So I said I might post more, and then right after I started to panic. What am I going to post about? Will it be any good? That’s exactly the stress I don’t need more of. So I could just not post… but another solution is just to post any garbage and not care if it’s good. We’re going to try the latter.

By the way, the creative process is stressful. When something just feels like it isn’t working in a novel, my whole mood is shot. When I used to make columns regularly, I got so worked up trying to find some new funny idea. And when you have the idea, for a new column or how to make a plot point in your novel work, it’s the greatest thing. But it’s rather miserable until then.

I’ve gotten good at brute forcing creativity. I used to write here every day for years no matter what, and it wasn’t easy. And I think I learned something from that. I can pound something out by sheer force of will if needed. It always feels better when I have some muse and the words just flow, but I don’t think you guys can tell what was fun to write and what was brutal torture.

Still, with novel writing, it’s become my rule that if I get to a section where I’m dragging my feet to finish it, then I need to rethink it and make it more fun to write. Of course, the rethinking — waiting for that great idea — is not fun.

Usually walking helps for me. Gotten a lot of great idea walking the dog. But she’s very old now (14). What I really want is the thing Scrooge McDuck had that I admired even more than his vault full of money: his thinking room. It was a room with nothing but and indented circle in it from Scrooge pacing. I want a dedicated room for me to pace and think. I need to start a GoFundMe for that or something.