Well, I had hopes of finishing the fantasy novel this year. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on the view) I am off on another story I hadn’t expected, but is proving to be very fun to write. I’ll see how long this one takes and if I have time to work on the other later this year.

You know, if I had a dollar for every time my writing plans were hijacked by creative spurts like this one, that come from (seemingly) nowhere, I probably would make far more than I ever have selling stories. Not that I write to sell stories, I don’t. I write because the stories come and I think some of them are good enough to write down for posterity. Most writers probably do that. Most average writers, anyway.

Every time I go to Smashwords, I see new novels from writers who had to get their stories down, too, and then decided to share just for fun, like me. I am grateful I live in an age where we can do this, as the majority of us would probably be cut down in the normal publishing channels and our stories would never get a chance to see the light of day.

What would it be like to be a big-name writer who actually has contracts or deadlines, where the focus must remain on what is needed rather than on what creativity slips into random day dreams? I cannot imagine, and I actually hope I never will. It’s too much fun being a little guy. There’s freedom in having your plans go awry and giving creativity full rein so you can see where it takes you.

It’s not profitable, of course, but it sure is fun.

Happy writing!