As you may know by now, I retired from writing anymore fratire books (explained here), and have now moved on to other projects and parts of my life. Yes, I have some assorted writing/entertainment projects coming, and yes, they’re cool, yes a lot of people will like them, whatever. That’s not what THIS blog is about. This blog is going to be about a lot of things, but I think it can all be summed up pretty simply: I’m going to write about things I enjoy talking and thinking about that I think others will find interesting or helpful.
For example, Some Things I Plan To Post Here:
-The Guide To Creative Writing As A Profession: This is one of the first things I’m going to work on, because if there is one single question I get more than any other it is some variant of “How do I become a writer?” I asked this question when I started a decade ago. No one had a good answer. So I read EVERY SINGLE book and resource out there answering this question. They all suck. Now that I know what it takes to be a successful writer, I am even more confident in saying that there is nothing out there that explains, from start to finish, what it takes to be a writer, and has meaningful answers to the real questions and problems that real authors face. So I’m going to write that piece.
-The DIY Higher Education Guide: I have some pretigious degrees that are very difficult to get, so when I say that the entire edifice of American higher education is bullshit, I am saying it from a position of experience and accomplishment. I know what the difference is between formalized education and autonomously directed education, because I’ve done it both ways, and I think doing it yourself (DIY) is better for most people. For the most part, people can learn everything you are supposed to learn in college or grad school on their own (and a lot more), through books and directed experience. This is not a new idea or something that only I am talking about, but I think I can bring a perspective to this discussion that is both unique and meaningful.
-My personal reading lists: I read. A lot. And I have taken notes on all the books I’ve read for the past five+ years. I’m going to start posting them here, along with my reading lists for various topics (and yes, this ties into the DIY Education Guide, but its not exactly the same thing, since I read so much that won’t be in the Guide).
-How to get a job with someone you really respect, or better, create a job for yourself: The process I used to hire a research assistant (outlined below on the blog) struck a chord with a lot of people. Not only did they respond to the fact that I left constructive feedback, but much of my feedback ignited something in them. The fact is, there is a huge demand for smart, motivated people, and there are a lot of smart motivated people who don’t know how to direct their efforts. So I think I’m going to write a series of posts explaining exactly how someone can set themselves up to easily get the type of job I was offering, and in the process develop the type of meaningful skills that can benefit them their whole lives. Going even further, I will discuss how to use those skills to create your own job, instead of just trying to get a job that’s being offered.
These are just a few of the things I absolutely know I’m writing about. There will be a ton more, some of it I don’t want to talk about because I may end up not doing it, and some I probably can’t even predict now. I got all of the feedback that many of you sent me on what you wanted to see on this blog, and most of it was good and intersected with things I was going to write about anyway. It’s all coming.
One thing I can tell you is that this blog is not going to like anything else out there. Nothing like the life hacking, or lifestyle design or productivity blogs or anything else like that. In fact, this blog is going to go the opposite direction of most of that shit, and most importantly, I am going to avoid what I see as the two cardinal sins of almost every piece of media on the internet: 1. superficial coverage of things they know little about, and 2. lots of meaningless bullshit. Everything I write will be well-thought out and cover things I care about and have meaning to my life.
Understand that this blog is ultimately about the process, not the end. That’s because there is no end. I’m not selling you anything, there are no ads here, no hustle, none of that shit. I am doing this because I like it, and because I enjoy figuring out the answers to questions I think are important and interesting, share those findings with others, then enriching my understanding of the topic with their feedback. Pretty simple.