Just like riding a bicycle...

On Sunday, I decided to take my bad old self out for a metaphorical spin. I climbed behind the wheel of my keyboard and started writing my novel. As the aches and pains quickly added up, I remembered that I hadn't written a darn thing in so long, I'd forgotten the last time I'd actually tried to write a story.

You see, for most of my life, me and the keyboard have been bosum buddies. In High School, I'd think nothing of writing for four or five hours a night. It was fun and silly and I loved it. Of course, I'd go through stretches where I didn't write for all sorts of reasons. But normally, I felt some anxiety at not being able to get behind the keyboard and write something. It got to the point where if I didn't write for a stretch of time, I'd start getting moody and depressed. Writing was my therapy.

That changed after I started writing The Novel (henceforth refered to Novel #1). For five years I more or less lived in front of my keyboard to no avail. The Novel was hopelessly flawed at its conceptual base. I could write and write and write and it would never get any better. It was the literal equivalent of quicksand. When I finally came to the conclusion that I was wasting my time trying to improve it, I walked away from my computer and started looking into film.

To be sure, I've been writing scripts for the past couple of years - but writing scripts is much more technical than it is creative. Same result, different process. But until I sat down on Sunday and started tapping away, I hadn't realized how much different it really was.

Suddenly, I discovered that I was a stranger in the land of English and sentence construction. I pounded my head against the wall a few times, but nothing came loose. I persevered and managed to rack up about two full pages - all of which, I quickly surmised, was garbage.

Writing can be one of the most frustrating exercises in the world. There are times its like swimming in molasses. And then there was last night.

I went home from work not feeling so hot - pretty tired actually. But by the time V stopped scrawling on my TV screen, I was feeling a bit more energetic. Since Sunday, I had figured out how to start my new novel in a more constructive fashion. I sat down at my computer, turned on my Itunes, and before I knew it an hour and a half had disappeared and five wonderful pages had magically appeared on my computer screen.

I was exhausted, of course, and quickly fell asleep. But when I woke up this morning I was refreshed and excited and ready to go again. I haven't had this much spring in my step since... well, its been a while.

So, the new Novel (officially Novel #2 - or N2 for short) is underway and off to a good start. Today, it's good to be me.