JUNE 2025 – Being a detail oriented person can be extremely helpful when it comes to the world of design and for creating art. Being able to focus in on the tiny elements that help make up the whole and give even the smallest components their due attention is essential for creating great works of literature and artistry. Nothing not considered, everything pondered, analyzed, and fussed over.
It’s just funny how this lesson doesn’t always translate very well to the rest of one’s life, haha. As you can pay too much attention to the little things and miss the overall arc and majesty of the moment. This is certainly something that I’m guilty of – as in modern life it is ever so easy to not fully appreciate what you have until it is gone. And while it is important to care for and pay attention to the needs of the moment, you will be punished for doing so too much. For not zooming out and looking at the bigger picture.
I don’t have any easy solution to this, you just have to remind yourself to come up for air, to be thankful for life in the moment, and to keep the larger arc in mind. Sure, details matter, perfecting your efforts matters, but so does compromise, patience, mutual understanding, and taking a step back to make sure you are still headed in the right direction!
This month I read ‘The Slow Regard of Silent Things’ by Patrick Rothfuss, which as many other have joked really lives up to its name with its glacial pace. It really is a good reminder that you can become a victim of your own success. After writing the incredible ‘The Name of the Wind’ and ‘The Wise Man’s Fear’ the pressure to follow up and exceed those masterworks must be insanely heavy. And I think it can prevent your creativity from flowing freely as you are in a heightened state of perfectionism. Which is why I think he hasn’t been able to write the next book in the series yet. The stakes must feel way too high to risk getting it wrong.
For ‘The Slow Regard of Silent Things’ we stay in the same universe as ‘The Name of the Wind’, following Auri, one of the supporting characters. And I really like the mix of illustration and text, along with the depth of world building, but overall the story feels un-grounded and unsatisfying to the reader. How many times have you read a book and just been waiting for something to happen? But I do recognize the book was a leap of faith to try something different and that is to be commended. I think I was expecting more of a story along the lines of ‘The Hobbit’ where it has a natural arc and adventure, but if it is the only way we get more writing from Patrick Rothfuss, then I guess so be it!
I should talk, I am having a slow regard for new ideas myself, haha. It’s tough when you want everything to be great and then you get bound up creatively by feeling like you aren’t living up to your own standard. So take a step back my friends, in life, in love, in art, and appreciate the stunning beauty of the Forest around you.
~ CS
