What to say?

What should I say? I could tell you about the leftover chocolate mud cake in the fridge at work. But that's gone now. A few software engineers in a mid-afternoon mood demolished it. with coffee. and conversation. and laughter too. What chocolate mud cake? I see no cake here.

I could tell you of my plans to develop a phobia. Zemmiphobia sounds like a wonderful choice. People could tell me about their weird allergies and I could reply with my irrational fear of the great mole rat. Let's see them top that then.

I could tell you about my recent acquisition of Thud and how it constantly nags at me to start writing an AI opponent. That's a project that I know I would spend hours days weeks on. Play testing would start to fill every available minute. I'd wake up at night being hurled by dwarfs or clobbered by trolls. The coffee table would mentally map to the thud stone at the centre of the board. I'd start to model international politics on dwarf-troll interactions. I dare not allow the game to gain a foot hold.

I could tell you about a craft project that keeps begging for time, a partially written song, a list of absolutely brilliant but undeveloped story ideas (you know the ones--when you think them through completely you realise the brilliance was illusory), and a leaning tower of books waiting to be read. I have a whole superhighway of good intentions.

I could tell you about how I need to reorganise my days if I want to do any serious amount of writing. There is no guarantee of quiet uninterrupted time anywhere between 7am and 10pm. Past efforts to use the 11pm-2am time slot have been less than successful due to a reduced attention span in the early hours. It doesn't look promising. I've been reading Learn Writing with Uncle Jim. I need a disciplined regular habit if I want to make the transition from "perpetual wannabe" to "I am a professional writer: I tell lies to strangers for money."

Mr Virge, I'd like you to meet Mr. Self Discipline. Mr. Discipline will be your personal writing trainer. You'll come to hate him in many different ways.