I started writing What Lies Beyond Me in January 2025.
Today, April 29th 2025, I finished it.
The Numbers:
900+ total hours poured into the creation
500+ documented hours of writing, editing, revising
400+ hours of thinking, dreaming, analyzing, spiritually living inside the work
1,941 revisions across multiple files
30+ versions
58 pages and 5,361 words in the final manuscript
7 major structure revisions
Countless moments of self-doubt and actively deciding to push through.
The Process:
What Lies Beyond Me wasn’t crafted in the safety of my desk. This collection has been breathing
beneath the surface of every creative thought, idea and visual artistry I have ever created.
It was dreamt on sidewalks, on flights, on public transport, in coffee shops, in waiting rooms.
It didn’t matter whether I was doing well, if I was sleep deprived, stressed, or not in the mood—I continuously
showed up and didn’t allow any distractions to get between me and my creative vision.
Why It Matters:
We live in a world obsessed with fast results, easy products, short attention spans and frankly—low standards
when it comes to quality, whether that is food, clothing, art, housing, and even interpersonal relationships.
This manuscript asked me for the opposite:
- Slow and unwavering devotion
- Honest collapse
- Real and at times painful rebirth
It asked for the pieces of myself I used to think were flaws and weaknesses—
my grief, my depth, my emotional velocity—
and it demanded I turn them into architecture.
So yes, What Lies Beyond Me isn’t just a fancy title.
It’s a question and a threshold.
It’s what I found on the other side of silence and survival.
This is what it took.
This is what I build.
Frankly, I am proud of it.
Disclaimer: This blog post documents my creative process.
The manuscript remains unpublished and under submission.
