This is a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately, and I don’t have a definitive answer. I’d like to say yes, but I honestly don’t know.

For over a year now, all my creative focus has been on stand up comedy. I’m writing jokes. I’m even learning how to write sketches and started doing that just last week. I’ve written songs for the musical comedy act I’m involved in. So it’s not like writing isn’t getting done.

And what’s really cool is that I can get validation from this kind of writing immediately. I can go to an open mic or be on a show and share what I’ve written in front of an audience, and the sound of their laughter is gratifying. It’s instant.

It’s not like when you are writing a novel and it takes months or years to get it right and to finish,  and then it can take just as long for people to find it, read it, and review it or tell you what they thought. And that last part doesn’t always happen.  You don’t always get to hear from your readers. Or sometimes all you get is, “I liked it.”  And then you don’t even know if they are telling the truth.

At least on stage, you can judge how well you are doing by how much or how loud the audience is laughing. And it’s honest. It’s a creative energy that I’m really enjoying absorbing right now. It’s different from writing a book in a way so I want to ride that wave for a while.

Book writing has always been a slow process for me. That’s another good thing about comedy – it’s quick. It moves fast. And I don’t have to do it alone.