Mistake made

Lesson learned

Conclusion drawn

Bought the hype of the software vendor

Promises easily made are easily broken

Don’t fight the computer,

focus on writing

My writing is fluffy, unfocused, and uneven

“Most people would rather die than think.  And they do.”  B. Russell

Tame my monkey mind with patience and hypertext

My writing is self-indulgent

The job of the story is to answer the question “What happened?”, not “How smart is the author?”

The job of the writer is to answer the question “So, what?”  That’s my job!

Trying to write everything I know in one short story

Composition is the interplay of what is there and what is not. e.g.: the missing man formation.

Use the strength of weak connections.  Write how I feel, not what I know.

Did more reading than writing (again!)

Learn to rely more and more on less and less information, like my mother used to.

Instead of reading, go swimming.

Did more routine than creative work (again!)

I cannot order my monkey mind around; I have to seduce it.

The shortest way home is the longest way around; as long as it is the way I know