My new book, One in Six Million, is out and about, living a very nice life. I am ready to look for a new topic to become obsessed with. I’ve thought about laboratory mice, I’ve thought about another Holocaust Survivor story, I’ve thought about doing a BA in Italian Studies.

Normally, when I get stuck,

it takes me a day or two to identify the problem, and then I can start thinking of ways around it. This time, I couldn’t figure out exactly where the roadblock was so I couldn’t start dismantling it.

I retraced my steps.

One in Six Million took me six years to complete. In part, because of the availability of witnesses, the abundance of material, the double and triple checking of facts. In part because I had to go back to school and do an entire Master’s Degree just to learn how to write a book like this one.

In part because of my own incompetence.

Well incompetence is probably harsh. My own inexperience, particularly in terms of interviewing. Not asking questions, if anything I might ask too many questions. Recording, transcribing and storing interviews is a serious weak point for me that cost a lot of time. Research notes are also not my long suit.

I didn’t realize how much this was

bothering me but it kept kind of swirling around in my brain. And swirling right next to it was that during my Masters we had a guest lecture about interviewing technology and I didn’t pay as much attention as I should have because that information would come in handy now, before I embark on the next who knows what. I was focusing on the fact that I was dumb to have this problem in the first place and even more dumber to have not resolved it when I could have, by paying better attention in this class. At a certain point, I stopped blaming myself and

I wondered if

the guy who taught the workshop might have an online version that I could watch or download for later. Or how much he would charge me for an hour of his time to tutor me on this topic. I remembered that he had founded a writing school during the pandemic called Pandemic University.

The nice thing about living in 2025 is

that we don’t have to wonder anymore. I couldn’t find the class I was looking for, but I did find a form to fill out for more info and the form asked what my budget was and I said “open to a conversation” because I probably would have offered my weight in gold coins to get this problem resolved.

He got back to me

and said that he had a three hour recorded version of the course “Modern Writers Tech Toolbox” and that he would sell it to me for $30, tip sheet included.

It was such an AHA Moment for me

because my problem (I don’t really know how to properly record and transcribe interviews) seemed insurmountable. In the end, it was solved with 30 bucks, two emails and a three hour video course, tip sheet included.

When something is getting in the way of

your persistence, you might not know what it is. Pay attention to the thoughts swirling around in your head, and the thoughts swirling next to those thoughts. Once you have crystallized what is keeping you from moving forward, you can start looking for ways to get past it. The solution might be simpler (and less expensive) than you anticipated.

Also, while we’re here

I’m doing a FREE event in Montreal on Thursday, May 15th at Argo Bookshop. I’m going to be interviewed by a fiction writer with a similar story. Please join us.