’t feel like it’s enough to create this whole notion of lasting resonance. I shall be thinking about this awhile longer, it seems!
I'm still figuring it out myself too. There are probably a range of factors that create resonance and it's probably different for each person and then again for each story. It's interesting your point about being able to relate to a character in some way. I guess I often relate to the outsiders or slightly weird characters, like Bachira in Bluelock. When Bachira decides he wants to play football his way, without the monster, even if that means being alone, because that is what makes him happy, it resonated so hard I had a little existential crisis 😅 But on the other hand, lots of the characters that cause resonance for me are often not like me at all... perhaps they represent what I'd like to be like? Or I subconsciously recognise them as a foil of some sorts? Anyway, it's an interesting concept to muse on, so thanks for the inspiration in the first place!
This has had me thinking for a couple of days now about stories that particularly resonate with me. For me I think it’s got something to do with shared experience, or the author putting something into words/images that somehow expresses exactly how you feel, perhaps without even realizing it. For example, at the moment I’m reading a sci-fi novel that others might find a bit dense. I love it, because the author is from the same area as me and includes so many subtle references that I delight in, because I rarely come across writing that’s really from my home culture. Other books have especially resonated because of the characters experiencing vastly different cultures from their own, or being far away from home, expressing things that I’ve felt in living abroad for many years. So maybe it’s when the reader and author share a common thread, perhaps something that isn’t easily expressed?
This is a really interesting idea... a bit like two people (the author and reader) connecting through the text because of shared experiences? It reminds me of that pretty famous quote, I can't remember who said it, I think it's from the film Shadowlands, about the life of C.S. Lewis?... about how we read to know we're not alone... to find others whonhave felt the same way we have. I wonder if that applies to writing as well? Whether we write to find connection? Would you say there's a similarity between your own writing and the stories that resonate with you? I'm curious about whether there's a link there. I think personally, for myself, there probably is.
Yes, I think that at some level we do write (and read) to find connection. I mean, writing is also a lot of fun, but I do feel that part of the reason I write is to express things (and even think through things, in a roundabout way) that are hard for me to express verbally.
And yes, I think there probably is a link between the stories that resonate with me and the stories that I write, at least thematically. I think the ones that resonate most are the ones where I sit at the end and think, "Wow! That's the kind of thing I want to be able to write, some day!"
What if the resonance was deeper? Unconscious. Nothing to do with narrative genre, characters, cultural proximity ... On occasion I get so caught up in a story that I can't help but think about it. It's rare, but I feel it is a "molecular resonance". Have you ever got in that?
That's an interesting idea 🤔 Do you mean that resonance might be something that's beyond knowing or fully understanding? That a story might be striking a chord with some inner factor we're unaware of rather than an external factor that shapes who we are and how we respond? Like on a spiritual/soul level? Or something else? I'll have to think on this a bit longer!
I don't really know what I mean. Imagine some kind of quantum reaction at the subatomic level. It's happening, but you can't control it. The electrons are your own, it's you, but at such a deep level that you can't observe the phenomenon, you can only feel the effect. It is within you, but you don't know where it is happening.
Ooo! So a real physical resonance at a subatomic level? That's a cool thought.
We are all electrons in love with life :-)
There are definitely stories (or pieces of music, or other types of art) that leave me in such awe and wonder that it does feel "molecular" in that it's going right to the very core of my being. As you say, rare, but an incredible feeling. Personally I feel it's a spiritual more than a physical experience, but that needn't rule out something deep going on at the physical level too.
"Spiritual more than physical experience", amazing! Thanks.
Watership Down. I'm probably not going to be able to express the resonances I felt with Watership Down but I will try my best. It was the first book where my imagination felt tangible. As a child I always felt an affinity to animals, I humanised my pets,the ducks I fed at the local pond and any animal I came across. I still do to this day. I remember I spent a lot of time daydreaming about conversations with animals. So at such a young age to find an author to brought animals to life just like I did in my head was wonderful, infact it made me feel less alone. I felt like I found a kindred spirit.
I think you expressed that really well. Finding a kindred spirit is a really nice way of putting it and I'd say that's also what I feel when I resonate with a story--like someone has understood me and expressed something that reflects my own imagination and desires. Also, Watership Down is a wonderful book, one of my childhood favourites too! 🧡
This is fascinating, and it really got me thinking—also for far longer than seems sane—about what truly makes a story resonate with me. I wonder if it’s a similar sensation as nostalgia, just more active. I think of Hells Paradise, as I often do. That’s a series that no matter how much I explain why I love it, it never fully captures what that series means to me. It has to be the resonance. It also makes me think that resonance could be a matter of relatability. I relate with Gabimaru’s motivation. I relate with Sakura’s plight in Wind Breaker. But again that doesn’t feel like it’s enough to create this whole notion of lasting resonance. I shall be thinking about this awhile longer, it seems!
I'm still figuring it out myself too. There are probably a range of factors that create resonance and it's probably different for each person and then again for each story. It's interesting your point about being able to relate to a character in some way. I guess I often relate to the outsiders or slightly weird characters, like Bachira in Bluelock. When Bachira decides he wants to play football his way, without the monster, even if that means being alone, because that is what makes him happy, it resonated so hard I had a little existential crisis 😅 But on the other hand, lots of the characters that cause resonance for me are often not like me at all... perhaps they represent what I'd like to be like? Or I subconsciously recognise them as a foil of some sorts? Anyway, it's an interesting concept to muse on, so thanks for the inspiration in the first place!