How to be a writer: Capture your words now, or lose them forever.

Tonight was a good night to me for a variety of reasons - I completed a lot of random chores and tasks, and the feeling of progress and accomplishment is always a good one. But the evening culminated, as I lay in bed with countless words running through my mind, with a realization.

I am a writer, or at least aspire to be such a creature. But in order to be a writer, I need to write, as successes in the field often tell me.

A writer must go out there every day and write, come hell or high water. Find your story, overcome your excuses, and put words to paper.

Otherwise you aren't a writer - just some mook with big ideas.

Now, I am working on this writing thing, and plan to make sure I output content on a regular basis, whether it be heaven-sent or the foulest dreck this earth has seen.

But! I realized tonight that a big key to going places is to make sure I put down my thoughts, my words, my ideas when I have them.

I cannot wait a day... or two... or more, and hope to have the same power and emotion as when they first sprang to mind. No, I need to drop such petty tasks as sleep or food or entertainment and write my goddamn words.

It is amazing what relief this discovery brings. And to be honest, I likely will be better off than if I tried to wrestle myself to sleep while the words demanded output, dancing through my brain like a pair of drunken elephants. No, I'll put these words down and let my mind get some rest as well.

And when I hit the sack in just a few moments, I bet that I won't have my normal struggle to settle myself enough to sleep. No, my money says I'll be sleeping like a child. A child pumped full of oh-so-delicious tranquilizing darts.