Even though I'm currently not actively writing, I'm still writing! At least in my head. I still come up with ideas, formulate plots, create scenes, and build characters. I can't help it! I have new short stories to write and new scenes to add to my everlasting book project. I will say that my iPhone has been a great help. I've been using an application called "Writing Toolkit" for keeping track of characters, plots, and story ideas. DocsToGo has also been a good addition to my iPhone. I keep my stories there for reference.
Being a writer is in my being. I sometimes become frustrated that others don't always understand that. I wrote when I was young, I wrote songs when I was a performing musician, and I still write. I've tried to analyze why. The only conclusion that I've come to is the aspect of always wanting to create something. Which is also why I'm a programmer. I've always stated that I'm a lifer instead of a jobber. I code because it's a part of me. I write because it's a part of me. I find satisfaction with giving life to software applications. I find satisfaction with giving life to characters, scenes, and stories. When I say, "Hey, check this out!" with a cool piece of code, and someone else agrees that it's pretty cool - it makes me feel good. When someone reads one of my stories and I get a favorable response - I glow for a long time!
Quite a while back, I wrote a story called "Freedom From Paradise". I used a few of my friends as primary characters in the story, projected in a new future situation. In a sense it was just an exercise in characterization and dialog. I gave one of my friends a copy of the story when it was completed. Several weeks later he went camping with his friends and family and the story was read aloud at their campfire one night. I heard from multiple people about their enjoyment of the story. That was one of my favorite moments about being a writer.
Then there's the time I wrote an article for Computerworld Magazine, comparing Windows 95 versus OS/2. That was one of the most scariest times of my life as a writer. Thousands of hate emails from the OS/2 community for giving Windows 95 a half star lead. But, in afterthought, it made an impact and I did my part in relaying a truthful comparison.
I guess I'm starting to babble here. Overall, just because I currently don't have time to write, I'm still writing. Because - I'm a writer!
