Writing fiction is surpassingly hard.

I don't write fiction much and when I do, it's about as much fun as banging out chin-ups (if I could do chin-ups, which I cannot despite having fairly decent upper-body strength and the ability at almost-fifty and 170 lbs, to shinny up a swingset pole). Therefore, I have some sympathy for people who are writing fiction. It's a lot like work. And so I sometimes pony up actual money earned by the sweat of my brow (this past week running a vibrating plate floor sander over ancient oak floors to remove carpet cement and what seemed like fifty layers of varnish) to read fiction written by other people.

( Sometimes this goes well... )