Hi Reader, Happy Independence Day! While we’re celebrating freedom, sparklers, and possibly overcooked hot dogs, I’d like to propose another kind of liberty worth toasting: The freedom to write terribly.Yes, you heard me. Awkward dialogue, clunky exposition, inconsistent characters, plot holes you could drive a truck through—bring it all on. First drafts are supposed to be messy.Not “kind of messy,” not “slightly unpolished.”I mean leaving your notebook open during a windstorm kind of messy....

Hi Reader, It’s Saturday afternoon. The weather is fine. The to-do list is not. And I’m standing in my kitchen, eyeing a deceptively small box. Inside it? A flat-packed wine rack with approximately 347 tiny screws, a vaguely smug Allen wrench, and instructions that may or may not be translated from ancient runes. Now, for some people, assembling furniture is no big deal. They thrive on it. They hear “some assembly required” and smile like it’s game night. I am not one of those people....

Hi Reader, Part 2 Continued from last week’s excerpt of Becca Syme on the BookFunnel Podcast More from Becca Syme on how to strengthen your outlook to deal with industry disruption. You got this! The Wheel Keeps Spinning "But there are so many things that motivate us that we do not understand and know. We think we're in charge of so many more of our choices than we really are. Roughly only 5% of our choices are under our control on a daily basis. We think it's so much closer to 100. And so...