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[JoshuaFH]

Actually, I'm just tired and can't express things well at the moment. I apologize if I frustrated you.

PRE_EDIT: Woah, articles count? I read tons of those.

[Capntastic]

Someone needs to make a literary food pyramid with like, novels (fiction and nonfiction) near the bottom and articles and essays in the middle and comics at the top.

Yeah, articles count.  The point is to read a varied supply of words, and actually think about what you're reading in a passively critical stance.  Once you develop that critical stance you can apply it to yourself as you write.

[Supermikhail]

Well, I thought the genre was mixed into it somehow. I mean you've said that when you're into making movies you should watch movies. It makes sense to me that if you want to write novels you should read more novels, and if you want to write articles you should read more articles. But if you want to make comics you should concentrate on comics. Right? Otherwise it makes little sense to me. They all contain words, and to someone words in a movie might be more useful than those in a novel because, for example, in a movie you can hear straight away if those words sound natural... And also... well, Stephen King himself says you shouldn't force yourself to have more and fancier words in your writing. It should be natural and... what's the word? Something along the lines of being sincere with your reader. So you should be fine with the vocabulary of real life if you haven't touched a novel in your life. The way it seems to me, at least.

Now, if I'm right in that you should read more of the genre you intend to write in, then the idea is that people have been refining the rules for that genre and experimenting and testing to best please the human mind, so you might save yourself some time/life's labor if you shared in their findings.

Also, true story. Half a year ago I was depressed and didn't read much in the way of novels. Well, almost none, actually, and I also was completely obsessed with the works of Philip Dick and I if I read any novels it was by him only. Well, then in May I was taken to a psychiatrist by my father and later the summer vacation began, and somehow I set myself a goal of reading... er, many novels. So, I used to set a timer for an hour, open a book and read it until the timer went off. Maybe it's related to the fact that the psychiatrists found that I have an attention deficiency. So, some people read for fun, for me it's sometimes hard work... Well, not so hard. Also, I can't sleep without listening to an audiobook first so there's this addition to the schedule. That's enough self-aggrandizement, yet, feeling good about myself might be helping my depression, too.

Well, yeah, presented as a true story, but obviously I'm pushing it as a piece of advice. I guess this advice should be treated most critically, because I can't say definitely this way has helped me as a writer. I haven't finished a single thing since the commencement of the reading regimen (by Stephen King's numbers I should have finished at least two novels). I got further than ever in my life in wordcount (at least since I started counting words), but it may be related to the fact that I was preparing for NaNoWriMo (and burnt out just before it, by the way). It's helped my reading if you consider it an intermediate goal. I guess I should consider it that because every good writer I know about was/is an avid reader and I haven't heard about a writer that didn't read.

Also, does writing proficiency fall under the rule of 10,000 hours/10 years?

[JoshuaFH]

I did some writing today, and I just don't feel like squirreling it away since I actually haven't thought of an ending yet, and I'd hate for it to be hidden forever just because I can't think of a way to end it.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

In the year 20XX, in the Arctic Subterranean...

A labyrinth of dark, sterile hallways crisscross for miles under the frozen wasteland. The LED's of computer monitors long unused continue to flicker on and off as power is cut, in either some manner of preserving it's vital electricity or as age finally takes it's toll on the machines. Along these hallways exists a many, many rooms labeled in order and sequence, but long forgotten nonetheless. The silence is dead, as even the smallest noise echoes for miles down these halls, but nothing dares to disturb it. However, a computer that flicks on momentarily finally notices a peculiarity in the facility's degraded state, and triggers an automated emergency process, and the years long dormancy is finally ended. The automated processes of the facility whir into motion, and both silence and darkness are swept away in an instant as the entire place is engulfed in a deluge of mechanical excitement. The fluorescent lights spring to life, and cacophony of clicks and beeps as the thousands of electronic doors in it's endless hallways are unlocked and opened.

In one of those rooms, the cryogenic prison of one "Patient X" is finally given the command to release it's inmate. The tubular device whirs as smoke pour from it's ventilation openings. Several ringlets orbit around the device, melting the ice with their surgically precise heating beams. A transitionary thawing fluid is poured into the cryogenic tube, both to help further thaw the ice and to further expedite the awaking of it's prisoner. Several minutes of this continue, and the ice is finally fully melted and Patient X rests inside, still suspended in his restraining harness as the transitionary fluid is drained from the chamber. A pleasant chime signals the machine's completion, and the glass casing finally opens, exposing Patient X to the world.

He rests there for some time, still comatose. A pleasant female voice declares over the speaker "Please step out of the Hibernate-a-tron 10,000", and some cheery elevator music plays loudly. Another minute passes, the female voice booms out "I'd like to welcome you to the real world again!" and hydraulics lean the entire hibernate-a-tron forward to encourage it's inmate to step out of it. Another minute passes, but Patient X is not stirred back to consciousness as he sways in his harness. "Wakey Wakey!" and the floating rings reengage and hover close to Patient X, slowly ionizing the air around him. "Eggs and Bac-y!" and the little rings begin delivering painful electric zaps to X, who transitions from comatose to bursting out of his harness and writhing in pain on the floor in a second.

"AUUUUHHHEEEGGGHHHHH" He screams unintelligibly.
"I'm so glad that you have re-joined us in the land of the waking! Have a nice day!" the female voice says as the Hibernate-a-tron powers down, it's functions completed.

X twitches on the floor a bit, and then finally sits up. He opens his eyes and immediately closes and covers them for the pain of the fluorescent light on his years unadjusted eyes. His skin and clothing are still moist from the machine, but the transitionary fluid is quickly evaporating off of him. He has vague memories of who he is, and in fact even remembers that he's a human being that can stand and walk. He clumsily attempts to get up, but his atrophied legs quickly give out and he's sent back to the floor. Squinting his eyes open at the ground, he crawls along the ground confused. He crawls until he butts into a wall and goes alongside it, finally reaching the door to the room.

"1O" is imprinted on the door. X reaches up and grabs the doorknob, pulling himself up.

That was about 1 hour, maybe a little more.

[Digital Hellhound]

Some comments; you overuse the word 'long' in the first section, which is a bit distracting. I'd suggest dropping it from a few points, the readers will get the point anyhow.

Is there any specific reason you're using present tense?

The segment where the guy is woken up could be a bit clearer, but that's probably just forum formatting screwing it up.

Otherwise seems good, keep on writin'