It’s very easy to slip into [...]]]> Neil Gaiman, who should know, had this among other things to say regarding writing: “Believe in yourself. Keep writing.” Walter Mosley, in This Year You Write Your Novel, says the same thing. In fact, every writer’s advice is about the same: Write. Write, write, write and keep writing.

It’s very easy to slip into minutia – is this a good design? Am I using the right tool? Are my chapters or characters or programs named the right names? What font should I use, and for goodness’ sake, what size should it be? But as a writer, not a designer, none of that matters one bit without the writing behind it.

I am writing in a serious and committed fashion for the first time in a long time. As part of that, writing comes ahead of page design, or in-depth reviews of software, or flashy images.

My header image came from a little Processing sketch, Lost In A Forest. It took an hour to put together, and the rest of the layout and style took another three or four. I made sure I wrote a post before I did any of that.