Here are true tales from the writer’s life, as well as essays and wild meditations.
∀ Art by Khalil Chishtee ¶ Prompt from Julia Cameron’s The Right to Write. The time is 7:56. I mark it because this exercise calls for ten minutes of pre-writing writing, a sort of stretch before the real run. The route I’m taking leads to what Cameron calls “simply […]
∀ Photo of Mies Van Der Rohe, the architect who once exclaimed, “God is in the details.” ¶ Prompt from Julia Cameron’s The Right to Write. (DISCLAIMER: “This tool is not intended to be high art or serious writing. It is simply an exercise in observation… writing of a […]
∀Art from @Equis_SoyBonita ¶ Prompt from Julia Cameron’s The Right to Write. Today’s exercise is simple, write a list of one hundred things that you, personally, love. “Set aside one half hour. Settle yourself comfortably. Number from one to a hundred.” And then go. Below is my list. Cameron […]
(From Alejandro Jodorowsky’s master work Poesía sin fin, where a group of artists lift their friend up and cheer, “Poeta! Poeta! Poeta!”) Today’s writing exercise is titled “Mood,” from Julia Cameron’s Right to Write. She asks that you enter a mood, and write in it for ten minutes — […]
(Pictured above, Andrei Rublev, who once said, “I am what I am.”) Two weeks ago I finished the last in a series of essays from the NY Times personal essay prompts, and have since, every day, been mulling over the possibility of continuing this blog through some other means. […]
In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 642. “What Would You Like to Learn on Your Own?” I would like to learn to be humble. I would like to learn to be less vain. I would like to learn how […]
(Image pulled from Adrian Schoonmaker’s blog) In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 629. “Why Should We Care About Events in Other Parts of the World?” We should care for one reason: Connection. It’s too easy to shut […]
In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 618. “What Would You Risk Your Life For?” In Zorba the Greek, Nikos Kazantzakis writes that there are two ways to live: as if every moment were your first, or as if at […]
(Image from Miniature Photography) In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 613. “How Green Are You?” Yesterday we lost a plant. His friend the Golden Devil and I mourned with our fingers in the soil. Dolefully we entered a […]
In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 606. “Why Do We Love Watching Animal Videos So Much?” It’s confusing. I don’t know why we love watching them, for many reasons? I don’t know why people upload them, to share? […]
In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 597. “How Important Is It to Have a Driver’s License?” Like super doper. But for real. This is America. And one must learn to drive a car, and one must have (no […]
In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 596. “What Are the Best Things You’ve Acquired Secondhand?” Usually gifts, used books, and hand me down clothes, the miscellaneous trinkets that surround my everyday, like, Two angels, one straw and one […]
In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 589. “What’s Your Sunday Routine?” Sundays are holy. Sundays are sacred. Sundays are my favorite days. Friends call me disciplined. My family talks about my routines. But to me, I just find […]
In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 544. “What are the Most Memorable Meals You’ve Ever Had?” Off the top of my head, and from bottom of my gut, two meals: 1, the saddest dinner of my life; and 2, […]
In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 526. “Do You Like to Exercise?” “Yo, bro, can we work in a set with you?” “Yuh, jus give me a sec.” We’re in the downtown YMCA stepping down from the […]
In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 513. “What’s Your Favorite T-Shirt?” Ode to my favorite shirt: “Follow me to EL COSMICO,” it says, and features some Hindu divinities (Vishnu with a pair of Laxmis). They ride an orange and […]
In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 502. “How Has Travel Affected You?” Out past my window I see the World Trade Center tower, red brick warehouses, and two stacks of smoke, a New York City skyline glowing gray and […]
In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 483. “Does Being a Fan Help Define Who You Are?” “No se cambia la camiseta.” My uncle taught me that you can’t change your jersey. Sometimes you pick it, sometimes you are […]
(Blurry, soft image taken as a screen shot from Disclosure — “You & Me” Flume Remix video on Youtube) In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 471. “Have You Ever Been In Love?” What am I going to say, […]
In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 461. “Do You Have a Best Friend?” If I could, I would make an edifice to friendship: a big round stone carved like an emoji, with a hundred different faces, each of the […]