“Write your first draft with your heart. Re-write with your head.” –From the movie ‘Finding Forrester’ Can you describe your own writing process? Does this idea resonate with you? What is your relationship to your own deep creativity and your internal editor?
“People long for the light, and that’s what the books in my store do. They shed light in a time of darkness. That’s why a bookstore is the place where heaven and earth meet.” –George Whitman, owner of Shakespeare & Company Bookstore in Paris Tell me about a book (or books) that shed light for …
“When I write, I always have a question or several questions that I don’t have an answer to.” –Sandra Cisneros Tell me about a deep question you’ve tried to answer through your writing. What did you learn about the answer in the course of writing?
“The greatest lie of all is the feeling of firmness beneath our feet. We are at our most honest when we are lost.” -Søren Kierkegaard Tell me about a time when the world as you knew it dissolved or when you felt lost. Tell me the truths you faced during that unstable, untethered time in …
“When a moment knocks on the door of your life, it is often no louder than the beating of your heart, and it is very easy to miss it.” –Boris Pasternak Tell me about a call, a moment, an opportunity that knocked on the door of your life.
“Above all, do not lose your desire to walk: Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness; I have walked myself into my best thoughts.” –Soren Kierkegaard Tell me about a habit you cherish that helps you find your center, as walking did for Kierkegaard.
“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive.” ―James Baldwin Tell …
“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.
A Poem by May Sarton I can look At my body As an old friend Who needs my help, Or an enemy Who frustrates me In every way With its frailty And inability to cope. Old friend, I shall try To be of comfort to you To the end. Write an ode of love and …
“I think about Emerson and his love of stories and conversation, and how he once said that he would walk a hundred miles through a snowstorm to have one good conversation.” –Phil Cousineau, The Art of Pilgrimage Tell me about a memorable conversation you still cherish.
