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Read / Write / Run is a dispatch from the creative long game — written by someone in the middle of it, not looking back from the finish line.
Read / Write / Run is a dispatch from the creative long game — written by someone in the middle of it, not looking back from the finish line.
I’m Zane Dickens.
In 2026, I’m doing one thing: finishing my debut speculative fiction novel, A Slave to Memory — a cyberpunk thriller set in a fractured Cape Town, where memory is power, djinn are real, and the truth has been rewritten.
I want my novel in paperback on my bookshelf by the end of the year.
This newsletter follows that journey in real time.
What RWR Is About
Read / Write / Run is an tricky balancing act of my three life-affirming passions.
Lifelong learning for a healthy curious mind (Read) — because “use it or lose it” applies to our brains as well. I love learning, and I have an always questioning shiny chasing squirrel mind. It’s often the hardest part to control and focus, so that I can actually get writing done.
Being an active happy creative (Write) — not just getting lost in daydreams of castles in the sky, but actually writing stories, painting or building Lego cities with my girls. Making things with my hands over the holidays was one of my favourite grounding activities.
Meditation in motion (Run) — seeking peace while flying on the mountains. It’s like the freedom one might feel in a convertible, wind in the hair, and intoxicating speed. But I’m the engine. It’s myself I need to build, train, and maintain. The grit and discipline I learn here trickles down to everything else.
Simple on the surface. Hidden depths and unexpected challenges trying to balance all three.
What to Expect in 2026
Now → late March: I’m heads-down in final revision passes. The newsletter is quiet. All energy is on the manuscript.
Late March: The novel goes to my editor. When it does, I’ll publish “How I Got There” content a behind-the-scenes breakdown of the systems, decisions, and process that shipped Book 1. That post is the real start of this year’s content.
From there: The two streams open up —
Djinn Protocol — fiction from the Slave to Memory universe: chapters, lore, short stories, and the world behind the world.
RWR — the creative journey: writing a novel as a side hustle, using Notion and AI to do more with less time, and the Read / Write / Run philosophy in practice.
Why Subscribe Now?
Because the “How I Got There” post will be the most honest, detailed piece I’ve written about finishing a long creative project — and subscribers get it first.
No fluff. No filler. Just real work, shipped when it’s ready.
Subscribe. Let’s go. 🚀