A reader's look inside the making of From Wanting to Doing, by Brian van Veen.
This is a deliberately selected view of the real book project, rewritten for readers. It is not the private working area or a complete activity log.
Brian had many ideas for things to make and learn, especially music production. Moving between those ideas made it difficult to hold on to a clear goal, a sequence of steps and visible progress.
He began using AI to work through ideas and Notion to keep the goal, decisions and next actions in one place. Conversations with other people learning music production encouraged him to share that approach in a book.
Write a practical English guide that helps an independent learner turn a broad ambition into a focused exercise, a personal observation and a next step.
The book itself is a real project that uses the approach. It is not a controlled test of learning outcomes, and completing it does not establish how much someone else will learn.
The first English edition used eight chapters and Robin, a fictional beginner in music production, as the main example.
Brian felt that the book and website were too abstract. He wanted a reader to see the complete route: a filled-in prompt, an example answer, a plan in Notion, a first exercise and a review.
The next draft added concrete software instructions, real demonstration screenshots and a programming example. It also added Brian's reason for writing the book and his portrait.
Brian liked the practical direction but missed the original design and opening. Programming also arrived too late as a separate example.
The next revision returns to the original visual style and opening. Music remains the main thread; programming appears alongside the same learning steps. The final example is the real book project itself.