In a message dated 12/02/2004 6:10:01 PM Eastern Standard Time, johne.cook at gmail.com writes: >>I get a lot of inspiration from Steve; I fire up his books page when I > am in a funk to read what he thinks about his books. Keeps me going >> knowing that I'm not the only one who struggles with books. > > >I'm going to say something that will appear awfully fanboyish; there's >no help for that. I'm also going to introduce an element of faith, >which can be even dicier, but it's part of the story, and I'm not as >shy about that as being tagged a mindless fanboi. ; ) I like who I >like but I don't go weak in the knees when the object of my >fascination is mentioned. It's not anything worse than a tic. Maybe >a tremor. I digress. >I deliberately started getting geared up for NaNo2k4 pretty early this >year, like, in mid-September. I cast about for different ways to do >that and ended up reading the first Omnibus of the Vladiad (hope I >have that spelled correctly). >I was so taken with the verve and vibe of Vlad that I was revved up f>or NaNoWriMo, and that creative excitement and energy carried me >right into the beginning of the second week, where I hit the >stereotypical wall head-on at highway speeds and had to pick myself >back up and soldier on ahead without the benefit of all that kinetic >energy. I wouldn't recommend it for everyone else, but it worked for >me. I had the picture in my head of a guy with six months to kill and >a particular mood in his head, and then I compressed that into thirty >days. >It's true - Steve was a huge inspiration while I was preparing for >this; Steve, and my unshaken belief that the creative process is a >gift from the Christian God whom I believe in and attempt to serve, >with fear, trembling, and a keen sense of hypocrisy. I'm also a >hardcore PC FPS gamer, so one wonders how devout I could be, and far >be it from me to defend myself on that score. >So I went rolling into this challenge with the staunch belief that >creation (or invention, if you will) of this sort pleases my Creator >and with the attitude of a cocky, dangerous assassin who is the >consummate professional, has his own ethical system, and has earned >these magnificent, die-hard friends. These things were in the back of >my mind, a strange mix that pleased me deeply, the melding of the >divine and the earthy. >There's an energy and ambition in the writing of _Jhereg_, for >example, that overcomes a multitude of sins and set the stage for >great works later on. You can see Steve mature and develop with each >new book, and if he did it, I told myself that it is theoretically possible for myself to walk that path as well. >These are the things that got me going and kept me going through many >late nights and apparent dead-ends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . > johne cook wisconsin, usa >johne.cook at gmail.com / jcook at apostate.com > http://www.phywriter.com Your a freak......but your OUR FREAK. Kudos and God Bless. : ) John D. Barbato, OD