How did you decide to return to software engineering and how has that shaped your days and wellbeing? I feel like I have unfortunately over-invested in the idea of ‘being a writer’ as ‘your primary day job is adjacent to writing.’

Primarily, I had stopped writing my own work. I wrote over 100 drafts in 2019, the year I left my job. In 2020, the year I started teaching, 25. In 2021, the year I went on the academic job market, 20.

Writing careers are just as you say: your primary job is adjacent to ...