So.  My stated goal is to finish this bunny-rock-throwing novel by Easter.  That's it.  To just finish it.

Which means really just putting in a consistent effort.  Stephen King has said (if not in so many words, then implicitly) that the main trick to writing is to show up at the same time, each day, and put black on white.  Even if it's boring.  Even if it feels bad.  His theory is that "the guys in the basement" of your mind will notice you putting in the time, and reward you with the stuff you need to make the story.

I dunno if I agree with the imagery, but I don't have anything better.  And I do agree with the sentiment.  When I stick to a writing schedule, my mind knows it.  I keep myself interested in the story that way.  Even when I'm off working, or eating, or watching a movie there's part of my mind that's still writing the story.

It's too easy to get away from that daily habit of sitting down at the typewriter, or computer, or journal.  There's a lot of stuff out there to distract us, a lot of important stuff.  I think what separates the successful writer from the frustrated artist is the ability to carve out enough time in the day to keep their head in the world they're creating.  They don't become immersed in the art, but they don't let the world dry out the art either.

It's hard, and that's probably why there's relatively few people who actually write the Great American Novel, compared to those who are writing it.  Kudos to those of you who can actually sit down and work when you aren't compelled to.

On that note, I need to close down this distraction and write.

It's sort of rare I find my thoughts echoed on the internet (which is why I still post blogs and such...I tend to think my thoughts are original enough to merit the effort.  Wrong or not is another story...), which is why I had a pleasant surprize in my feed reader this morning.

http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/ is one of the personal finance blogs I follow.  I find Ramit's style...more than a lil annoying, to be honest.  But he does provide some interesting insights into how to go about life, so I keep reading.  He posted a bit of someone ELSE's post the other day to make a point, and that was what caught my eye.

http://philip.greenspun.com/materialism/early-retirement/ is the full post.  It's long, and interesting, but only a specific portion is what I want to talk about.  It's early on, when he mentions that just about everyone has a huge list of things they would do if they didn't have to get up and go to work everyday.  And...(almost) no one ever does them, even if they do get the chance to cash in and retire early.

This is a realization I came to myself, not too long ago.  Ramit used the example to justify why he was starting a scholarship fund at the age of 24.  "Why not wait?  Why not DO what I want do to?"  And really, that's why I'm back on the net, doing my blogs and such.

Because for weeks and weeks and weeks and months and months, I've been telling myself, "Sure, when things calm down and I have more time.  Then I'll start writing again.  Then I'll go camping.  Go back to school.  Travel.  Save money."

But really...most of that stuff comes down to time management.  I can't find time to write because of a 55 hour work week?  With weekends off?  Stephen King's first YEARS as a professional writer were done while he worked something like 80 hours, six or seven days a week.  He worked it in on lunch breaks and before bed.

And it's really tempting to say, "I'll do it later."  Because things always look perfect down the road.  But really...just because I may not be working 2 low-wage jobs in three or five years, there will be other obstacles.  And if I wait that long to do what I want to do, I'll use those obstacles as an excuse too.

This has gone on long enough (meaning the post), so I'll wrap it up with a cliche.  "Where there's a will, there's a way."  It's time to quit whining about how you CAN'T do what you want, and start finding ways to DO what you want. 

And by "you," I mean me.  Unless this post needs that personal touch in order to be inspirational.  In that case...um..."you" means you.

Yeah, so...um.  $40 went missing from my stash at the end of the night tonight.

I technically owed the store $5.  But I was upset enough and adamament enough that the GM was like, "Um, don't worry about that.  We'll deal with it later."

So basically, I paid $5 to work tonight.

And...well...in the big picture?  Maybe that's not such a big deal.  It is frustrating as hell though, since this was the first really decent night I've had in about a month, maybe month and a half.

I even got cookies, for crying out loud.  $5 and some cookies from a lil old lady.  That's nuts.

Anyhow.  That's my night.  Now it's time to find some Sailor Jerry and put it in a glass of cherry coke.  Drain.  Repeat as desired.

So, I'd love to do more of this.  In fact, I'm gonna try and do more of this.  Blogging, networking, twittering (or is it tweeting?) and maybe even videos.  I mean, it's all fun stuff.  But, it gets tricky.

I've got a 40 hour a week job that gets me up far before dawn, and keeps me till after lunch time  Then there's the 15-20 hour a week job that pulls me back out on the road from dinner time to sometime in the late evening.

That leaves...weekends.  And weekends are only two days.  Add to that mix a girlfriend I kinda like to spend time with, unwinding time, pleasure reading, and sometimes drinking a lil too much...then there's not a lot of time to get online, and do my thang.

But, with time management and the giant spaghetti monster, all things are possible.  So let's see what we can do, eh?

This isn't about writing and poetry, exactly.  It's about books.

But Myspace apparantly doesn't think books are as important as music.  Or photography.  Or pets.  Or automotive.

I think Myspace is in league with the powers of ignorance.

But anyway.  I stop by the library yesterday...and picked up like...6 books.  I was going to get more...but then I realized I had to move during the same period these books were out.  So I didn't wanna over exert myself.

Tho part of me wants to go back now and find where they stuck Palahniuk's books.  Clowns.

And had a pretty good time at it. 

Joe was kind enough to ensure I did not starve or get thirsty (even if I shoulda listened to the bartender and skipped the margarita) and Veronica bakes a mean tube-born cinammon roll!  Kaiser makes a good spicy (even if I did order a homestyle...whatever), and has good taste in the ladies.  Even the weather behaved (except for mini golf).  But even that was a good thing, for it allowed us to visit the monstrosity that is Ikea, and become thoroughly amazed at it's incredible-ness.

It was a trip good for the soul, if not the credit card balance.  It also kinda created more uncertainty than was resolved...because as we all know, once you resolve one issue, it merely leads to more uncertainty.

I reworked the prologue to my novel concept too...so I might just be typing and posting that today or tomorrow.  We shall see.

RIP George Carlin...and that's all I have to say about that today.