I wish I could, I am not wired that way. The creative act gets me high, whether it is writing something that transcends what I thought I was capable of (i.e. gets into another's head, accurately describes a place that still holds mystery) or playing some lines of improvisatory flute that generate a rhythm, a head nod, foot tap, a smile.*
Cowachunga would not have come about without the Japan novel's publishing industry rejection and my subsequent scraping at the barrel-bottom of my bank account, questioning my ability to subsist. I am that guy seeking water in the desert, vultures circling, only the desert is not a desert––it is my quest to make a living from something so debased & holy as art.
Every word of Cowachunga is mine, composed just prior to semi-weekly* dissemination. My version of the eternal scroll––I own it.***
** Weeks, to be realistic, as a full-time SEO hack who writes fiction in his down time, typically at 3am.
*** Paradox: I own it, yet it is freely given. Speaking of which, the next section of Cowachunga is almost ready to pop out. Give me a day, two max. I encourage others to write without a net––we would quickly see where the original voice + vision most closely align. And probably discover a slew of other immensely talented, unheralded authors.
SEO Alert - Damon Shulenberger aka Damon D. Dawson of Bandito College. Endurance Writer, proving that creativity doesn't pay.