All Texts

Make It Yourself

Make It Yourself

7 minute read

Making sense of the existential dread I feel from the sudden rise of ChatGPT and resolving the conflict between affordances and the humanity of doing difficult things.

Content = Ideas + Writing + Form

Content = Ideas + Writing + Form

3 minute read

Breaking content down into its atomic parts and examining how they work together to create an experience.

In Praise of the Shit File

In Praise of the Shit File

4 minute read

Instead of killing your darlings, what if you stored them in a place with a foul sounding name until they were ready for their moment? That’s a job for the humble Shit File.

Data Storytelling

Data Storytelling

7 minute read

A primer on how to weave data and narrative into a compelling argument that connects real humans to ideas.

5 Ways to Improve Your Writing

5 Ways to Improve Your Writing

2 minute read

Like most writing, the real work comes in revision. Use these 5 ways to rapidly improve any writing project.

The Residue of the Past

The Residue of the Past

10 minute read

While all the collected events of this life and others coalesce to make the unique you, you don’t have to be a victim of other people’s choices. Shedding the residue of the past is much easier than you think.

The Examined Life: Owning Your Personal Story

The Examined Life: Owning Your Personal Story

4 minute read

There are lots of reasons to curate your personal story. Don’t be that person. Own it, wear it, and share it with the world, bumps and all.

Once More Down the Rabbit Hole

Once More Down the Rabbit Hole

7 minute read

In another moment down went Alice after it [the white rabbit], never once considering how in the world she was to get out again. —Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Intro to Slow Writing

Intro to Slow Writing

5 minute read

I love to write, and I write a lot. But it’s not easy. Slow Writing is the process I’ve developed to get going, beat block, stay moving, and produce finished work.

Virtually Reality

Virtually Reality

9 minute read

Soon, all the experiences you ever wanted will be available without leaving the comfort and safety of home. But is that any way to live?

How to Hug Your Fear

How to Hug Your Fear

6 minute read

Four simple techniques to develop a level of intimacy with the things that make you scream.

The Watterson "Rules"

The Watterson "Rules"

9 minute read

Four simple rules to guide your creative endeavors as drawn from the career of Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes.

Keep the Island in Mind

Keep the Island in Mind

9 minute read

A lesson from master navigators of the open ocean may be the key to becoming the most authentic version of you.

This is It

This is It

4 minute read

When the luster you added begins to rub off life, you’re faced with just one option.

The Fibers of Being

The Fibers of Being

5 minute read

Each of us is one thing and many things at once, but we often spend large swaths of life avoiding our own complexity instead of embracing it as a sign of our uniqueness.

Living the Dream

Living the Dream

8 minute read

Live your own dream, or you may just end up living someone else’s.

Slow Down? Yeah, right.

Slow Down? Yeah, right.

13 minute read

Sometimes to go fast, you’ve got to go slow. Four approaches for restoring life’s natural pace.

The Disciplined Writer

The Disciplined Writer

5 minute read

How David Sedaris approaches to writing to get a little bit better every day

Tell Great Stories

Tell Great Stories

12 minute read

“The universe is made of stories, not atoms.” ~Muriel Rukeyser

How to Be New

How to Be New

17 minute read

Continuous learning is a prerequisite for growth.

Wu!

Wu!

3 minute read

Chinese food, Buddhist monks and the music of Martin Sexton: finding answers in the unlikeliest of combinations.

Upriver

Upriver

8 minute read

A semi-spiritual experience from an unlikely mentor, if you’re open to the possibility.