First the really good news -- Darwin A. Garrison accepted my short story, Professional Choice, for Darwin's Evolutions.  I've returned the contract and he's already paid me.  I can't wait to see the ezine come out, and not just because of my story.  I think he's going to do an excellent job of pulling this together and creating an interesting collection of stories to read.

Professional Choice is a fun little story, really.  Writing it -- and having it accepted for publication -- reminds me of why I really enjoy what I'm doing.  Stories that you love to tell (not just 'fun' stories, but any story that gives you a rush of feeling while you write) make writing worthwhile.  Not all stories can be that way -- but sometimes you have to write the lesser ones with the more powerful one, because you need to see what works.  Writing is an art and takes practice, just like everything else.  Not everything will be something you'll want the public to read, but you can learn from everything you write -- as long as you're willing to learn, of course.  It makes being a writer kind of an odd combination of creativity and good work habits.

I did fine at real world jobs, from taking care of kids, to factory work to running bookstores for years and years.  I kept at writing all through those years, too, and finally reached the point where I could write full time and not have to go to work.  I love it.  And do you know what the best part is?

This isn't a 9 to 5 job.  I write every day and have for decades -- when I had an outside job and not.  But I know that my creativity isn't tied to the mundane world of business hours, and once I escaped them, I felt creativity expand to fill the time.  I don't believe in the 'my muse has to come to me first' school of writing -- however, I will never, never let this become just another job where I have to sit at the computer because it's required of me, rather than because this is where I want to be.  Even with contracts, I work to my own schedule.  I give my mind time to work on inspiration, and to process ideas into stories, so that I'm not just sitting down and pounding out words to fill some quota.

And that means that some days I work better than others.  Today, so far, has been a good day.  I have major work done on two different projects, plus a bit of art work thrown in and some housekeeping.  I'm trying to create a 'housekeeping as art' attitude, and maybe it's even sinking in a little.  Housework has never been my strong point. 

I am also not a morning person and never have been.  I work best late at night, when the rest of the world has quieted and the distractions of sounds and sights outside my office window have mostly disappeared.  I love working at night, but the only reason I can is because this isn't a 9 to 5 job and I don't have to worry about when I'm getting up the next day.

Now I'm dealing with another big change -- Russ going to New York to work.  I now have absolutely no ties to time or even day for that matter.  Creatively, I can't say that it's made a big improvement because I generally work the same as I did before.  Lifestyle-wise, it has certainly added some interesting moments as I try to figure out 'when' I am.  And it has made remembering to update this on Mondays a real challenge.  But here I am anyway.  I may be getting the knack of this time and date stuff finally!

I love the dawn and I see quite a few of them, but that comes from still being up rather than getting up.  Sunsets have always been my favorites, though, and you can tell that from my photography.  I love night storms and hope we get some nice ones this year, and that I get luck with the camera again.  It is mostly luck, because where I live makes it difficult to get a clear view.

So in many respects, I've got things pretty good.  I would prefer to have Russ working closer to home, and we both think that's going to happen soon.  And then will I have a better connection to the day?  Probably not. (grin)  It wasn't as though I was very good at it before he took this job.

It's a good life in many ways.  I'm lucky.  And I'm having fun.  You can't ask for much more than that out of life.