Writing a story is a lot like fathering a child. For starters, you have no control over the origins of the tale; all you get to do is plant the seed. Then when the child is growing, you have to make sure you start out right or else you end up screwing the kid up in his later years. And of course, it takes a whole village. At the very least, drinking while raising a story isn't necessarily a bad thing. Just ask Hemingway. However, shotguns and stories don't mix well. Neither do shotguns and faces. Just ask Hemingway.

Now, writing a story is one thing. If you can, great! Actually getting oneself to -write- the story is a whole different matter. Everyone has a tale in their head they'd like to tell, but not everyone ends up telling it. All sorts of things can stop progress dead in its tracks. Once you start writing, you pick up momentum...but in the early stages of beginning the act of writing, one's motivation is remarkably fragile.

Anyway, I'm just blowing off some steam. I'll keep trying, and ignore that my father calls it a "waste of time."