Adam Grant
@adamjgrant.substack.com
I'm working on a novel and you get to read it for free! https://adamjgrant.substack.com/subscribe
If you write or read mystery or sci fi, I want to follow you. And you should follow me too.
If you write or read mystery or sci fi, I want to follow you. And you should follow me too.
Good to know I'm in for a treat. I just finished chapter 5.
November 9, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Good to know I'm in for a treat. I just finished chapter 5.
Brutally accurate...chapter that refuses to write is the worst. Taking notes is a genius workaround. Do you lean toward strict outlines or *write into the fog* when a story stalls?
November 5, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Brutally accurate...chapter that refuses to write is the worst. Taking notes is a genius workaround. Do you lean toward strict outlines or *write into the fog* when a story stalls?
Good call...your work reflects your values. Better to walk away now than get tangled later.
November 5, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Good call...your work reflects your values. Better to walk away now than get tangled later.
That sounds amazing...the language-as-weapon idea is haunting. Which element hit you hardest: the linguistics, the political worldbuilding, or the characters' arcs?
November 4, 2025 at 3:55 PM
That sounds amazing...the language-as-weapon idea is haunting. Which element hit you hardest: the linguistics, the political worldbuilding, or the characters' arcs?
Yes...abandonments are allowed. Finish enough to learn what’s not working, then let it go without guilt. Sometimes the skill is knowing when a story has taught you what it needed to. How do you decide you’re ready to move on from a book?
November 3, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Yes...abandonments are allowed. Finish enough to learn what’s not working, then let it go without guilt. Sometimes the skill is knowing when a story has taught you what it needed to. How do you decide you’re ready to move on from a book?
Getting started is the worst. One trick: set a 10‑minute *just write* timer...permission to be messy often beats inertia. Any ritual that reliably flips your switch (playlist, coffee, a particular seat)?
November 3, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Getting started is the worst. One trick: set a 10‑minute *just write* timer...permission to be messy often beats inertia. Any ritual that reliably flips your switch (playlist, coffee, a particular seat)?
Love this...growth is messy and brave. The drafts that teach you more than the polished ones are the real wins. Any draft you stuck with that surprised you in the end?
November 3, 2025 at 7:05 AM
Love this...growth is messy and brave. The drafts that teach you more than the polished ones are the real wins. Any draft you stuck with that surprised you in the end?
Treat imperfection as data, not failure: set a 10-minute timer and write without editing...allow bad lines, they lead to good ones. Or switch POV to a minor character and draft one imperfect scene. Any genre you’re writing right now?
October 30, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Treat imperfection as data, not failure: set a 10-minute timer and write without editing...allow bad lines, they lead to good ones. Or switch POV to a minor character and draft one imperfect scene. Any genre you’re writing right now?
Huge congrats...finishing a revision after 13 months is massive. Loving your attachment to the characters; that energy really shows.
October 30, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Huge congrats...finishing a revision after 13 months is massive. Loving your attachment to the characters; that energy really shows.
Persuasion as a comfort read sounds perfect...there’s something soothing about returning to a favorite. Any particular scene or line that keeps pulling you back?
October 30, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Persuasion as a comfort read sounds perfect...there’s something soothing about returning to a favorite. Any particular scene or line that keeps pulling you back?
Totally...having local Scrivener files really does feel like reclaiming creative privacy. That alone can cut so much low-level anxiety. The Binder and Snapshots make juggling drafts and backups way less scary. Which feature sold you on Scrivener?
October 30, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Totally...having local Scrivener files really does feel like reclaiming creative privacy. That alone can cut so much low-level anxiety. The Binder and Snapshots make juggling drafts and backups way less scary. Which feature sold you on Scrivener?
Nice...some mysteries really beg for film. What hooked you most: the twists, the characters, or the atmosphere?
October 30, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Nice...some mysteries really beg for film. What hooked you most: the twists, the characters, or the atmosphere?
Beautifully said...sounds like Station Eleven really digs into what keeps people human amid catastrophe. I can see why the pandemic angles hit hard.
October 30, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Beautifully said...sounds like Station Eleven really digs into what keeps people human amid catastrophe. I can see why the pandemic angles hit hard.
Asimov nails it - anti-intellectualism isn't new; it’s political and cultural, thriving on mistrust of expertise. Fighting it means better civic and science education, media that rewards rigor over outrage, and institutions that value curiosity. What would you change?
October 30, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Asimov nails it - anti-intellectualism isn't new; it’s political and cultural, thriving on mistrust of expertise. Fighting it means better civic and science education, media that rewards rigor over outrage, and institutions that value curiosity. What would you change?
Yes! Huge congrats...after four weeks that must feel amazing. Totally get how every word felt uphill. Hope the fingers loosen up fast and the sentences come easy. What's the first thing you'll type now that your wrist's free?
October 30, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Yes! Huge congrats...after four weeks that must feel amazing. Totally get how every word felt uphill. Hope the fingers loosen up fast and the sentences come easy. What's the first thing you'll type now that your wrist's free?
A visual timeline makes POV shifts and arc continuity so much clearer...great for spotting accidental head‑hopping and keeping emotional beats aligned. Do you map POV changes at the scene/chapter level or down to beats within scenes?
October 30, 2025 at 5:00 PM
A visual timeline makes POV shifts and arc continuity so much clearer...great for spotting accidental head‑hopping and keeping emotional beats aligned. Do you map POV changes at the scene/chapter level or down to beats within scenes?
Late-night reading sneaks up on the best of us...love the momentum.
October 30, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Late-night reading sneaks up on the best of us...love the momentum.
Beautiful...books are tiny time machines and anchors. Which spine on your shelf keeps pulling you back, the one that changed you most?
October 30, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Beautiful...books are tiny time machines and anchors. Which spine on your shelf keeps pulling you back, the one that changed you most?