Data Oriented Programming in Java: Chapter 6 Progress (2025-02-02)

Published: 2025-02-02

Early Access here: Data Oriented Programming in Java

Current Stats:

• Words: 9,866 (things got out of hand this week)
• Listings: 50
• Figures Used: 20
• Figures Made: 29

This was an exhausting marathon weekend of writing. I was determined to get the draft into a state where I wouldn't be completely embarrassed sending it over to Manning (though, there's always still some shame in this early process).

I think, after a year, I'm finally dialing in the writing process. 5 weeks for an OK-ish 35 pages is pretty fast by my standards. The previous chapter took several months.

I've slowly learned all the ways that I will lie to myself and procrastinate (making pretty pictures on draw.io that I'll never use is a big one). This chapter was, in part, an experiment to see if I could go faster by doing the really uncomfortable thing and just writing that initial draft without any regard to quality. This practice is some of the most common advice on writing. Editing is infinitely easier than writing. But it's hard advice to follow. The internal critic is loud. Still, I attribute the "speed" (used loosely) of this draft to the uncomfortable act of forcing myself to just write, and to keep writing, and keep, keep writing until it was done. Only then did I allow myself to edit.

There's still a lot of work to do on the current draft. It lacks focus and hops around from topic to topic as it tries to give "insights," but the bones are there.

Another week or two of adjusting for feedback and it should be ready for MEAP.