Why You Should Push Yourself to Do Hard Things

Nat uses AI tools such as Lex, Claude, and GPT mostly to critique nonfiction drafts, flag unclear or redundant passages, and check whether an argument treats opposing views fairly. He says the feedback can be specific, but writers need to judge it themselves: AI sometimes recommends a duller style that strips out personality. For fiction, he finds AI useful for research, brainstorming, and adding environmental detail.

While drafting his sci-fi novel Husk, Nat initially worked without AI, then used it to help manage a story with multiple viewpoints, many characters, and subplots. For a disease storyline, he used ChatGPT to brainstorm plausible diagnoses, and he used AI to explore names and character backgrounds. He also describes using NovelCrafter with a long prompt containing a writing sample and details about the characters, plot, and setting.

Nat says confidence in learning comes from repeated proof that you can figure things out. He suggests starting with a manageable task, such as fixing a washing machine, before taking on more difficult challenges. While writing Crypto Confidential, he tracked daily word counts in a spreadsheet; later, he built an app to log writing sessions and saw that he had written 110,000 words that year.

Nat warns that creators can become dependent on algorithms and audience demand, repeating topics to keep views and income flowing. He argues that short-term engagement can distract from work with lasting value, such as books, and says creators should have a next step in mind when building an audience. For people who want to write books, he recommends starting a newsletter and considering a book deal once it reaches roughly 5,000 to 10,000 subscribers.