Write It

It Takes Something

Hello Friends,

It’s that time again. We stare at ourselves in the mirror, give ourselves a deep, hard look, and mumble something like, “Man, that was a shit year.”

Yep, it’s New Year’s resolution season.

And in the spirit, we brazenly inform (threaten) our grimy visage (see graphic below) that 2026 is going to be different.

Merriam-Webster dictionary

We proclaim that finally, 2026 is going to be the year we eat right (whatever that means), make time to exercise (see Couch-to-5k), live simpler and find more joy, finish the book with which we struggled all year. And a whole bunch of other stuff that feels good to say to ourselves at the moment. It reverberates profoundly in the last days of the year to project that optimism onto an unsuspecting 365 days.

The problem is that resolutions don’t work. And we all know this.

I believe it mostly has to do with that famously unverified quote often attributed to Albert Einstein: “[Insanity] is doing the same thing but expecting different results.”

Or, paraphrased for my convenience, “Change is hard.”

Transformation doesn’t just happen without a push, a driver, a new source of inspiration and support.

Point of fact, in 2020, I graduated from an MFA program in creative writing and self-published my first novel, Proteus Begins. And I have since self-published 6 books and maintained this weekly newsletter for almost 2 years.

I had wanted to write a novel and “be a writer” since I was a child. Finishing and seeing my name on the cover of a book was the theme of almost half a century of New Year’s resolutions. A lifetime of starts and abandonments, of frustrations, misdirections, weak decisions, and conspiring situations.

That MFA program was the catalyst I needed and led to my realized resolution—that book. I woke up early, spent weekends and nights listening to online lessons, did homework, swallowed a lot of peer-criticism, and faced uncomfortable and new situations.

Writing is hard. It requires commitment and motivation, challenges your sense of self, and presents way too many easy exit routes.

I, specifically, needed that particular push of committing to and completing a formal MFA program to accomplish something I had wanted to do my whole life.

Realizing a dream takes action. I made an apprehensive phone call to an admission office after researching MFA programs online. I had an uncomfortable (MFAs are expensive) conversation with my supportive and encouraging partner. I made space and gave life to an idea that wouldn’t leave my brain.

In the end, I found the people who answered my questions, motivated me, and broke a vague notion into actionable and practical steps. They unlocked the mystery and gave me a path.

Fast forward to about a year ago. A friend from one of my writing groups asked if I could explain how to self-publish a book. I wrote him what amounted to a two-page email. That email became my book Karmic Robot’s Guide to Self-Publishing. It is available for free at https://dl.bookfunnel.com/a8c2mvv2wj.

During that experience, I realized that working with serious writers and helping them finish their projects fed my soul. For the first time, I felt a calling.

Not only did the MFA program lead me down a journey where I now write books, it uncovered this aspect of myself I would never have realized.

Even though writing is a solitary activity, it doesn’t mean writers have to do it alone.

Early next year I am launching a coaching business to support authors who want to complete a book. Right now, I am actively looking for a couple of people who are intent on finishing a manuscript (fiction, non-fiction, a memoir, a book of poetry) and who need a push, who want a new result in 2026.

If this is something that you’d be interested in pursuing, email or message me.

By the time we were done, I’d get the experience of working with you and the opportunity to develop my program, and you’d get a complete manuscript, ready to self-publish or send to agents.

I’m not an editor (although I may offer some suggestions). I will not do any writing for you. I mean to walk next to you. To poke and prod you and help you discover your way to finishing your book.

For more information, check out https://www.karmicrobot.com/p/book-coach-work-with-me. If you know someone who might be interested, pass this on to them. They can email me.

If you have no desire to write a book. Consider yourself lucky. I’m jealous. It’s a pain in the butt, and rarely worth it.

In 2026, rather than make resolutions, I urge you to search for your push. Look for the thing that will inspire you to do something different, that delivers a new result.

Clean up that grimy visage.

Happy reading, happy writing, happy new year!

David