I am a poet as well as an aspiring writer. I have started 2 novels and it is a difficult task. To boot I have at least 3 more premises to start collageing on. If I could figure out how to talk the words into a recorder the process would be faster. I find my best thoughts come out when I am typing or at the end of the day laying down. Thought about using a ghostwriter that would work for quick capital but the writing loses something in translation.

I also am an author. Ghosts, vampires, and other occult themed stories. I don't believe in any of these, but that's not the point. I believe in the "story," and I love the stories and concepts that go with it. I loved Joseph Campbell growing up, and paid close attention to how important mythology was to our evolution as a species. We are the story.

I don't control my characters. They have their own personalities. So if I have a character that "believes" in something I don't, then as a writer, I owe it to that character to be who they are, whether I like them or not. I've always said that the story comes "through" me, it's influenced by me, but at some point it takes on its own persona, and at that point, it's up to me to let it make its own way.

It's impossible to take "me" out of it, but it's not impossible to carefully consider what each character may be thinking, feeling, experiencing, apart from my beliefs... or lack thereof, and give them that freedom to move. If I'm successful, I have three-dimensional characters with intriguing stories to tell. If I'm not... well... let's just say that I've had to put those stories aside until they decide to give me some added guidance on how to proceed.

Generalized AI is a hobby of mine, and the idea recently crossed my mind that an AI progressing to the point of even thinking about belief might be an indicator of how advanced it is. Otherwise, I have no intention of programming it to go either way.

In my personal career, my attitude -- as a soldier, as a teacher, researcher, writer, and educational leader, my attitude always affected my work. I find it difficult to think that one's personal attitudes do not affect how on performs his or her work.