I tend to read a lot of non-fiction. Whether it be a technical tome, some over-worked physicists newest theory, or books related to the crises of our time (food, water, and shelter).
That being said, whenever I catch myself avoiding a daily read it’s normally because I’ve been reading too much non-fiction. I then immediately switch to fiction to quench my desire for literary immersion. The most recent occurrence of this took me back to J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” septology.
My point… right.
A few nights ago I was working late on the Paradigm API code – which will be used to power the new cincy.com and currently drives the pgcincinnati.com website. It had been a long day of coding and when I tried to lay in bed I just kept seeing lines of code flash past my eyes. Trust me, it’s nothing like counting sheep!
Multi-tasking
I had just finished the third “Harry Potter” book and, while I was reluctant to start a new book at 2am… it’s Harry Potter! 
I only had to read the first chapter though to receive my inspiration. Most likely due to my extremely hyper mental activity… I could see between the lines. I was able to relate with the baffling number of characters and plots on plots under plots. For the first time in my life I realized that web applications programming isn’t much different than writing a novel. Juggling thousands of variables, objects, functions, and conditions of a program. Along with the syntax for the various languages utilized to connect all the dots.
The things we are creating now at NetCrafters are cutting-edge. This is no doubt a product of the industry. However, the Jasmine CMS (Content Management Sytem) and Paradigm API (Application Programming Interface) running on Amazon EC2 (Elastic Computing Cloud) and Google App Engine respectively, is the most advanced and interconnected project I’ve every worked on.
Creating these tools (plots) using all of the different programming languages and platforms (characters) involved, yet having them talk to each other like their in the same room (dialogue), feels like my defining moment! I’ve written a lot of programs and applications over the last 20 years (unpublished stories). A large majority of them are running on giant servers, tucked-away behind expensive firewalls in hospitals and mental health facilities all around the country. Whereas hundreds have dissolved, and still more are archived… just in case. 
I’ve always wanted to be a writer. It turns out I already am one, I just write in the language of machines instead of humans. I attribute J.K. Rowling with a few other things in my life as well, but this time, the first chapter of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” was the vessel. I can now move forward with my work and let the anxiety of, “When will I just sit down and write!” dissolve.
Now is my moment, I love what I do and what I’m doing… it’s time to be published!