I wrote four novels between the ages of 18 and 23. That time helped me hone a few important skills: editing, sustained focus, and how to see a long project through to completion. Writing itself, though, is a strange skill. Practice matters, experimentation matters — but there’s another ingredient that’s harder to rush.

That ingredient is life experience.

As I finished the last book of my youth, I ran into a difficult realization: the biggest limiting factor in my writing wasn’t effort or ambition, but experience. At that point, I had barely left home. Since then, writing drifted in and out of my life, but I never truly let it go. More importantly, I went out and lived. Peace Corps. A career. Marriage. Kids. Management. Moves across the country. Taking risks, sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, until we found a place that felt like home.

Now, as my kids become more self-sufficient, I’ve found the breathing room to write again. I’ve built two to three evenings a week where I go to a nearby brewery, find a quiet corner, and write. That rhythm really solidified in December, when I took three weeks off during my spouse’s recovery from surgery. I’m grateful to have found a way to fold writing back into my normal life — not as an escape, but as a practice.

Going forward, I’m also making a deliberate change: I’ll be publishing under my own name. This feels like the right moment to stop separating the work from the person doing it.

I’m going to start providing regular writing updates here, inspired by one of my favorite authors, Brandon Sanderson. That means outlines, goals, and progress percentages — less mystery, more honesty.

So, here’s where things stand:

On the Record: An Oral History

100% – Now available

When I was 22, I wrote my fourth novel, The Stagner Chronicles. It was the strongest work I’d produced at that point in my life. On the Record is the result of a comprehensive overhaul and reimagining of that book — a chance to revisit the core ideas with better tools and a wider perspective. I’m proud of how it came together and of the new life it found in the process. It’s now available for purchase.

Continuity: An Oral History of a Generation Ship

10% Done with Rough Draft

I began Continuity in early January, and the start has been strong. This project brings together my favorite narrative form — oral history — with my favorite genre: science fiction. Continuity follows humanity’s first generation ship on a hundred-year journey to Alpha Centauri. It’s been an absolute joy to write, and my goal is to complete and publish it before the end of the year.

1.0 mg (ish)
Last Weight: 197.4 pounds
Down 71.6 pounds (26.6%)

More than 70 pounds down. With only one shot to go, that feels like a huge step. I’ve had a lot of people ask me over the last week how much I’ve lost. The reaction when I say 70 is actually pretty hilarious. It’s a lot more than I thought I would be able to do, but the medication worked so well with my calorie counting mindset.

It feels weird coming to the end of this. I’ve been trying to pivot towards trying to run now that I don’t have all the extra weight. But the biggest issue with running is getting sick. I can still calorie count when I’m sick, so no false starts. But you have to take breaks and restart when you are sick and running. It takes a lot more discipline. I still want to try it, but I do think it’ll exercise a different part of my brain.

1.0 mg (ish)
Last Weight: 199.8 pounds
Down 69.2 pounds (25.7%)

Seeing 199 on the scale is…cathartic. It simultaneously is a massive goal I have been working towards and a huge mental barrier that I have burst through. It was an amazing feeling to wake up a few days ago, step on the scale, and see that.

With these massive goals now behind me, I have to pivot my mindset. After taking my injection today, I have two left in the fridge. My mini goal for the week ahead is to get below 199 by next week so I can officially hit the 70 pounds list milestone.

But more than anything, I just want my morning weigh ins to regularly be below 200 now. I’m adjusting well to the lower doses and feel like I am able to maintain more and more. I am hoping the endless winter of sicknesses comes to an end soon—that makes it hard to stay on track. But winter is almost over!

1.0 mg (ish)
Last Weight: 200.4 pounds
Down 68.6 pounds (25.5%)

I woke up this morning thinking I would see the fabled 199.  Nope.  So close.  It feels like a mythical creature that I’ve seen as a goal my whole life but unable to get, no matter how close I get.  It feels like I am almost tripping myself up on purpose now that I am within a day of hitting such a huge goal.  Cookies before bed.  A donut for lunch.  I am doing things that I wouldn’t have done almost ever the last seven months.

But I’m okay with that.  When I had the donut, I felt like crap.  I feel like one of my biggest goals was giving my body a hard reset.  And that has happened.  When I eat poorly, my body responds poorly.  As I take smaller and smaller injections every week to wean myself, I am happy to see that my body has learned a lot, even without the support of a full dose of Wegovy.  

I opened my last box of Wegovy today.  Three weeks from today, I will be taking my last dose.  I appreciate what the drug has done for me.  I am forever in awe of what pharmaceuticals can do—and forever frustrated by how the industry works in this country.  If this drug really can help extend life expectancies the whole world over, then a price take that makes 99% of the world’s eye’s bulge is criminal.  I certainly would have stayed on it longer if I could afford it.

But, instead, I am adjusting to the lower doses and making sure my body is ready for when the last of the drug exits my system in March.  I believe I am as ready as I can be.  I will keep pushing to be in the best place possible in the coming weeks.  But I am ready.

1.2 mg (ish)
Last Weight: 201.8 pounds
Down 67.2 pounds (25.0%)

25% of my body weight gone. It’s still hard to wrap my head around how quickly this has happened.  I started only seven months ago counting calories and taking the shots. Now, with only four shots left, I am finding the place where I expect my weight to rest.  I have been looking at finally buying some new clothes other than the thrift shop items I’ve been buying the last few months to get by.  I need a new wardrobe.  Even my winter coat feels like I’m swimming in it.  It’s exciting—I feel like I get to finally dress for the way I see myself.

I am coming to terms with the idea that I may not hit the 189 goal weight.  As I’ve gotten closer and closer, it has felt less and less relevant to hit that milestone.  The most important thing was to get to a place where I felt truly healthy.  And I feel like I am mostly there.  I believe If I continue to eat and burn the same calories I am right now, I will settle somewhere between 190 and 200.  That is more than my goal weight, but astounding considering where I was last summer.

As I look forward toward the “maintain” phase, I can’t help but see my next three goals.  Goal one: See the sub-200 weight.  Goal two: Maintain sub-200 for a few months through continued calorie counting after Wegovy ends.  Goal three: find something that exerts me that fits into my life—yoga, long walks, running, gym, whatever.  I remember liking running.  It seems like it could be great if I could fit it into my life now.  It would be so much easier to run now that all the weight is gone.

1.7 mg (ish)
Last Weight: 202.6 pounds
Down 66.4 pounds (24.7%)

I am officially at the lowest weight of my adult life.  I’m less than a pound away from hitting 25% weight loss.  With five shots left in the fridge, I am seeing my final big goals being hit.  As the stress of my job takes a sudden spike, I am glad to have this goal to focus on.  It gives me control over a realm of my life when I feel like I have little or no control in other aspects of my life.

The two apps I use (Lose it! And WeightFit) are showing that I will hit my goal of 189 pounds in 45-49 days at my current rate.  That brings me to the finish line in mid-March, just before my 36th birthday.  It also happens to be when the last of the Wegovy will leave my system (Last shot should be 2/27).  I’m still frustrated at insurance, but this sudden cut off right as I hit my final goal feels right.

It means I will need to focus these final 6-7 weeks.  That final goal is so close and I just need to keep doing what I have already been doing for the last seven months.  Although I am starting to think a lot about what “After Wegovy” will look like, I can’t do that yet.  I need to finish out strong.

1.7 mg (ish)
Last Weight: 204.0 pounds
Down 65.0 pounds (24.2%)

26 Doses in.  200 Days in.  65 pounds down.  6 Doses to go.  15 pounds to go.  My apps tell me I am 50 days out from my goal.  I should be there by my 36th birthday.  It feels surreal to be this close.  And yet I still feel like I have the drive to make this work and make it work long term.  These two weeks since the holidays ended have been great.  I’ve been able to stay focused on my daily goals and have been hitting them.

Sofia and I just finished watching a wonderful show together. It was a beautiful romance that ended with the death of one of the two.  Sofia and I did the same thing we always do when a show, book, or movie ends this way.  We turned to each other and said, “You are not allowed to die.”  It’s almost a joke at this point.  But it was a major driving factor in me making this change in my life.  I was watching my kids get older and was starting to see weird health issues.  I realized I needed to take control of my health if I wanted to see them grow up.

And I did.  Now I have to make sure I keep it.

1.7 mg (ish)
Last Weight: 205.8 pounds
Down 63.2 pounds (23.5%)

I have finally broken free from getting stuck at the 209 pound level for several weeks. I know I shouldn’t be upset about staying stable through the holidays. That is an accomplishment of its own. I even lost a small amount. But it feels nice to be back to a normal routine where I can cut a couple pounds a week.

I feel renewed. I have big milestones right in front of me. 203 is the lowest I’ve ever been. 202 is 25% lost. Then 200. It’s hard to realize how close I am. It’s also surreal to see that my apps tell me I should hit my goal of 189 in…less than 60 days. That’s so soon. This weekend I will hit 200 days of Wegovy and calorie counting. 60 feels like nothing compared to the routine that I’ve built.

I keep seeing flashes of myself in the mirror and being surprised. This change has happened so quickly. I gained the weight through years of trauma. A crazy pregnancy. Becoming a father in the NICU. COVID-19. My wife had a stroke. My two year old having seizures. Realizing my son had autism and being unsure what that means. I’ve felt a lot of that stress melt away as the weight came off. My life is stable now. Crazy, but stable. And I love it. It’s nice to have a healthier body to go with it.

1.7 mg (ish)
Last Weight: 208.0 pounds
Down 61.0 pounds (22.7%)

24 doses down.  8 to go.  Slow and steady at this point.  It’s hard to shift mindsets from consistently losing a lot of weight for a long time.  It is a bit harder without that excitement to keep putting everything in the app.  But I’m doing it.  And Some days are better than others—just as before.  But I am slowly getting used to the slow movement downward.

I’m becoming more aware of the calories burned portion of my Google Watch.  I used to burn really high amounts without doing much because I was carrying around so much extra weight.  Without that extra weight, I am seeing the calorie deficit shrink considerably.  I’m continuing to do all I can to keep my calorie intake at a good place.  But I am trying to do more so I can burn more too.  Taking the kids to museums or the zoo.  Going to yoga.  I knew I would have to pivot to this part at some point.  It is hard to do in the middle of Winter in the Pacific Northwest with all the rain.  But I am going to push more and more.  I need it if I am going to break the 200 pound barrier.