The True Secret of Writing

I’ll tell you a terrible truth: I do not like dogs.

Human beings have a gap—between who we think we are and who we really are.

Including writing practice in your daily life cuts through repetitious, obsessive thinking. Writing down those scenarios, pouring out your immediate thoughts on the page, either wipes them out—they’re said, done, expressed—or helps you to make sense of them, integrating them into your synapses and muscles.

Married a rabbi; still a feminist
Money was the currency of control
Once handicapped now disabled still human
Walks and talks like real person
Cross eyed, pigeon toed, smart though
Cats dogs lovers kids more dogs
I am always changing my mind
Grandmother, no education; granddaughter, no limits

“You have five minutes. Don’t think. Write several. Then see which one you like best.”
Here are some they wrote:
My singing voice was never heard
Sorta kinda wanna whata wobbly wow
Fixer upper: don’t inspect too closely
You can’t take me with you
24 addresses but still no home
Brooklyn girl makes good: parents dumbfounded
Dear Abby, free advice, unsolicited usually
Car for sale no wheels included
Walking time bomb needs handsome detonator
Is this boat sailing to somewhere?
Spiritual one in family of mathematicians
Barbed wire pricked my American blood
His round ass makes me salivate
The child looked up and screamed
So long, thanks for the attention
Half a memoir: oh poor me
You’re pretty in your own way
Lie to father, now to self
Why do newspapers have to die?
Bitch, Benefactor, Racist, Homophobe, Beauty: Mother
Laziness or fatigue: Does it Matter?

What if you have no car and don’t need any gas, how much would it cost?
What if Eve didn’t eat the apple, what would happen?
Ethnic joke: What happens if you get the wong number? (Chinese)
What’s worth more than everything?
What did Hitler say about his Jewish ancestry?
What did a drunken driver do when he saw a stop sign?
What did the Indians feel thankful for on Thanksgiving?
What did the man confess when his girlfriend called on his wife’s phone?
What’s greater than everything?
What do you say in a silent retreat?
What do you want to eat when you’ve had too much?

What does everyone want to lose? Nothing, we screamed.
What costs less than a penny? Nothing, we screeched.

That’s how we learn writing, not through intellectualization, but we write through the whole body.

only one koan matters
you

I’d sacrifice anything for a good story.