So. Here we are. Since work started to settle down I have, in fact, been writing a bit. Some personal journal-type-stuff, some work on the book. Which brings us to the topic of the day- why writing feels so damned good.

I’m not really sure what the chemical reaction is that goes off in my brain, but there really is nothing like sitting down with a blank screen, and putting my hands on the keyboard not knowing what will come out. Since putting up the wiki I’ve been much better at focusing and staying with one project, but sometimes it’s just such a treat to open up the floodgates.

It feels… cleansing. Even this post, which I had a vague clue about feels good and I haven’t said a single thing of note. This reminds me, my favorite thing about Wordpress is that there is a button up top, where you can always see it, that says “Write”. It’s awfully nice to be able to click that and have it work.

So now I need some help! Does anyone want to test drive a prose-only copy of the story to their kids and give me some feedback? I’m not looking for literary criticism, just an idea of how the flow works and if the kids liked it. Mini-b seemed to dig it, as long as I pretended the characters were all dinosaurs.

Similarly, if anyone has friends that do this kind of illustration please feel free to point them my way. I’d like to hand them off the noted copy for that feedback and maybe some hit them up for some concepts.

Inevitably these discussions touch on writing, and this was no exception. I was explaining my irrational fear of starting to write again- it went so smoothly last time, what if it doesn’t now? -
and I was reminded of something Neil Gaiman recently said in a Podcast. When asked what he told aspiring writers who came up with a ton of excuses for not writing, his response was:

“Okay.”

That pretty much sums it up. Neil doesn’t care if you write or not, and neither does the universe, your dead grandpa, or really anyone else. If you do you’ll find the time, if not you won’t and should go do something you do care about.

We continued walking and talking, and it occurred to me that I was also afraid of the project I’ve been working on, for much the same reason. I love the project and don’t want it to fail. It occurred to me that the writers I respect most are all generally working on several different projects at once, and that I really haven’t done anything much else since starting this one. I opened myself up to new ideas and they immediately poured right in. On cue the sun broke from behind the clouds and warmed me up on the outside to match my happy inner-bits.

The idea to write something as far from what I normally do as possible popped up, and so tonight I’m writing a short children’s story. Shut up. I’m really looking forward to it, so I’ll get on with that now.

Anyone out there have an illustrator handy?

Felt so very good to start off with one random sentence, and find myself just cranking out, by accident, the first rough draft of the story I’ve been working on with . It’s not great, but it’s there. More importantly it’s done.

Ahhhhhh.

Just not tonight. Or this weekend. Or Monday.

Bugger.