My ‘inner ferret*’

*Author Dan Morrell coined the term, ‘inner ferret’, to describe how he couldn’t write
unless he had something inside gnawing at him.

I’m sitting down to get 500 words into the book today; it might be more, but not less.

To warm up, my habit has been to read someone I admire, to quiet and focus the Tower of Babel in my head. Today I picked up James Scott Bell’s “The Art of War for Writers” again. The page fell open to a chapter on working with passion and purpose — to believe in something, and to let that show on the page.

“I like to see a writer’s heart on the page,”  Bell says.

So do I. And so do you.

From the short-lived TV show “Nurse Jackie,” this exchange:

Zoey Barkow: I put a film critic in a coma. You know when I wake up, the first thing I think is, I hope I don’t kill anyone today.
Thor Lundgren: It’s good to have goals.
Zoey Barkow: The only thing I want to do besides help people, is *not* kill them.

My goal is 500 words a day. And I hope I don’t kill anyone (in the book) unless they really had it coming.

Here’s my inner ferret, summarized.

• I want whatever I write to be about something
• I want to believe in what I’m writing
• I care about my craft

That’s it.  I and others would probably be interested in hearing what your ‘inner ferret’ is, in the comments section.