I am a writer.

I am a writer. You know how I know? Because I enjoy writing. The actual process of it. Not the achievement, the monetary reward, or the respect. The actual sitting down and imagining stories and people and figuring out what's going to happen next and making them say things to each other.

Dorothy Parker said, "I hate to write, but I love having written."

I'm sitting staring at page 80 of KoD, knowing there are over 20 pages left to go before I can call myself finished this evening... and loving every minute of it. Sure, it's frustrating when I realize I have no idea what I'm talking about and need to consult yet another reluctant expert. Sure, it's frustrating when I realize that I'm not in the "zone" and my words are coming out wooden and improbable.

But this is what I'd rather be doing than almost anything else I can think of. There's a high that comes from the "Eureka" of two plot points coming together with the soft "snick" of a jigsaw puzzle. There's a rush in coming up with the perfect one-liner. When I realize the perfect way for a character to die, the hair rises on the back of my neck. It's worth the writer's block, the spasms of self-loathing... it's even worth the criticism and the rejection. Because I know that "having written" isn't everything. If my last batch of spaghetti doesn't stick to the wall I can always get another pot boiling.

Because I am a writer.