Often the pain of an interaction or an event is compounded by the fact that we know it never should have happened. We endure what occurs. We try to heal. But underneath it all, some part of our idea of how the world works has been shattered. This is very difficult to analyze and repair. Today in your writing practice, write about being hurt. You can write about a single … [Read more...] about What Did You Expect?
Freewriting
Sometimes when you sit down to write, your mind is full of the things you could put down on the page. Then you pick up the pen and it all drains out. Nothing that you were thinking seems important anymore. Sometimes you know what you want to say, but the ideas roil so uncontrollably in your mind that it’s impossible to start. Then there are times when your mind feels … [Read more...] about Freewriting
In Praise of Your World!
We all live in the cocoon of our surroundings. What’s underneath you? A bed, a chair, your shoes? The floor, the ground, the molten core of the earth? What’s around you? A room, music, the weather? Today, take in your surroundings. Notice what is big and vast, such as thunder and the stars. Notice the tiny things, such as pollen and the mortar that binds the bricks in … [Read more...] about In Praise of Your World!
The Opposite Game
What is the opposite of tiny? What is the opposite of floor? What is the opposite of doorbell? If you approach those three questions like they are a math problem, you might say that the first two are easy and the third one can't be answered. In order to play the Opposite Game, you must come up with opposites for many different words. So you must use a loose … [Read more...] about The Opposite Game
A Writing Practice
When you have a writing practice, you decide that you are going to do some writing. For yourself. To see what good it might do you. This is not the same as “practicing” at writing with the idea of getting “better” at it. In your writing practice, you are already good enough. One part of having a writing practice is about commitment and discipline. The rest is about … [Read more...] about A Writing Practice