The Ever Evolving Art of The Writing Life

   The art of brainstorming and developing an idea is an ever evolving one. I often find myself sifting through old notes, hastily scrawled lists, or scouring a plethora of writing sites for prompts and suggestions. What is it about the blank page that both mesmerizes us writers and yet terrifies us half to death at the same time as the cursor sits there, blinking ominously at us on the screen, waiting to leave a trail of narrative behind it as it blazes down the page towards the infinite empty space?
   I'm still trying to find the system that works best for me, and so far what I find myself doing regularly when the writing actually gets done is:

• Listen to instrumental music (no lyrics)
• Sit in the back of a coffee shop with a cup of coffee close at hand
• Routinely read various writing blogs or writing prompt pages before starting to write
• Leave the cell phone on silent
• Stay logged out of instant messenger apps

   I've been reading through the Writer's Digest 2014 Writer's Market (this is a top notch tool that I highly recommend all writers have) book and studying all facets of the writing/publishing industry, and no matter how much research I do, I find it impossible to figure out whether the best course of action for my writing is to self publish or to get a literary agent. There are many positives and negatives with both choices.

   In the interim of this decision making process I've decided that I will try my hand at some short stories/novelettes for various writing magazines such as Analog, Asimov's, and S&SF, to hopefully help pay the bills. If you know of others that could be worthwhile I would love to hear about it.

My reading list for writing currently consists of:

1. 2014 Writer's Market
2. Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction: How to create Out-of-This-World Novels and Short Stories
3. Write That Book Already!

   For those of you that know me, or have been following me for a while, you know that I've been trying to make writing a part of my daily life, and that I've been working towards turning it into my full time career. Until that time comes, I have to take on work to pay the bills. I've done a number of contracts with gaming companies in the past as a tester, designer, producer, narrative designer and various combinations of all three. I'm extremely passionate about both creative career paths, and would love nothing more than to mesh the two into a full time job. This work search digs into the time I get to spend on my writing craft, and fills my head with a lot of non-creative clutter which can stifle my creative drive at times. This too is something I'm still trying to perfect.