Welcome to the coldest place on earth; X's $1 million article; Season 1 of 49 is wrapped

3 Things this week and a poem

Thanks for spending some time this weekend with Things I Wrote Down.

Here are three things that stood out this week and a poem.

Welcome to the coldest place on earth

Coldest spot on Earth, Yahoo News

Some cold Arctic air is hitting Canada and the US. I was receiving headlines and photos like the one above from US friends asking us if we’re alright. With rumours of “exploding trees” and travel carnage, everyone’s eyes seem to be on the weather.

I had a bit of fun posting shovelling videos online this week that people seemed to like. I normally walk with the kids and the dog to school, but we’ve been driving this week, so the quick, two-blade shovel technique has been some great cardio!

Full disclosure. I’ve shovelled snow in -50C¹, so the cold snap here in south western Ontario is no comparison. However, I as a born-and-raised Alberta, I’m primed for cold, dry winters, and this wet cold out east just gets in my bones.

Anyone else out there take a sunny, -20C cold spell in Red Deer over a -5C cold snap in London? I would. Any day.

What’s the coldest weather you’ve ever experienced?

X’s $1 million article

If you brave opening social media these days, you're likely barraged by terrible news everywhere. It’s a fire hose of news stories, misinfo, and requires a lot of due diligence. The shield of faith, too, which it’s easy to forget to bring into the doomscrolling.

But there was some fun news recently too. If you’re American and you write, please go after this prize. X, formerly Twitter —do we still have to explain that?—announced a $1 million prize for the most viewed article as it launched the new longform product feature to all creators on the platform.

A 1,000 word essay delivers more than all the world's prestigious book-length prizes combined. (And nearly as much as Nobel, which is more about a body of work).

I put together this little chart to give a sense of just how big that prize money is compared to other writing and literary awards.

X’s prize is an eye-opener. It dwarfs the prestigious awards most authors dream about receiving, making the Booker, the Giller, and the Governor General (not listed above, but coming in at $25k) look like chump change.

Canadians don’t qualify, so, if you’re an American, I’m invested in your success. I wrote an article (to test out the new feature) about How to Write to Win, with five things to consider.

Wrapping Season One of The 49

I didn’t bring the content over to this newsletter much last year, but you may remember if you’ve been here awhile that last year I embarked on a creative endeavour. I wrote a new fiction series week-over-week.

It’s a supernatural thriller that takes place in the not-too-distant future. Paris has been wiped out by a suitcase nuke and billionaire fiefdoms emerge, walling off key corridors, they horde natural resources, live under a technocracy, and are kept in line by a violent game show. I fell in love with a few of the characters and can't wait to write more.

Last week I wrapped Season One of The 49. I’m so grateful for the readers who went on the adventure with me. I’ll add new content in 2026, but am changing the pace. Keep your eyes out for the book I’ll publish later this year that captures the narrative in one place.

But if you like fiction and enjoy a thrill, you don’t have to wait. You can start, catch up, or pick it up where you left it over at The 49.

A poem

These are strange times. And, time, also, is strange. Here’s a poem about it for all you verse-lovers. (It's from my collection of poems during the pandemic).

1. Matt and Dan used to own a snow removal and landscaping company and I helped out. One of the most lucrative and cold side hustles I’ve ever had. We’d shovel our brains out at 4 am on early Alberta mornings. Fun fact: We used to shovel well before the sun rose, eating bags of Costco dried mangos before hitting A&W hard for coffee and breakfast sandwiches.