To the casual observer it would seem that my writing skills are not of the caliber it would take to achieve the type of achievement in the written word, as I would like. Since I am starting my new job next week and I figure I will only be able to "read one non school book a week" (clueless reference for those of you who just have no idea, I better catch up on some reading before hand. So I read about five books this week that I have been told to read for the longest time and had yet to read. Besides the fact that a couple of the books I read completely changed my way of thinking about things, these few books I read this week really changed the way I think about my writing.
I wanted to catch up on books of the "different:" variety and I felt like I was hitting a deadline. Countdown to the new job and there goes my hours spent reading and delving into these other words I so desperately loved. Reality starts next week and I felt like I was saying goodbye to the fantasy world of literature for a while (or at least on a daily basis).

Ever since I met Ray Bradbury at a place where I was among many hard-core Bradbury fans I was told to read Something Wicked This Way Comes. Ray has always inspired me and the day I met him he told his audience two things one needed to do to become a writer. The first was to write a million words, meaning just sit and write and write and write and write. The second was to get ones mind out of the way. The mind muddles things up he said. Stop thinking. Get it clear and then the ideas will just flow. I didn't really know what this could create until I read this book a few days ago. Ray creates new worlds. He creates worlds that seem to be impossible and yet so realistic at the same time. No one is like him and everything he does is not only original but it says something underneath the fantasy. It says something besides the standard good vs. evil standard theme one usually finds in a fantasy novel (or any novel for that matter). Technically there are only five main story lines one can create a story from. So to be original is a lot of hard work. This book was not only amazing but it told me I have none of that. I don't have a world in my head ready to be put on paper. I don't know yet how to clear my head and reach out and create this whole new world that is not only original but also impeccably crafted and has the ability to change ones way of thinking about things. This is what I want to create. This is what I know I have to create. I just don't know how to get there.

I hope one day I will be able to write a new world. I have no idea what this world will be. I just have to figure out how to turn sand into gold. Until then I will do what Ray tells me to do, write a million words and stop thinking.