lots of truth in here! the quality of my work has dramatically increased in the last few months through effort alone. maybe thereβs an upper limit to quality gains in this manner, but god does it feel good.
love your resolutions β hope we can work together to accomplish them in the writing group!
Jasmine, I got tired just reading about how much you run. Iβm even more tired when I think about the hills in San Francisco. I donβt run, but I do walkβ¦ in my nice, flat subdivision. Can I ask what type of shoes you wear? I feel like I need something with more support and it seems like running shoes might be the thing, but itβs also something I need to research more. Sorryβ not trying to outsource that to you. Iβm just looking for brands to consider. And this question is open to anyone who has strong opinions on the topic.
As far as your actual essay, I love how open you are and everything just feels so casual. We donβt know one another, but the tone of your writing makes it feel like youβre talking to a good friend. I hope you write more.
Loved this. Your writing is the perfect blend between pretty, true, and clear. Utterly readable.
If this is any indication of how you write, I think you should in fact do more of it.
Really appreciated the line "I don't play in order to hit the goals; I set goals so I can play." That's how I am. I have no lofty ambitions to be a best-selling anything. I just want to do interesting things (including writing) because... what else am I gonna do? Nothing?
I loved this. In 2023 I simply devoted more time to writing (journaling, pitching, drafting, editing). It workedβI did better writing and more "real" writing, and it's both encouraging and banal to realize that trying hard just works, it just gets things done, and that's the only real way to get better and do more.
Also found this intriguing: "Blowing the gates of inclusion open seems like another way of taking the arts less seriously than other disciplinesβ¦nobody respects skills where awards come too easy." Ultimately, we have to believe that an artistic/literary practice IS a practice, it demands fidelity and regularity and devotionβ¦
Stumbled upon your post and wow, I love your writing. And coincidentally, I was referring to the Sisyphus line in my latest post. And well, I got into running because of Murakami!
"Whatβs the point of working so hard for what you want, if youβll simply adjust your expectations and revert to the mean after? What if the system is designed on purpose to keep us from success?"
I've been struggling with this for a while myself and what you said about the journey really hit home -- thanks for writing this!
beehiive have this neat metric, it's time until someone goes paid. I'd appreciate if you started to track that in the dashboard. Also advanced data on customer lifetime value that's more easy to track. Simple things like the average duration of a paid subscriber. And why is the click rate of an article without a decimal point? Ahhrg
jasmine having to listen to me explain how awesome running is while sheβs silently putting more miles in
> behind every completed oeuvre is a trail of broken promises to people you love
βοΈ
lots of truth in here! the quality of my work has dramatically increased in the last few months through effort alone. maybe thereβs an upper limit to quality gains in this manner, but god does it feel good.
love your resolutions β hope we can work together to accomplish them in the writing group!
Jasmine, I got tired just reading about how much you run. Iβm even more tired when I think about the hills in San Francisco. I donβt run, but I do walkβ¦ in my nice, flat subdivision. Can I ask what type of shoes you wear? I feel like I need something with more support and it seems like running shoes might be the thing, but itβs also something I need to research more. Sorryβ not trying to outsource that to you. Iβm just looking for brands to consider. And this question is open to anyone who has strong opinions on the topic.
As far as your actual essay, I love how open you are and everything just feels so casual. We donβt know one another, but the tone of your writing makes it feel like youβre talking to a good friend. I hope you write more.
Loved this. Your writing is the perfect blend between pretty, true, and clear. Utterly readable.
If this is any indication of how you write, I think you should in fact do more of it.
Really appreciated the line "I don't play in order to hit the goals; I set goals so I can play." That's how I am. I have no lofty ambitions to be a best-selling anything. I just want to do interesting things (including writing) because... what else am I gonna do? Nothing?
I love this one Jasmine - packed with inspiration and good book recs for me to add to my Goodreads...
Good luck with the half marathon it's my goal to run one in Feb too :)
sheβs back <3 loved this and omg a half marathon! so excited for you
I loved this. In 2023 I simply devoted more time to writing (journaling, pitching, drafting, editing). It workedβI did better writing and more "real" writing, and it's both encouraging and banal to realize that trying hard just works, it just gets things done, and that's the only real way to get better and do more.
Also found this intriguing: "Blowing the gates of inclusion open seems like another way of taking the arts less seriously than other disciplinesβ¦nobody respects skills where awards come too easy." Ultimately, we have to believe that an artistic/literary practice IS a practice, it demands fidelity and regularity and devotionβ¦
FYI the Becca rothfeld debate link at the bottom is broken. (You linked to your Readwise I think haha.) Hereβs the link I think https://yalereview.org/article/becca-rothfeld-debate
Stumbled upon your post and wow, I love your writing. And coincidentally, I was referring to the Sisyphus line in my latest post. And well, I got into running because of Murakami!
I hope you write more too. Loved this Jasmine! π
"Whatβs the point of working so hard for what you want, if youβll simply adjust your expectations and revert to the mean after? What if the system is designed on purpose to keep us from success?"
I've been struggling with this for a while myself and what you said about the journey really hit home -- thanks for writing this!
Thanks Jasmine. Lovinβ your work. Donβt beat yourself up quite so much. And you are right about sheer effort and time. Nga mihi nui. Bernard.
this is so so gorgeously written, happy new year π
Bro the numb in China series looks so cool
beehiive have this neat metric, it's time until someone goes paid. I'd appreciate if you started to track that in the dashboard. Also advanced data on customer lifetime value that's more easy to track. Simple things like the average duration of a paid subscriber. And why is the click rate of an article without a decimal point? Ahhrg