“E.L. Doctorow said once said that ‘Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.’ You don’t have to see where you’re going; you don’t have to see your destination or everything you will pass along […]
When You Can Only See As Far As Your Headlights Read More »
A sign in a chiropractor’s office: “Five dangerous words: Maybe it will go away.” Write about a time you believed in those five dangerous words.
Maybe It Will Just Go Away Read More »
“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘Thank you,’ that would suffice.” —Meister Eckhart Make a list of things you’re grateful for.
“This packrat has learned that what the next generation will value most is not what we owned but the evidence of who we were and the tales of how we loved. In the end, it’s the family stories that are worth the storage.” —Ellen Goodman Make a list of family stories you want to tell.
“When you use the word should, you are arguing with reality.” —Tara Brach Tell me about a time you fought against reality . . . or a time you accepted it.
Arguing with Reality Read More »
“I will study and get ready, and maybe the chance will come.” —Abraham Lincoln Tell me in detail about a time you prepared for an opportunity and what happened once you did.
The Power of Preparation Read More »
“Digging up the dark world, the things you don’t remember, releases a lot of energy. Brings to light things that have been covered up for a long time and they snap and crackle. Usually we try to control what we remember. Control leads to dull writing. . . . “Lose control. Let the mute, the
No One Ever Died From Writing Read More »
“I think setting is, curiously, almost always underrated by the beginner or the amateur, and almost always of intense importance to the accomplished writer. Why is that? We only have space and time. I suppose that time happens of its own accord in a story: this happened and then that happened. Whereas place must be
Grounding Your Writing in a Place Read More »
“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in Nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” —Helen Keller Tell me about a time you went on a daring adventure—external
The Illusion of Security Read More »
“Every day I see or I hear something that more or less kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light. It is what I was born for.” —Mary Oliver Tell me about something that delights you.
“Fall seven times, stand up eight.” – Japanese proverb Tell me about a time you fell down and got up again.
“Most commitments that keep me from my writing are masks that I put up to hide my fear and my failure to do what I need and want most to do. If my belief in my own work is strong, other commitments will adjust themselves. Human beings have free will. “If I could speak to
Obstacles to Writing Read More »
It’s time to close out this Creative Camino travel blog. It’s been a real pleasure creating it for you. I love modeling travel writing for my students. I love the discipline of creating these daily posts. I love having to write them on the fly, usually late at night when I should be sleeping. It’s
Goodbye For Now From Laura Read More »
It’s hard to know exactly what to say at the end of a journey as delightful and remarkable as this one. But I will try. Today, half our group got on airplanes to travel home or to new destinations; the other half opted for one more day together, traveling down to Finisterre, which some consider
Zero Kilometers Again? Read More »
“Scars mark the places where life and sanity were threatened, ordeals endured, wounds opened and closed. They evoke a queasy awe in the best of us. We stare and look away, want to ask what happened but don’t dare broach the subject, as if these patches of mended flesh identified experience beyond the realm of
