Unless we talk regularly, you wouldn’t know that I (quietly) started drafting again.

After a year of synopses and spreadsheets, it feels like I’m haphazardly throwing cans of paint at the wall to design a mural.

Every five seconds, my left brain is scolding me for choosing the wrong setting, or not having an inciting incident, and what’s the value shift of the scene and oh my god, do I even know how to write anymore?

Meanwhile, my right brain is thrilled to go with the flow. It encourages me to write the stupidest thing that pops up in my head, type furiously on my phone when I can't make it to the computer, and celebrate any progress made, whether it’s the 5,000 words I’m aiming for this week; or the 7,500 I did last week.

It also helps that I write in 15-minute sprints instead of planning the perfect 90 minute deep work block. It’s just enough time to capture my vision without signing a contract in blood—and resenting the world when I have to destroy it and start from scratch.

A lot of these changes result from years of trying to get it right with traditional book coaching and editing tactics...

And learning to embrace the DGAF energy, thanks to my weightlifting practice.

But the good news is, my coach refuses to take credit, and will never slap anything I say on a landing page plastered with a before-and-after photo, because that’s just not the way he operates his business.

It’s probably one of things I respect most about JD: he refuses to lie.

When we first started working together and I confessed a fear of looking “too muscular”, he literally looked me in the eye and said:

“Do you know how much work it takes to look like that?”

When he posted a photo of his body fat composition into the men’s Telegram group and someone asked how he builds muscle while staying so lean, he replied:

“Probably genetics.”

And he definitely doesn’t post Reels of himself deadlifting 500+ pounds on Instagram—because he doesn’t need your approval of his body to make a sale.

All he can promise is that you will get results—but they will widely vary depending on:

• What you’re eating
• Your medications and supplements
• How much you’re eating
• How much you’re exercising
• Your sleep quality
• Your emotional and mental health

And (wait for it) genetics.

It’s a reminder to all of us that exercise is a science, dependent on certain variables and conditions and how they interact to create a specific outcome…

And that any diet, supplement, or workout program you take on will only influence a small percentage of your overall body and health.

You can interpret that conclusion in one of two ways…

Do nothing, because it isn’t going to make an impact.

Or do something, knowing it is one of dozens of experiments you will perform on your body throughout the course of a lifetime.

You already know from a few emails back that I’ve tried every diet under the sun.

I’ve been on just as many training programs, from P90X DVDs to working out alongside a so-called stripper at my local Planet Fitness franchise. (Still do not know who this woman is, despite my husband and friends claiming she was real.)

And even though there was a lot of mood swings and hunger pangs and an overall feeling of failure every time I stepped on the scale, every experience—even the negative ones—provided me with feedback with what worked and didn't work for my body...

As well as the medium I needed to finally silence the critic in my head.

Writing included. Currently, my goal is to hit my 50,000 words by the end of the month. Given how insane May is with end of school year events, do you think I can pull it off?

Stay tuned to find out,

Sophia : )

P.S. Spots for the Forever in Progress Training Club are still available—$15 a month for remote 1:1 fitness coaching, step-by-step workout programs you can take anywhere, and snarky commentary by yours truly. Click here for the details.