Here are true tales from the writer’s life, as well as essays and wild meditations.
∀ “When keeping it real goes wrong” — by the indelible Dave Chappelle. ¶ Prompt from Julia Cameron’s The Right to Write. At my elementary school there were hung a series of one word banners along the main hallway from the entrance to the back of the school. One […]
∀From the film Adaptation. by Charlie Kaufman. ¶ Prompt from Julia Cameron’s The Right to Write. “Using this tool will give you a chance to air your fears and grievances,” writes Jules C. “It will also give you a chance to offer reassurance and make plans.” Last week […]
∀From the film Adaptation. by Charlie Kaufman. ¶ Prompt from Julia Cameron’s The Right to Write. Damn! I am having this conversation more and more, so I am glad Julia Cameron assigned this two part initiation tool to the Writing Life. Just write. Just Write. Just WRITE. In part […]
∀ This Goldfrapp song comes to mind ¶ Prompt from Julia Cameron’s The Right to Write. I feel like I wrote something like this before. Basically, this week’s exercise calls for a realignment. No more extreme emotion writing, simply happy. No delusions about grandeur, epic, brooding writing. No to […]
∀ Lavender: what would it be like to walk through a field of you? ¶ Prompt from Julia Cameron’s The Right to Write. We know already, writing doesn’t come from within — well it does — but it comes from without: without excuses, without ego, without judgment. It flows. […]
∀ Katy Perry’s latest album is titled Witness. Here’s a remix and a fan-made video for “Chain to the Rhythm.” ¶ Prompt from Julia Cameron’s The Right to Write. “So much of the loneliness of modern life comes because we no longer witness each other,” writes Cameron. “Our lives […]
∀ 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, […]