Writing.Com General Discussion

Hmmm. I'm a good (excellent) programmer, but the world is always changing and 5 years in the programming industry is a lifetime. Every now and again I have to challenge myself to learn a new programming language.

Some languages are so similar to others I know, they are easy to pick up. Others have idiosyncrasies that enrage because of their illogical operation, and yet others introduce powerful paradigms that boggle the brain until you've got a real handle on them - and then their beauty shines forth. So yes, to begin with (a new language), I'm terrible, and I have to advance to a certain stage before I begin to enjoy it. I know the struggle is worth it though.

Writing stories. Hmmm. I write novels because nothing else has the room to tell the tales I want to tell. Learning to write stories well is best done with short stories first (to learn to write well), and then progressively longer stories to learn how to construct the larger form. Just writing novels then is backwards: construction comes easily but telling the tale well and writing well (two different things) come much slower.

Still, I enjoy writing novels, so I do it.