KD has been distracted by the babble in her head for a very long time now. In the rare event that everyone shuts up, she doesn’t know what to do with herself. KD has even been known to take such drastic steps as cleaning her house on these occasions.

I want that on the back flap of a book one day.

So. Voices. From Psychology Today, in an article written by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi:

Creative individuals are remarkable for their ability to adapt to almost any situation and to make do with whatever is at hand to reach their goals. If I had to express in one word what makes their personalities different from others, it’s complexity. They show tendencies of thought and action that in most people are segregated. They contain contradictory extremes; instead of being an “individual,” each of them is a “multitude.”

 Blame psychology. Blame my stars—I’m a Pisces. I'd rather praise, and be happy the inside of my head is such a noisy place. I happen to think it leads to some damned good stories.

Do you sit at home all day and write? Is that how you have so many stories?

I wish. Well, I somewhat wish. Too much free time tends to have a negative effect on my productivity.

Actually, I have a job, and a child, and two cats. All of those have priority over my writing. Just about nothing else does. I don't watch TV. I spend rather too much time surfing the internet, but I'm working on that. I don't sew or knit or crochet. When I'm doing dishes or laundry I'm thinking about writing. Most of my friends are writers, and when we go on research trips (for a writer, everything is research!) we will probably still talk about writing.

Also it helps that I am poor. This trims down the distractions amazingly.

Do you use a computer? Notebook and sparkly gel pens? Tree bark and fresh blood?

All of the above, actually. (Okay, I haven't been forced to the bark/blood option yet. But I would totally do it if I had to!) Most of the time, I write on my trusty Dell. Sometimes I take out my trusty Dell laptop. Sometimes I toss (gently!) my trusty Dell netbook in the basket of my bike Zephyra, and we go to the park to write.

Sometimes, though, I have to get away from the keyboard. I'm a fast typist, but not so much with the handwriting. Something in the act of slowing down can really help the old noggin work things out. I've been known to switch pens to help nail down a character, or to doodle obscenities all over a whiteboard until ideas start flowing.

What should I do to learn to write?

Some would say, run. You don't really want to be a writer. It sucks.

For a lot of people, it seems, it does suck. On the other hand, I love writing. I love being a writer. I love everything about it, except for two things: the beginning of an edit before I've found my path, and the let-down after a novel ends. I hate that.

Most people really don't like the life. Odds are you're one of them. Are you sure want to risk it? Writing is hard to give up once you've begun.

I'm sure. What do I do?

Two things, and you've heard them before. Read. And write. The best way to learn a new language is immersion, and learning your own language is the same. Dive in, swim around, drown a bit if need be or you spot a cute lifeguard. Learn by doing, and by seeing what others have done.

Then you are going to need to learn to edit.

And may God have mercy on your soul.