What I'm working on: edits on a book (The Rewilded Soul) and finding a flow with my Substack community. The biggest challenge I'm facing is the age-old balancing act of creation, connection (marketing/promotion), and the day to day responsibilities that come with being an entreprenuer. : ) I love everything you're doing, my friend.
I'm actually transitioning to just writing again. I've been hosting a podcast for a few years now and it's so consuming that I never write anymore. Instead, I keep going into seasons of burnout and can't bring myself to do any creating at all. So I made the decision to take an indefinite break from podcasting and turning it into a newsletter on here. I'm working on a simple episode to announce it now. I haven't been this excited for a long time. I am a writer so I must just write!
I'm working on one simple thing: just writing as much as I can.
I write on my Substack, Get Real, Man (https://lathamturner.substack.com/) which is where I get to explore ideas about living. It's the creative outlet I never knew I needed and it truly changed the course of my life. It's been almost a year, and in that year I've left work and gained enough confidence in my writing to call myself a writer.
I've also just started writing a memoir about my time flying airplanes in the Navy, which is really me exploring how we relate to the machines in our lives. And maybe its me understanding what those 15 years meant for me.
Thank you Jeff for the opportunity to share and to everyone doing inspiring work here.
Ever since I’ve started my Substack earlier this year I’ve released an ambient song with each of my monthly posts. Well, my article from earlier this week was the last song for now. I’m going to spend the rest of the year posting some of my earlier piano works and brainstorm ideas for my first album.
Starting in January I’ll begin posting new songs from the album as I write them.
Thanks for this space Jeff! I just finished putting together a Zine to celebrate my 1 year on Substack. It’s hand-bound and includes writings, collages, and drawings - made with lots of intention and care. I’m so excited to send it out!
Mine is pretty basic....I just launched my newsletter one month ago and I'm just working on building it. I decided to do it specifically because I lost my job in August and the thought of looking for another job kind of makes me want to 🤮
I have a LOT of experience to share as a writer and travel writer, and I KNOW I connect well with people through my words. I'm treating my Substack as an experiment in the art of being alive and adventurous and being fed up with "normal" life 😁 So far, I'm very happy with how my subscriber base is building and very much looking forward to building my community.
The competition? There are only so many hours in a day. While I navigate the acquisitions process with the book, I tend to default to MillersBookReview.com. But here and there an idea will break thorugh I can’t ignore and I’ll work on one chapter or another in the book. It’s a weird in-between place. But it mostly works for me at the moment.
Jeff- I think your gift to readers is your essays. They are insightful and have an earnest depth to them. It is not like you are writing just to fill the page with words but it is as if you are thinking out loud(with your fingers and keyboard), sharing your thoughts unfiltered by writer rules or regulations. Conversing with the reader, and ending the essay with space for us to ponder a response, or even move us to some sort of action. Sometimes, I finish one of your posts, shaking my head, "Jeff, Jeff, Jeff. What is it you are rambling about?" I ask myself. But there is something that haunts me about a phrase, a word, a thought you shared, and I'd find myself reflecting on the "why".
Your self-examining encourages the reader to do the same and given enough reflection time, personal growth takes place. So, I suggest you delay the self-help book- write the essays- pick a theme that resonates with you and your ghost network, (which posts do we respond to the most) and keep us scratching our heads while questioning your point, and finding our personal answers to your queries.
I am split between two personal writing projects and preparing paintings for an upcoming art exhibit. This split makes it hard to fully focus on both and I keep finding myself switching gears right when the flow starts to hit me. Nothing better than a deadline to clarify priorities as my artwork is due Monday so you know what I'll be doing this weekend. Here's my website, which could use some love as well an update on the show https://vanessashinmoto.com/. Have a great weekend everyone!
I've juuuuuust taken the plunge this week to begin to publish some of my work here on substack. It's all very new, and incredibly intimidating, to share my writing with anyone, much less everyone.
Nonetheless, here I am, tentatively excited to start on this new path.
This sort of ties into your book “Real Artists Don’t Starve” which I’m currently enjoying, but I’m fascinated with excellent writing because when it’s done well, it “feels” like it’s so easy anyone can do it, but like watching Roger Federer hit a poetic backhand or watching the late, great Jeff Beck, play guitar that sounds so insanely fluid it doesn’t really sound like a guitar because the melody in Beck’s head overpowers the mechanics of the instrument. They both make it look SO easy…
I used to be a professional songwriter/performer who followed the same career path as the fictitious band SweetWater in the movie “Almost Famous”. I got as close to the “big-time” as one could get and realized I was facing a cross-roads and the question I found I kept asking myself was: “Do I REALLY want this BAD enough?” And the answer was no. We had a deal with Columbia Records and the whole smash but after 15 years of seeing too much of the ugly side of “show biz”, (and it IS VERY ugly and there is a LOT of it), I realized that what I wanted was not so much to play music, but to communicate.
But the unexpected blessing and REAL lesson I learned from the HEAVY constraints of songwriting is that it makes writing in general, feel like a breeze. In writing a “pop” song, you have to have a point, and GET TO THE POINT in less than a minute, (the “hook”) and it has to rhyme! Once you’re freed of those constraints, you feel like you’ve been released from jail! But the other thing I learned is that excellent writing has a lyrical quality to it as much of yours does. Many people don’t know but when Paul McCartney wrote “Yesterday”, his original lyrics were “Scrambled Eggs” because the syllables of “scrambled eggs” ARE lyrical.
In short, I’m fascinated with documenting life’s lessons. They are literally EVERYWHERE and for most people? They miss them completely because they just aren’t paying attention…
YouTube channel - sBrianBell - Finding LIFE! Launched 1/30/2023. Been going live every M-F at 6:00 AM PST ever since! It’s definitely had its challenges & low points, but overall, I am loving every minute of it. There’s nothing greater than doing what you feel called to do. Thank you for the opportunity to share, Jeff.
I have multiple projects in various stages of progress, but right now I’m focused on completing the second draft of book 2 in my dark sci-fi/ fantasy series about evil’s chosen one turned superhero.
I’ve set a deadline of November 31st and a weekly goal of revising at least 3 chapters.
I’m working on self-publishing two self help books and building out a social media presence. I would like to develop a paid newsletter as my next step. Direction is a challenge for me.
Open Thread: What're You Working On?
What I'm working on: edits on a book (The Rewilded Soul) and finding a flow with my Substack community. The biggest challenge I'm facing is the age-old balancing act of creation, connection (marketing/promotion), and the day to day responsibilities that come with being an entreprenuer. : ) I love everything you're doing, my friend.
I'm actually transitioning to just writing again. I've been hosting a podcast for a few years now and it's so consuming that I never write anymore. Instead, I keep going into seasons of burnout and can't bring myself to do any creating at all. So I made the decision to take an indefinite break from podcasting and turning it into a newsletter on here. I'm working on a simple episode to announce it now. I haven't been this excited for a long time. I am a writer so I must just write!
I'm working on one simple thing: just writing as much as I can.
I write on my Substack, Get Real, Man (https://lathamturner.substack.com/) which is where I get to explore ideas about living. It's the creative outlet I never knew I needed and it truly changed the course of my life. It's been almost a year, and in that year I've left work and gained enough confidence in my writing to call myself a writer.
I've also just started writing a memoir about my time flying airplanes in the Navy, which is really me exploring how we relate to the machines in our lives. And maybe its me understanding what those 15 years meant for me.
Thank you Jeff for the opportunity to share and to everyone doing inspiring work here.
Ever since I’ve started my Substack earlier this year I’ve released an ambient song with each of my monthly posts. Well, my article from earlier this week was the last song for now. I’m going to spend the rest of the year posting some of my earlier piano works and brainstorm ideas for my first album.
Starting in January I’ll begin posting new songs from the album as I write them.
Thanks for this space Jeff! I just finished putting together a Zine to celebrate my 1 year on Substack. It’s hand-bound and includes writings, collages, and drawings - made with lots of intention and care. I’m so excited to send it out!
Mine is pretty basic....I just launched my newsletter one month ago and I'm just working on building it. I decided to do it specifically because I lost my job in August and the thought of looking for another job kind of makes me want to 🤮
I have a LOT of experience to share as a writer and travel writer, and I KNOW I connect well with people through my words. I'm treating my Substack as an experiment in the art of being alive and adventurous and being fed up with "normal" life 😁 So far, I'm very happy with how my subscriber base is building and very much looking forward to building my community.
I suppose I have two concurrent projects and they tend to compete for my headspace. You already know about both.
1. A book project on the book as a technology.
2. Running MillersBookReview.com to my personal satisfaction and joy of my readers.
The competition? There are only so many hours in a day. While I navigate the acquisitions process with the book, I tend to default to MillersBookReview.com. But here and there an idea will break thorugh I can’t ignore and I’ll work on one chapter or another in the book. It’s a weird in-between place. But it mostly works for me at the moment.
Jeff- I think your gift to readers is your essays. They are insightful and have an earnest depth to them. It is not like you are writing just to fill the page with words but it is as if you are thinking out loud(with your fingers and keyboard), sharing your thoughts unfiltered by writer rules or regulations. Conversing with the reader, and ending the essay with space for us to ponder a response, or even move us to some sort of action. Sometimes, I finish one of your posts, shaking my head, "Jeff, Jeff, Jeff. What is it you are rambling about?" I ask myself. But there is something that haunts me about a phrase, a word, a thought you shared, and I'd find myself reflecting on the "why".
Your self-examining encourages the reader to do the same and given enough reflection time, personal growth takes place. So, I suggest you delay the self-help book- write the essays- pick a theme that resonates with you and your ghost network, (which posts do we respond to the most) and keep us scratching our heads while questioning your point, and finding our personal answers to your queries.
Thanks for the chance to share-
Kathy
I am split between two personal writing projects and preparing paintings for an upcoming art exhibit. This split makes it hard to fully focus on both and I keep finding myself switching gears right when the flow starts to hit me. Nothing better than a deadline to clarify priorities as my artwork is due Monday so you know what I'll be doing this weekend. Here's my website, which could use some love as well an update on the show https://vanessashinmoto.com/. Have a great weekend everyone!
I've juuuuuust taken the plunge this week to begin to publish some of my work here on substack. It's all very new, and incredibly intimidating, to share my writing with anyone, much less everyone.
Nonetheless, here I am, tentatively excited to start on this new path.
This sort of ties into your book “Real Artists Don’t Starve” which I’m currently enjoying, but I’m fascinated with excellent writing because when it’s done well, it “feels” like it’s so easy anyone can do it, but like watching Roger Federer hit a poetic backhand or watching the late, great Jeff Beck, play guitar that sounds so insanely fluid it doesn’t really sound like a guitar because the melody in Beck’s head overpowers the mechanics of the instrument. They both make it look SO easy…
I used to be a professional songwriter/performer who followed the same career path as the fictitious band SweetWater in the movie “Almost Famous”. I got as close to the “big-time” as one could get and realized I was facing a cross-roads and the question I found I kept asking myself was: “Do I REALLY want this BAD enough?” And the answer was no. We had a deal with Columbia Records and the whole smash but after 15 years of seeing too much of the ugly side of “show biz”, (and it IS VERY ugly and there is a LOT of it), I realized that what I wanted was not so much to play music, but to communicate.
But the unexpected blessing and REAL lesson I learned from the HEAVY constraints of songwriting is that it makes writing in general, feel like a breeze. In writing a “pop” song, you have to have a point, and GET TO THE POINT in less than a minute, (the “hook”) and it has to rhyme! Once you’re freed of those constraints, you feel like you’ve been released from jail! But the other thing I learned is that excellent writing has a lyrical quality to it as much of yours does. Many people don’t know but when Paul McCartney wrote “Yesterday”, his original lyrics were “Scrambled Eggs” because the syllables of “scrambled eggs” ARE lyrical.
In short, I’m fascinated with documenting life’s lessons. They are literally EVERYWHERE and for most people? They miss them completely because they just aren’t paying attention…
Why write what one thinks readers want? Is the purpose of your writing to affirm - or to challenge? .
Once you get into product mode, you become a business.
Once a business, you worry about increasing readership.
Once you worry about i increasing readership, you asymptotically approach the mundane.
To sell a larger slice of the pie you must make it blander.
Are you after bland? I'm not!
YouTube channel - sBrianBell - Finding LIFE! Launched 1/30/2023. Been going live every M-F at 6:00 AM PST ever since! It’s definitely had its challenges & low points, but overall, I am loving every minute of it. There’s nothing greater than doing what you feel called to do. Thank you for the opportunity to share, Jeff.
I have multiple projects in various stages of progress, but right now I’m focused on completing the second draft of book 2 in my dark sci-fi/ fantasy series about evil’s chosen one turned superhero.
I’ve set a deadline of November 31st and a weekly goal of revising at least 3 chapters.
I’m working on self-publishing two self help books and building out a social media presence. I would like to develop a paid newsletter as my next step. Direction is a challenge for me.
Working on my next marketing newsletter issue and also starting to work with a writing coach (today!) on personal essays.