Funny, but it took a discussion with my son the other day to remind me of one of the main reasons I write, the thrill of the new idea. First, there’s the excitement of coming up with something new and original. Then there’s the intrigue of figuring out all the details of the plot, the characters, and any twists. This is the kind of excitement, the intellectual challenge which can fuel my interest for days, and often nights on end. It’s the type of thrill that keeps me coming back again and again. Unfortunately, I have yet to have the idea which completely satisfies my need. Every time I finish one book, another idea pops into my head, and off I go again. I suppose the day the ideas stop coming will be a very sad day, and I’ll retire to just watching the crap on TV until I can’t stand it anymore, and I blow out my brains. Honestly, can’t screenwriters come up with anything original? How many zombie shows are on TV? What is so exciting about zombies? They only do one thing, and how many times can you watch someone getting eaten? If you need violence on TV, just move to Detroit and watch the evening news. Then we have crap like: My children see dead people. Who the freakin’ hell cares? Take’em to see a shrink. Don’t put them on TV where people are going to think the whole family is crazy. I guess the shows are only as stupid as the people like me who watch them. Seeing all this unoriginal crap on TV and at the movies lends to the excitement as well when you think: “Hell I can do better than that, maybe if this story turns out, they’ll start paying me to write their slop.” There’s always hope. And hope is one of the things that keeps us all going. As long as I find the excitement in the new ideas, I will always feel hope and continue writing. Besides, if I didn’t hide in the basement all day, da y while least pretending to write, my wife would kick me out.