August Ultralearning, Scott H Young (must read. if you are looking to tackle something foundationally important, this book gives you one solid approach. it’s mostly common sense. but common sense that is laid out in a really logical manner. i learnt to plan my project, that hard learning is normal, that failure is normal, and that persistence is a prerequisite. all critical things, since learning no longer “comes naturally” to me....
via Neil Gaiman chaot1k-daydreams asked: Hey, Mr. Gaiman, sorry to bother you. I just had a couple questions? I’m trying to become a better writer and write more, but I feel like I’m falling out of my own style when I write. I either write too much or too little, over-embellish or make it feel bland, and I’m not quite sure what I’m doing wrong by I feel like it’s both wrong and not what I want to write....
Lots of fantasy, a lovely book of poetry, a beautifully written nonfiction book. All this, on July’s list of books :) July Love Looks Pretty on You, Lang Leav (must read. in my imagination, leav is a talented younger sister, who has been through a lot more and writes her advice just for me, in her poems) Working, Robert Caro (if you haven’t read the Power Broker, you should if you haven’t read the Lyndon volumes, you should...
“Don’t just say you have read books. Show that through them you have learned to think better, to be a more discriminating and reflective person. Books are the training weights of the mind. They are very helpful, but it would be a bad mistake to suppose that one has made progress simply by having internalized their contents.” — Epictetus, The Art of Living
Or how do you actually go do anything else you committed to do for yourself? I always got confused on what to do when the going got tough and life happened and my goals then got waylaid. Other than feeling lost and giving up on projects and promising to do better tomorrow, or next time? (which took a looooooong time to come) What could I do? James Clear offers a lovely heuristic, that I have been applying to my writing since the year began....
It was my better half’s birthday! Happy Birthday, Abby! ’Twas a good month for reading :) June The Song of the Bird, Anthony de Mello (absolutely read. buy and give people copies. this book for me, goes beyond a quake book. it has shaped my life, and thoughts, since boyhood, subconsciously then and with intent now.) The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Poirot #1), Agatha Christie (re-reading my way through the Poirot canon....
Just a couple of links to pique your interest. James Clear, one of the few “self-help” authors, I actually read and follow, has this to say on time management: What is urgent in your life and what is important to your life are often very different things. Eliminate half-work at all costs. Do the most important thing first. Reduce the scope, but stick to the schedule. Read the whole, really well written article to learn more....
Sometimes Seth Godin makes it easy for me to do the newsletter. There’s a pithy post that says everything I want to say. So, to the kids I coach, this is the best writing advice I could give you! (Everything below the break is Seth, (emphases mine)) Decorating a car with bling, mudflaps and an airhorn is a form of signalling. You can show your peers that you have the resources to waste on superfluous adornments....
From the Writing Routines1 pdf that is available on signing up to their mailing list… “If I had a nickel for every person who ever told me he/she wanted to become a writer but “didn’t have time to read,” I could buy myself a pretty good steak dinner. Can I be blunt on this subject? If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write....
Go see how large your vocabulary is! And don’t cheat! At least the first time :) Click here to take the test. This is me1. Subscribe to the newsletter already, will ya? Ok, I cheated. The original one was 40,000 so i took it again :P ↩︎