Catch-up ’22

29 December, 202228 December, 2022 ~ John Nerst ~ Leave a comment

I sum up the year and give an overview of the contents of the book I'm writing.

It’s a Book!

20 April, 202226 July, 2022 ~ John Nerst ~ 6 Comments

In which I announce that I'm going to write a book. Read more (3 min, 700 words).

7 Hang-ups To Hang Up On

23 February, 20222 February, 2022 ~ John Nerst ~ 4 Comments

I discuss the seven facets of perfectionism I need to get under control if I want to become a more productive writer. Read more (12 min, 3000 words).

Looking Back on ’21 and Forward to the Rest

6 January, 20224 January, 2022 ~ John Nerst ~ 6 Comments

I sum up last year, look back on six years of blogging, and decide that it's probably time for some crisis and change. But how, and what? Read more (11 min, 2800 words.)

A Hundred for the 100th

21 September, 202117 January, 2022 ~ John Nerst ~ 5 Comments

To celebrate my 100th post, I wrote 100 haikus as summaries of each post so far. Read more (8 min, 2000 words).

Hindsight in 2020

29 December, 20208 March, 2022 ~ John Nerst ~ 4 Comments

I sum up 2020 and digress a little about writing, creativity and how things become part of the past. Read more (14 min, 3500 words).

The End of 2019

30 December, 201917 January, 2022 ~ John Nerst ~ 5 Comments

I try to sum up 2019, a year that started out well but took a weird turn about a third of the way through. Read more (6 min, 1400 words.)

A Defense of Erisology

13 May, 201917 January, 2022 ~ John Nerst ~ 16 Comments

I respond at length to criticism against an article about erisology in The Atlantic, developing the concept further in the process. Read more (23 min, 7700 words).

A Meta-Meditation

23 January, 201917 January, 2022 ~ John Nerst ~ 11 Comments

I wrote a spontaneous piece on the tensions between cultural/intellectual accessibility and ambition that under later scrutiny wasn't quite up to snuff. Instead of publishing something sub par or discard it I used it as a jumping off point for discussing the nature of creative work, writing and thinking in general. Read more (13 min, 4200 words).

2018 in Review

29 December, 20183 January, 2019 ~ John Nerst ~ 4 Comments

I summarize 2018 as a successful year and discuss what works and what doesn't with my blogging: it's getting better but higher ambitions and awareness of a bigger audience means I still write much less efficiently than I could be. Read more (6 min, 1800 words).