And that's a good thing.

Me, aside from tuning my own voice through prose, I am attempting to find the right work / genre / medium. This place has been a big help in both inspiration and instruction.

Currently, I am bouncing around two forms of writing études. The first is a collection of stories and essays about the daily life of doing geology in the field, because "write about what you know," right? These are all short essays. On the other table is a project I call "One Thousand Words." Take a favorite photo and write a thousand words about it.

Both are harder than I thought. I find myself thinking about them a lot more than I am actually punching keys. I ask myself questions. Is this just a fun story? Or is there more to it? Can I draw a moral or a lesson learned? An epiphany? A caution. I think about structure. How do pull off a nice, but quiet, foreshadow? How about the other characters in the story? Or am I going way too far with the first person. How do I make them pop off the page. How real do I get on these characters, or is it better to create a composite? Because I don't want to hurt anyone.

And in all of that, you are right about the introspection. For looking back, finding old memories as I rummage 'round the gray matter attic, I also realize what a jerk I've been.

Sometimes.

Also, a hero, sometimes.

(Edited, of course.)