
Hi, I'm Jason.
I've written a few books, such as Awake in the World and Eleanor. I also write a newsletter, Letters from Hill House, about life and work. I live on a hill in Scappoose, Oregon, where I design software and write fiction. I'm a husband and a dad, a semi-competent drummer, a compulsive pencil collector, and a big fan of three-hour-long mid-afternoon naps.
What I'm working on
Presently I'm working on The Dark Age, a novel adaptation and expansion of a short story I wrote several years ago. As the book develops, I'm sharing my experiences writing it in my newsletter.
What I'm reading
- The Candy House, Jennifer Egan
- In, Will McPhail
- Minecraft: The End, Catherynne M. Valente
(See my full reading list.)
The math of morning routines
Mornings are my favorite part of any day. When a morning goes well—by which I mean, when all of the pieces of my routine click into place—I tend to have a pretty good day. If I miss a step or two, though, it can throw everything off. I
Neither here nor there
To my amazement, waking early, then doing a medium amount of work on Project A, then a small amount of work on Project B, seems to be working. (On weekends I do a large amount of Project A, and stick with small amounts on Project B.) Sea of Tranquility is
Squish at the (home) movies
Recently, for family movie night, the fam selected Dune. None of us had seen it. I did some quick research: Appropriate for a ten-year-old? I mean, she's seen Lord of the Rings, and Jaws, and other such things. I learned that there was one brutal-ish death in the movie, and
Leaving a little want-to
I've just spent the weekend putting miles on my keyboard. My hands don't hurt, but they've gotten clumsy. More and more words came out with transposed letters. My word count plummeted. I developed a headache from all of the screen-staring. There haven't been many happy writing stretches in the last
Quote wall: Natalia Ginzburg
On the bulletin board above my desk, I keep a handful of quotes that have taught me something, or that I hope to learn from. Here's one: When I write something I usually think it is very important and that I am a very fine writer. I think this happens
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