Jake LaCaze

If there’s one thing I’ve come to value after the last 16 years full-time in the workforce, it’s simplicity. ‘Simplicity’ is not the same as ‘easy’. Something simple may still be hard. (Some of the hardest truths may be the simplest.) Simplicity means you’ve removed as

My son is in his final year of reg-league baseball. This fall season is his next-to-last season, with his last being in the spring. It’s a bittersweet time. The bitter part of that equation is obvious—what if he never plays baseball again? What if this is all she

How many layers must you wade through in the search for your own writing’s common thread? I once said that persuasion was my own writing’s common thread, but now I’m realizing there’s more to it. Humanity. The human condition. What does this mean for the humans

Existence, well what does it matter? I exist on the best terms I can — ‘Heart and Soul’ by Joy Division . . . Existentialists ask what it all means. Nihilists say it all means nothing. Absurdists say it all means nothing, yet we can’t help trying to attach something deeper to it.

Not so long ago, bloggers used social media to share their posts and build audiences. While social media is unlikely to go away any time soon, people do seem to be falling out of love with it, if for no other reason than most of the mainstream social platforms (Facebook,

I’m on the verge of finishing my absurdist comedy novella, which will become my longest completed writing project. When it’s all said and done, I’ll most likely have enjoyed the process far more than the finished product. Because this pending novella will become my longest work, I’

In an attempt to reverse its falling stock price, Southwest Airlines announced it will start assigning seats to its passengers. Congratulations, Southwest—you just became indistinguishable from every other airline! Writers would be smart to question adopting every piece of writing advice they hear so as not to become the

If you’ve found a certain tool or service that works for you and makes your life better, COOL—then keep using that thing. This advice applies to AI, Notion, Obsidian, TikTok, WHATEVER. If your tool of choice is a net benefit, then keep on keepin’ on. But please don’

As I’m writing this post, I’m juggling three longform writing projects: * An absurdist comedy novella * A vampire hunting novel * A literary novel about fatherhood The literary novel is the only one I can imagine publishing. The vampire story is so far outside what I typically write. I’ll

No business stands on its own. Every business is dependent on something else in some way; the question is to what degree, and how stable is that dependency? Transportation companies are dependent on highways and railroads and open waterways and skies. A coffee shop may be dependent on the attractions