So, my evil esquire posts are taking a mini hiatus (well, at least this week), because I’ve been too busy to think up topics. Is there anything you guys want to know about being a lawyer (and no, I won’t give you free legal advice)?

At any rate, the reason I’ve been too busy is because I’ve been studying for a couple of finals, because some time ago, my delusional brain thought, “you know what would be fun? getting your masters in tax law!”

I really should have told my delusional brain to shut the hell up, because now, in addition to my job, raising a toddler, being a wife, serving on the board of a non-profit, and a variety of other things that take up my time, now every so often I have to watch classes and study for tests again. Ugh.

But, I find that this is a vicious cycle in my life. I’ll be drifting along, happily, and being content, and then I realize that there’s something out there that’s kind of cool, and wouldn’t it be interesting to learn all about it? This has led me to getting my motorcycle license, my scuba certification, my bartending license, uh… my law degree, if I’m being honest, and a variety of other odd somewhat useful skills. So, this time around, it’s tax law. Which, don’t get me wrong, can be pretty interesting and is useful for my practice, but when I started the program, I didn’t have a kid. And now I do. And now I have no free time. Ever.

But I’m drawn towards learning things. I like the acquisition of knowledge, or at least the idea of it, until I have to study and take a final. But I like being smart and knowing things.

What about guys? Did you ever learn something just for the sake of learning?

I kind of think that’s why I like writing. I get to research fun stuff for my novels (Norse mythology, the CIA, the Hindenburg disaster…). And yet, I find myself thinking that I’d never write a historical novel. So I guess i have a limit on what I want to learn 🙂 Dukes, noble titles, and Victorian manners are where I draw the line, I guess.

But the best part about all that learning is then using it as a background for whatever you’re writing. Sure, only a fraction of the stuff you learn actually makes it into the text of your writing, but the information you glean starts to mold the story and your characters and it all becomes a part of it, even if you don’t specifically write out the words about the exact details of the facts you know.

So that’s my advice for the day. Never stop learning. Even if you’re writing a sci-fi book set on a different world, read a lot of things and learn stuff to help create that world and make it a better, richer environment for the reader. They may not know all that you studied, but your learning will have helped improve their reading experience.