A Creative Solution
“If a man’s only tool is a key, he will imagine every problem to be a lock.” –Abraham Maslow Tell me about a time you found a new or innovative solution to a problem.
Waiting for Birth
“Everything is gestation and then birthing. To let each impression and each embryo of a feeling come to completion, entirely in itself, in the dark, in the unsayable, the unconscious, beyond the reach of one’s own understanding, and with deep humility and patience to wait for the hour when a new clarity is born: this …
Life’s Surprises
“Each time I write, each time the authentic words break through, I am changed. The older order that I was collapses and dies. I lose control. I do not know exactly what words will appear on the page. I follow language. I follow the sound of the words, and I am surprised and transformed by …
Back Through the Generations
“To forget one’s ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without a root.” –Chinese proverb Tell me what you know or imagine about your ancestors.
Stories, Not Atoms
“The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.” –Muriel Rukeyser Make a list of stories that make up your universe. Share part of your list with just enough detail to intrigue us. “The time that Jack Beatty and I climbed over the fence and dove in the swimming pool at night.” “The time Mom …
Wrong Turn
“I took a wrong turn the other day. A mistake, but it led me to the shop where I found the very thing I’d been searching for.” –Luci Shaw, “Wrong Turn” Tell me about a wrong turn you took and where it led you.
The Value of Solitude
“Solitude is an absolute necessity—the single most crucial necessity—for the writer. Only in the deepest solitude is it possible to achieve the utter surrender required for creative work. Writing at its deepest is a spiritual discipline, where the unconscious and the conscious mind merge, where what we currently call ‘left brain” and ‘right brain’ somehow …
If I Only Had the Heart
“Life shrinks or expands according to one’s courage.” –Anais Nin Tell me about a time you showed courage that you didn’t think you had.
The Power of Story
“All sorrows can be coped with if you put them into a story or tell a story about them.” –Isak Dinesen Tell me about a time a story saved you or helped you bear your load.
Changing History
“Never doubt that you can change history. You already have.” –Marge Piercy Tell us about something you did that made a difference. That changed at least one life beside your own.