Think of this page as a sort of dashboard for all the things that go into my writing process. Right now, it’s details about the things I’m making and consuming. Over time, it will also include summaries of feedback, polls, and other interactions with you, the reader.

Short Stories: 20/25

Today’s Stats

Words written: 1,190

7 day average: 1,617

28 day average: 1,761

Hours spent writing: 1.7

7 day average: 2

28 day average: 3.1

Hours spent editing: 0.7

7 day average: 1.2

28 day average: 1.0

What I’m reading

You are What You Read (Recommended!)

A deep dive into the drive for negative, sensationalist headlines and how you can have a more healthy media diet.

Everything I’ve read in 2019

  • You are What You Read. A deep dive into the drive for negative, sensationalist headlines and how you can have a more healthy media diet. (Recommended!)

  • Emissary’s Guide to Worlding. An artist’s take on worldbuilding, simulations, and the human condition. A fascinating mix of disciplines that almost reads like a treatise on modern philosophy. (Recommended!)

  • Mort. A hilarious, irreverent book about the time Death decides he wants a vacation and hires an apprentice. Stronger plot and characters than the first two Discworld books I read. (Recommended!)

  • Leviathan Wakes. A gritty, sci-fi detective novel with an engrossing, tightly paced plot. The characters take a while to find themselves and the first/second halves of the book feel like two different stories, but overall it was a page turner. (Recommended!)

  • The Colour of Magic. A hilarious, irreverent book about a cowardly wizard and the first tourist of Discworld. The writing is superb, and it’s really inspiring me to rethink the way I write. (Recommended!)

  • Utopia for Realists. The author argues that we’ve become overly pessimistic and lost sight of how much good left to be done. His proposals center around things like Living Wage and preventing tax evasion by the rich. (Recommended!)

  • Mistborn: The Hero of Ages. Book three in the Mistborn trilogy. I don’t want to give any spoilers for those reading book one, so I’ll just say it starts a bit slower but continues to be quite good. I did not like the last two chapters, though. (Recommended!)

  • A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy. A modern day intro to the philosophy of Stoicism. In particular, I enjoyed how practical the book was, with specific practices to be applied to every day life. It’s inspired me to read some of the classic Stoic works. (Recommended!)

  • Becoming. I’m a big fan of the quote ‘greatness is just a series of ordinary steps viewed at a distance’. This book does an amazing job of showing you all the pieces that created the amazing First Lady. Additional plug that you should get the audio book because it’s read by Michelle and is fantastic. (Recommended!)

  • Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts. The book starts a bit slow and ends a bit rambly, but overall it gave several valuable insights about changing behavior. The most powerful to me was the idea to focus more on putting in consistent effort rather than results. (Recommended!)

  • Well of Ascension. Book two in the Mistborn trilogy. I don’t want to give any spoilers for those reading book one, so I’ll just say it starts a bit slower but continues to be quite good. (Recommended!)

  • Mistborn: The Final Empire. A heist thriller with a hard magic system where people gain superpowers by eating specific metals. (Recommended!)

  • The War of Art. Claims that the hardest part of the creative process is consistently creating. Then it goes way off the rails and claims writing can cure cancer… (Not recommended.)

  • On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft. 1 part biography, 1 part treatise on the craft of writing. Full of interesting stories and great advice. (Recommended!)

  • Structuring Your Novel. A useful overview of the various structural elements most stories have. (Recommended!)