July 6, 2025
What Ulysses of Soho Taught Me About a Book That Did Not Work
Ulysses of Soho was an ambitious book that, in the end, did not work the way I hoped. I still have affection for it, but affection is not the same thing as readiness.
The draft had energy, but the voice kept slipping between styles, and the emotional center never settled.
I realized I was trying to impress the page rather than listen to it.
That failure helped more than success sometimes does. It taught me to cut faster, trust clarity, and keep people at the center of every scene. Several lessons from that book now quietly support the books that did make it out into the world.
Clive