Defining the problem
Where I'm at with Three Stories
“If I had an hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it.” Albert Einstein
hi there! (sheepishly)
I’m aware it’s been a while since I substacked. But I have been busy…. not as busy as I’d like to be on Three Stories, but with life generally.
Do you want the good news or the bad news?
Well, the good news is that I’m still working on Three Stories and I have a few updates which I’ll share below.
The bad news is… umm, not much bad news thankfully, just that it’s been very wet and grey here in Sheffield, UK. And I get SAD, so that’s a pain.
Right, so an update on where I’m at with Three Stories:
I’ve come to realise that the ambition of writing a full-length book (circa 50,000 words) is not really manageable at the moment. I have a very full on job; two young boys who are amazing, but understandably need my time and attention; and my wife continues to struggle with debilitating migraines, which are awful for her and have consequences in terms of my time and headspace to write. I’m not ruling out a more substantial piece of work, but for now I’m not chasing that.
I’ve considered a podcast, an essay, a TedX talk, or a video as a way to share my thesis, but again I’ve not yet had the time and headspace (and to some extent the funds) to get any of these over the line yet.
I have been through the valley of doubt a fair bit over the past few months, but I do think I have ‘something’ here that I think could be very helpful for people stuck in a swirl of thoughts, emotions and needs. I’m not letting that go. I’m trying to restrategise a way to share what I’ve got in an accessible and not-too-expensive way.
My relationship with AI tools has changed somewhat. Currently, I’m doing all I can to avoid Gemini or ChatGPT from being ‘too nice’ about my work. I’ve also set a hard rule that NO AI-generated sentences will be included in any of my published work. Yes to AI help with thinking support/brainstorming/basic researching. No to writing or confirming sources etc.
I’m no longer actively on the hunt for a literary agent, but I do want to identify a mentor or someone who can soundboard with me/ask the hard questions and the ‘so what?’ question. Let me know if you can think of anyone!
I’m reworking the structure of Three Stories, to create a more accessible structure. The three stories remain: micro, macro and meta. But I am positioning the concept of ‘swirl’ as the main protagonist in all this. And looking more closely at the significance of ‘defining the problem’. Watch this space!
My faith in Jesus is helping me to be realistic, to find peace and guidance in my efforts, and to not beat myself up too much at a lack of progress. I’m grateful for this quiet encouragement.
OK, that’s it for now!
Peace to you.
Andrew.