Or “Sometimes my little, frozen black heart does things that require being broadcast, especially since I write about ending the world a whole lot”.

A writer, I think, can only be as good as their support system. Like any other art-form, it’s a grueling, time-consuming labor of love, and there are days when I, like many, many others, would be all right with saying “Fuck it, I’m done,” (special apologies to my mother, grandmother, and any other relatives who maintain the belief I don’t use that word and its various conjugations) and closing up the proverbial shop for good. Staring at a blank document, an idea in my mind, and being unable to produce anything of substance is extremely stressful.

Thank god for my iPod in those situations, or I’d probably have gone mad by now.

More importantly, thank my support system. My family and friends and the people who encourage me via Twitter, Tumblr, and other social media (though, to be fair, a lot of you qualify as friends, whether you like it or not, too). My fellow WordPress bloggers. The encouragement I receive from people as I write, the time they set aside for proofreading and critiquing, and the general reactions (good and bad) are worth a billion million times their weight in gold. My beta-readers, as I refer to them, are all really terrific people, and knowing they enjoyed reading something I wrote trumps getting published ten times out of ten. I mean, I would be willing to compromise and both be published and have my work enjoyed, but let’s not split hairs here.

All of the kind words and shares my first published short story, “Rebooting Everything” (sorry, I couldn’t help myself), received, and all of the positive responses I’ve heard so far really mean a great deal to me. They are the fuel that keeps the machinery of my writing moving (alongside caffeine, alcohol, naps, and whatever happens to inspire me that day). This post would end up being a thousand page novel if I were to write a sufficient number of thank-yous, so instead I will offer my eternal gratitude. It’s far hokier, and I’m okay with that for the time being.

To wrap this up with one more victory for the day: The Bloggess (to whom I should probably be apologizing, since I’ve been experiencing some intense obnoxious fanboy moments lately) liked my post The War on the Moon and its Constellation Army, which features a short story inspired by her 4th of July tweets. The part of my mind that has calmed down from the constant stream of OH SHIT OH SHIT DID THAT REALLY JUST HAPPEN is saying “Mission Accomplished”, which seems a little smug if you ask the majority of my conscious mind (which is still going OH SHIT OH SHIT, etc.).