Normally when people ask me if I ever struggle with writer's block, I say no. And that's true with regards to books. But these newsletters are tricky. I've started and deleted a dozen since publishing the last one. So, what’s been going on since then?
1. I discovered that we built a patio over our septic tank. Apparently this isn't standard practice. So I dug up the patio, then called my friendly neighborhood locksmith to determine whether I'd actually found the septic tank, because he knows things. Now we're okay. The patio is crooked, since I enlisted the leading fake construction company on Martha’s Vineyard to reinstall it, but the toilets are working.
2. My latest novel, Sea of Gold, was published in August. I revised and rewrote my first kids adventure, Fish, and love the result. Recorded the audiobook, too. If you have any long trips coming up, check it out!
Please rate the book, too, especially if you liked it. The sequel is coming out in September.
3. The first-ever conference of ghostwriters happened! Awesome event. Super interesting and informative. And yes, I'm a ghostwriter. Boo.
4. I chaired a panel on how AI might impact writers and ghostwriters at the conference. My advice? Play with these tools as they evolve. I haven't found one that I want to incorporate in my workflow yet, but I want to be ready and familiar enough so that I can if a new and useful one does pop up. Also, I suggest shying away from work you think anyone could do. If it's formulaic, then eventually AI will figure out that formula or pattern and do the work for less.
5. The Emily Wilson translation of The Illiad was published, and she revealed that Achilles had a hairy chest. Great book, too. Makes you hungry.
6. I decided to rename this neglected newsletter. “The Generalyst” is a nod to the main character of my first novel, about a young office worker who thinks he's the reincarnation of Einstein. I was making fun of this lost soul who didn't want to specialize and called himself a general analyst, or generalyst, for the misguided startup that employed him. Now here I am a few decades later writing about sports, astrophysics, pirates, Skeletor, artificial intelligence, cloud storage, and whatever else seems interesting. I've accidentally turned into him.
(If you like this post, please click the heart up top or at the bottom, so I know what’s working.)
7. My next book is for adults. I still like children. They're very nice and I plan to continue writing stories for them. But this project pulled me in a new direction. Or maybe an old direction, since I started out as a science writer. The Heart and the Chip is a more optimistic take on our robot- and AI-enhanced future, written for/with Daniela Rus, the incomparable and brilliant director of the Computer Science and AI Lab at MIT. It's wild. Among other things, I hope it changes how you look at objects in the world. Check it out here.
8. The Boys in the Boat movie premiered at the end of last year. I wrote the version for young readers, and I'm probably not supposed to be critical, but they missed the heart of the story! When I was working on the book, the author insisted that whatever I did, trust had to remain front and center. The main character, Joe, has to learn to trust the other boys in the boat even though almost every major experience in his life to that point has taught him NOT to trust anyone. That sort of core, central conflict is often what makes movies great. I'm surprised it was dampened in the film.
9. NBA point guard Ben Simmons became a performance artist. He is nominally a basketball player, but he's injured, and now he sits on the bench in these amazing outfits. I'd like to see him really go after this new role and wear one of Nick Cave's soundsuits to a game.
That's it for now. Hope all is well with you.