...the "anything" gym...
...a best of 2024 list compiled from the writers at my local gym...
“We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it within themselves.”
-Galileo Galilei-
It’s been about two years and two months since I began hosting a weekly gym for writers. Every Monday at 9AM PDT word nerds from around the world gather for an hour to write, join in group discussions, spar on ideas, assist in research, edit and give feedback on works in progress.
The writers who attend the gym all come from a now defunct online writing program called Write of Passage aka WOP. There are a million places on the internet to read about that program with reviews ranging from a waste of time/money to a life-changing serendipity machine. I contracted for the company so my main opinion is “they paid me”.1
I started “the anything gym” after attending the first of what would end up being five cohorts of WOP. Again and again as I participated in editing there, I realized that the most important knowledge I was gaining was through direct feedback.
Interpreting others and being interpreted myself unlocked new ways to see the world. It is amazing how different our words can read depending on who our audience is. We can see so much more of ourself is in someone else’s eyes. As someone who has written over one hundred thousand words this year, I’m not sure I’d be doing this if I didn’t have the gym. I want to see and be seen.
One of the cohort's many mantras was that writing is social. Writing is a way for the world to find us. I’d agree that it can be (as I type away in silent empty darkness, dimmed TV set playing wet russian sci-fi, the warbled whir of a space heater blowing mites over my chalked itchy skull), but the results aren’t certain. Finding an audience to read you, let alone comment and react to your writing, is an un-guaranteed gift.
But that experience is ultimately why I continue to do what I do. I want to share and be shared. I want to be instrument and amplifier. I want to learn communication and community. I want to know impact and change. I want to improve. The gym guarantees at least an audience of whomever attends. That might sound meek, but I mean it mightily.
“THE ANYTHING GYM”
For one hour, once a week (soon to be twice), we make a space for writer’s to see each other. The gym meets the needs of our moments. If you have an essay in draft that needs editing and review, bam, you got it. If you have an idea that needs brainstorming and discussion, bam, you got it. If you just want to blah-blah-blah-blah-blah and have someone blah-blah-blah back at you, bam, you got it!
Anything at all, you got it (baaaaaabbbbbbyyyyyyy!)….
Lots more to come about this, that, and everything (anything).
2024 ends. 2025 begins. There are so many great writers and readers in the gym so I prompted them all to share with me their three best things they wrote or read last year. Anything goes. The following is that.
This should be enough good writing to last you another year. I hope you enjoy all of these recommendations. That they at least make you feel anything. If you are interested in learning more about the gym please DM me.
“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?”
-Vincent Van Gogh-
THREE THINGS
Recommendations from The 2024 Cast of “Thee Anything Gym”
CAM HAUSER
https://www.camhouser.com/newsletter
What I wrote: This piece about attending a Mexican wrestling match in Guadalajara
https://www.camhouser.com/notes-from-a-fever-dream/
What I read: Cate Hall's How to Be More Agentic
HUGO LABBAROIS
1. (read) Hamlet Shakespeare, I'd never read it before, and omg.
2. (read) A pattern language Michael Dean
3. (wrote) Feel then Create, the story that led me to prioritize writing in my life.
RADICAL RADHA
The best thing I wrote this year (at the time I didn't think so but I guess the audience liked it?)
David Brooks, How to Know a Person - how to see others and be seen yourself
Rob Henderson, Troubled - on the impact of growing up orphaned and at the bottom of the economic hierarchy
And in addition to the above:
BENNETT JACOBS
Oh man that's tough. I've been reading a lot of Tommy Dixon's Substack. All great posts.
Always like things from Simon Sarris. Also been reading a lot of books again which has been nice. The Unbearable Light of Being by Mlian Kundera was great.
As for my own writing, I only got a few posts out this year but probably one these two!
SANDHYA DOMAH
3 favourite things I read/wrote:
- I'll start with an essay of mine since I'm super proud to have started my substack this year writing about a topic that I don't see people writing a lot about:
This essay on Fela Kuti had me hooked. I LOVE Fela. Traveled to Nigeria more times than I can count for work and have loved immersing myself in the Naijja music scene. But knowing more about Fela and how political his music actually was, and what he sacrificed to make it, was a very touching moment for me.
Best book of 2025 :
The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin
Because I love sci-fi. And this one talks about egalitarian societies in a way that's powerful, nuanced, and entertaining. I also love it when I come across a woman writing sci-fi. It tends to be less about the robots and more about the relationships. Blanket statement here, I know. But that's how I feel.
EMILY FELT
You requested the 3 best things I read or wrote this year. I don't think much of my own work could qualify as any sort of "best" so I'm just sending a bit of a mix, something I wrote, plus two things I read.
1) my essay #2 from Write of Passage:
2) an essay on music by Rob Tourletot that moved me:
3) and, a short but resonant vignette by Sherman Alexie, who I grew up reading as a Native American author (I grew up right next to the Ute reservation, and it influenced our local culture.)
VED SHANKAR
Reads: this post/mini essay by Tim Ferriss (love the phrase blue collar work ethic)
The Apothecary Diaries series (Japanese Light fiction novels rule) and this essay about The Sarumans and Radagasts in our life
Written: This piece about life questions before making career decisions
This piece about what is strategy because I got to use Pokémon in my example
And this one about Education because I just struggled a lot writing it.
CELESTIAL DAWN
Top 3 things I read:
Goodbye Again by Johnny Sun (haven't finished, but love it so far)
COCO LIU
3 favorite things I wrote this year, actually all happened during/post WoP so very grateful for that. And pretty sure that without the gyms none of these would've happened.
No more bad first dates. 5 radical ideas for modern online dating
Slow spaces for conversation
An eleven year journal, on crossing thresholds in life
LILY
God in Cursive by Aaliah:
I doubt I'll read an essay published in cohort 13 that is more beautiful than this one. It's just breathtaking.
The Good Neighbor by Dan Xin Huang:
This was the first essay I read in WOP where I thought "This guy is on another level", and then I look and ah, background as a Wall Street journalist. Incredible narrative structure and storytelling both. Master of vignettes DXH!
Four Horsemen of Grief by Leanna:
I read a version of this essay that was totally different, and each iteration rocked me. I couldn't stop talking about Leanna's experience and essays IRL, which speaks to how arresting and important her work is.
FRANCESCA GALLI
As for the top three things written / read:
essay exploring questions of identity and belonging as an immigrant, plus learn about an odd Italian town! (Written by me)
“Figuring” by Maria Popova - a one-of-a-kind book that weaves together the lives of famous and lesser known artists, scientists, activists; blog post about it: (Read by me)
Short essay on the mythology of two Yule-time figures, Lussi and Saint Lucia; wintery vibes all round (Written by me)
ED MIRAGO & FRIENDS
Selected Diary of Virginia Woolf (published posthumously, chosen by her husband Leonard, entries from 1920 to 1941 or so that are her thoughts on reading and writing...a neighbor of mine set the volume out in a free box a couple of weeks ago and I've been chowing down on it ever since).
Arab of the Future: a childhood in the Middle East, by Riad Sattouf (Graphic novels, translated from French. I read the first 3 volumes, there may be two or three more. Grim but funny.)
Concerning the future of souls : 99 stories of Azrael, Joy Williams
Why I am not a Buddhist, Evan Thompson
OK that's four. Could cut either the first or last. Glad I started using the library because otherwise I don't track what I read. Maybe I will start? Maybe I won't.
I hope you're not requesting our favorite online writing. I've read stuff online I like a lot but having a book in my hands gives me so much more. On my list is to organize less screen time without, LOL, giving up reading substacks.
MAK RAHMAN
These are 3 of the best essays I wrote:
ZARA ZARITA
1) Book:
Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words
Book by David Whyte – Mini essays on words, like "Courage" or "Procrastination". I love the poetic and philosophical description of these words in their usage.
(I got mine from the library)
2) Substack publication Crooked Roots:
One Sentence a Day, November's daily observations by Stacy Boone
"Something as simple as writing a single sentence demands I be present, even if just for a few moments, to reflect."
I liked how her sentences were simple, sometimes poetic, or observational, many times around nature. Which gave me the inspiration to try it for a week to get out of a rut.
3) Substack publication The Social Camera: Starting Small to Move Forward, How I Got Unstuck with One Sentence a Day for Seven Days by Zara Bogaski
HARRISON MOORE
Best things I've read this year:
I'm in the middle of reading Tim Urban's mega post about Musk. I wouldn't normally choose to read anything about Musk, but I love Urban's style so I thought I'd give it a go. Wow, it's incredible, for its depth of research, its wit, and its unsensationalised account of one of the world's most sensationalised figures.
Julian Shapiro's piece about Russian drone submersibles designed to create radioactive tidal waves was truly shocking to learn about, and brilliantly written.
And I've enjoyed many of Ted Gioia's posts. Too many to pick favourites really. But if you backed me into a corner, I'd choose this post about bad people making good art, mostly as it's still fresh in my mind, but as with all his work, it's a masterpiece of independent thought delivered in humorous, nugget-sized paragraphs that are ideal for the internet age. And it genuinely gave me ways to articulate things I didn't know how to express before reading it.
Favourite thing I've written this year? Probably this piece because it fell out of me with hardly any planning and very little revision—and I think that made it retain its creative energy.
Encore: Favourite writing-related video I've watched this year is this talk by Steven Pinker about the merits of "Classic" prose style. Again, this gave me a way to understand something I'd built up a hunch about but didn't know how to express. "If you're writing, don't build me a clock, just tell me the time." Brilliant. Something to aspire to, for sure.
BRANDON WEAVER
JEFF GIESEA
1. The remarkably talented and alienated late Millennial man -
(Plus, the entire "generations of men" series)
2. Is fiction too female coded?
3. Be the elite you wish to see
WILLIAM TRAN
https://www.thestoryofyourvoice.com/
Here are my three things that I would love to submit.
Not sure if I could submit a video but I thought it would be cool (my story starts at 56:40)
MAKSIM PECHERSKIY
My favorite things of 2024:
Wrote:
Read:
and
CLAIRE COLEY
Favourite thing written was probably this:
Proud of this as the topic sucked to write about:
LEE SMART
1. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey ... My non-fiction pick
This book turned me into a fan of this man. This is not a how to be successful book written by a self-help guru who hasn't found success yet, this is a real life success story from someone who lives life to the fullest. Learn what it takes to stand up for yourself and get what you want from the world while living with character.
2. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry ... My fiction pick
This book was not at all what I expected. It is a glimpse into what it was like to live as a cowboy without pulling any punches. Great character development that had me hooked and wanting to see how they would grow. Love, death, bar fights, gun fights, insecurity, and the frailties of human existence are all here.
3. The Rebirth of a Workaholic by Lee Smart ... My shameless self promotion
This article was the first time I felt like I was finally hitting my stride as a writer and telling the story I had been wanting to tell for years. It includes my 5 new metrics for success and a voiceover.
CANSAFIS FOOTE
It would be unfair if I didn’t answer the same prompt that I gave these amazing writers. I think I’d like to highlight the three things I wrote this year that I wish got to be read more (in the hopes that if you haven’t yet, you might take a look?)
…i wrote about watching the eclipse…
…i wrote ten ten-line mini memoirs inspired by the movie magnolia…this post is almost as pretentious as that movie…
…i wrote about my on again off again relationship with myself…
And here are the only three things I know how to read.
MAD MAGAZINE
TALES FROM THE CRYPT
GARFIELD
REVIEWS & VALUES for THEE ANYTHING GYM
Creativity, inclusivity, niceness, challengingness, openness, lioness are some of the values the gym holds. It is a rad place where people can become even radder. Earlier this year I surveyed the attendees and asked what values we might assign to it, and if they might review it. Here are some of those answers…
JOHN SHERWIN
VALUES: Accountability, creativity, horizon lifting (both with our writing, and with our goals for our writing)
REVIEW: "The generosity of the folks who keep showing up to Fis' gym makes it a special place to go each week and get feedback or do some idea sparring. Without this ongoing writing gym, I for sure would not have gotten into a writing rhythm so the accountability is helpful too."
KAT KOH
VALUES: Growth
REVIEW: "Left to my own devices, my writing is almost always neglected. When I attend Cansafis' weekly gym, I cook up an idea, show up, contribute and benefit from the feedback of very smart, passionate writers. He runs the show kindly and efficiently. Join us!"
RIK VAN DER BERGE
VALUES: Stealing this from Joe Hudson: 'VIEW' (Vulnerability, Impartiality, Empathy, and Wonder), especially important for the 'idea' or sparring stage, but I'd say for feedback too :)
ZARA ZARITA
VALUES: I do not have a tribe of writers other than this. I see this as a group of like-minded writers, newbies and more experienced, that help each other, even newbies can help because we all have experience at our age. It's like Benjamin Franklin's Junto club, or the cages in old Europe where intellectuals and artists would gather.
REVIEW: “I love coming to The Anything writing gym. We help each other with feedback, ideation, perspectives, getting unstuck, and encouragement. Each time it could be a different or a familiar face helping each other depending on who attends, putting variety to feedback.”
PATRICK O’LOUGHLIN
VALUES: Openness, encouragement, and challengingness
CHARLIE BECKER
REVIEW: “I can't make it every week, but the feedback gym has been a rock solid place for me to go and get help on some of my favorite things I've put out in the last year. It is especially helpful that there's a rotating cast of familiar people, so I get feedback of a familiar sort that nonetheless always comes from a fresh set of eyes.”
AMANDA EMIKO
REVIEW: “I don’t think anything has better honed my craft or kept me more humble about my craft than writing in community. I’m new to CansaFis’s gym, but he makes it so easy to jump right in, engage with others’ ideas, and become a better writer in the process.”
MELISSA MENKE
REVIEW: “This gym has been awesome. You've curated a great vibe and a lot of smart people. I feel comfortable dropping in at all stages of my writing process. I had a lot of writing going into my google docs and note-taking systems, and very little coming out the other end. You've helped unblock that!”
If you made it this far I want to thank you for an awesome year. I am stoked for another. And for an other another. I am ready for anything. Connect if you feel the same way.
Thanks and appreciation to all whom have made the gym what it is these past two years. Cheers to many more.
“The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.”
-Theodore Roosevelt-
*editor’s note - this article, gym and community would not exist if I hadn’t worked with Write of Passage, for which I am truly grateful. It was if nothing else an incredible incubator filled with positive support. It also might have been a cult. I plan on sharing more in a future piece about all I learned (un-learned) there, and what I think the future of a similar idea could be (aka Wrong of Passage). Cheers and bravo to the staff at WOP for building what you built. R.I.P. - WOP - 12/31/24 (or will it never die…brains…braaains…)
Thank you so much! I appreciate how you amplify others and your work in community building. You are one of the most thoughtful people I know.
Grateful for all the blah blah blah moments you’ve brought to us!!!