I don’t really like conspiracy theories, but I like the unknown.  I like reading about UFOs and cryptids and mysteries like that.  Was there a continent in the Pacific Ocean?  I sure think there’s some compelling evidence.  Is time travel possible?  Well, we’ve got smelted metal that predates human civilization, so…maybe?  And UFOs?  Oh please.  It’s honestly kind of passe to pretend there ISN’T something up there.

But mysteries and conspiracy theories are not the same.  I’m down with Lemuria as a sunken landmass in the Pacific Ocean, but that they were super-advanced?  Yeah, no.  That the government is hiding that technology?  Also no.

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               There’s a lot I enjoy about writing.  I enjoy the characters I write (usually).  I like the adventures they go on and the things they do.  But I often enjoy the worlds.  Whether it’s some far-off alien planet, some magical time far removed from the modern day, or just a neighborhood with a really great bakery, the worlds are often delightful.

               People write for a lot of reasons.  There’s self-exploration and conceptual exploration.  There’s social commentary and sheer entertainment.  But sometimes, you write just because you want to go to a place.  They say ‘write what you know’ and, well, sometimes, what you know is that 1950s-style diners can be fun places to hang out.

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Don’t take writing advice until you’ve written a book.

It seems counter-intuitive, I know, but I just recently watched an ad promoting a writing course.  I generally dislike such programs, but that’s just me.  But then it stipulated ‘even if you’ve never written before’.

Yeah, no.

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