I have always liked to create things. When I was young(er?) I would make things out of wood and paper and whatever else I had at hand. I’ve also always written stories. Granted, most of my stories were childish and not terribly good, but I was able to write them and feel good about what I’d put on the page.
That is even more true now, although I put the added pressure on myself of wanting the stories to be publishable. And, in the case of Mik Murdoch: The Power Within, I want the book to be equal to or better than the first one in the series.
It has meant writing, rewriting, editing, revising and stressing about the book. But it has also been a fun challenge to once again bring my characters to life on the page.
That’s probably why I agreed to work with Jeff Hite on A Method to the Madness: A Guide to the Super Evil and now again on our newest anthology project (details can be found here). It’s also why I worked with JR Murdock to write the first Jack Kane novel (coming out later this year from Champagne Book Group/Burst Books). Seeing what we can come up together is fun and often surprising.
And, I LIKE surprises (when they are good, at any rate).
Even when I’m busy, or stressed or tired, being creative helps me to move past the issues. Granted, being overly creative sometimes causes some of those issues, but I’m told, when I’m not writing or podcasting or whatever, I’m not happy. So, I guess I will continue to soldier on and keep writing and creating new things.
It is funny. I have had conversations with my wife about this exact subject. As you know, we have a pretty busy life. Sometimes life gets in the way of things. A couple of years ago I said fine, as much as I like writing and creating it is not working into our schedule, I need to give it up. My wife immediately put her foot down. “No,” She said, “You are a total grump when you are not doing at least some of that stuff. You need to just learn to balance it better.” I think I have been able to find that balance but you never know.
Do our wives talk to each other? 😉