Michael Stephen Fuchs

mailchi.mp/michaelsteph...

Happy new year, badasses! I hope your holidays have been filled with peace and happiness and badassery, and are everything you and yours hope for them. With all the Fickisms flying around recently, I’ve had several of you make suggestions about what Fick might do next… [answer in next post!]

Slightly completely lost my keys on my traditional NYE run. Now slightly completely homeless for new years. Only one solution: pub. Happy New Year! 🎊

open.spotify.com/playlist/2Zb...

So the Bobaflex song excerpt from my workout yesterday got such a good response – including from readers new to them, & knocked out – I've done a Spotify playlist of their most asskicking tracks, which powered the most ARISEN writing sessions and workouts: open.spotify.com/playlist/2Zb...

Hey, I want to wish you all the most peaceful, happy, safe, and lovely holiday season – and send you my profound thanks for all your amazing support, kind words, and general awesomeness. See you in the new year, when I’ll be stupidly excited to get Ops v2 in your hands. 👊🏼🎅🏼✨

www.michaelfuchs.org/razorsedge/?...

Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the theatrical release of HEAT. Still my 2nd favorite movie of all time, and still breath-stealingly great drama, and action. Check the next tweet for a link to my analysis on the 20th (plus video of the two best scenes in the movie). 🔥

www.amazon.com/dp/B0DN13JH8J

Hey, so fellow ARISEN fan – & USMC veteran & retired firefighter – has written a children's book! It's on Amazon (link in next post) and in B&N (where he's about to do a signing). If you're looking for a kid's Christmas gift, plz support one who's faithfully supported me, & everyone w/his service.

Since Beth and I have started sharing a Spotify account, my recommendations have changed in pretty interesting and dramatic ways, let me tell you. And some of it turns out to be pretty asskicking fodder for the ole writing playlist. This one – “Superstar” by Rivals – is fire. 🔥

Strangely, I was only one at outdoor gym today. (Mist, 4°, wet.) Nearly didn't go (after 11 hours sleep & catching up w/big backlog of lovely reader messages). Glad I did. Kind of wanted to let myself go a bit for the holidays. As per Jocko, “getting after it” always better.👊🏼✨

So freaking hard. (Everyone thinks, bafflingly, that if you've done it before then, hey, sure, you can just do it again, right? Fuckers. :)

Well. Last day's writing, the climax, works. Kind of can't believe I did it – wrote another damned novel, for starters, but this one in particular, which just handed me my ass for months. Now I think it might be good – really, really good. (As always, ultimately, you'll tell me.)

Woke this morning facing the emotional climax of the book – and the hardest (and most personal) scene I've ever had to execute. Couldn't do it. Then I did it. And it's probably the most powerful thing I've ever written. Kept going – all the way til the end. Ops v2 in the can. 🏁

Monday. Get some. (In a freezing wind and the dark because sunset's at freaking 15:52 / shirtless ripped dudes doing pointlessly elevated dips on camera at the outdoor gym / oh my f'ing god am I not feeling it, complete dental appointment of a writing day edition. Did it anyway.)

Two genuinely complete & total asskicking writing days, back to back, blasting through the climactic battle (if not quite emotional climax) of the book. Honestly didn't want to stop – and go run and lift. Did anyway. Managed to run into this one, bimbling through Xmas-y Chelsea. Happy weekend/Xmas!

open.spotify.com/playlist/58l...

New Three Days Grace, new #1 on the writing playlist. So f’ing catchy. Also, definitely my 3rd favorite band, not least for their contributions to my own work – I swear to god “Break”, “Get Out Alive”, “The Mountain”, & “So Called Life” have written half my books.
@threedaysgrace.bsky.social

Finally got that run and workout today – bone dry out, but proper cold! – and rewarded with the most absurdly soul-tweaking dusk. Outstanding writing day, as well – straight into the throat of the final climactic set-piece battle. 🌇🐦‍⬛🔥

Monday. Get none! 🧸🥀
By the time I finished writing – blasting into the final climactic set-piece battle of the book – and geared up to run and lift, rain had rolled in. Running in cold is great, ditto rain, but both together can be lethal. Settled for the 3.6k words. Get 'em tomorrow.

Some days, the storywork makes writing more like transcription. And powerful/pivotal scene executed, another 100k on the pile. Here's where I was 8 years ago, crossing the pass at Kongma La, into the Imja River Valley. Probably my best day and most beautiful place I've ever seen.

2,200 words of knockout left hook, and still time for, not just a long cold walk in the sunshine – but also a quick pub stop in the sunshine. 🥊☀️🍺
“DO THE HARD.” – Pope

Monday. Get some. 🦍
(Highly Improvised Deadlifts at the Outdoor Gym Edition.)
Also 3x word count target; haven't had a 5k day in a while… ✒️🔥

Blue sky, cold sunshine, and 150% of word count. (And some entirely decent thematic action.) Happy weekend, everyone. 🖤

Winter isn't coming – it's freaking here. Luckily, so is our next over-the-top exploding action set-piece spectacular. 😃👊🏼🔥

Monday. Get some. ✒️🔥🦍
(P.S. It's always Monday.)

Well. This book's actually kind of doing what I need it to. And today I had the sun on my face. So that's pretty good. Hope your weekend is happy and filled with all good things. 🌞🖤