Everything you see, smell, hear, touch, taste, do, and think in everyday life is fodder for new writing projects. It's not just the big events that inspire us to create. And although the latest exotic trip, the baby born, or a loved one just passed leave indelible marks, we are everything we experience. The books we read and the music we listen to. We are the films we watch and the dreams that invade our sleep. The conversations we have, even with ourselves.
Embrace all the activities of life, big and small, when you write. Make sure the world knows you are a tomato-slicer; a deep-breath taker at the ocean's edge; a shiner of light into life's darkest corners. Writing that touches others is relayed in impressions. Sometimes the most profound thing you can share is simple, like the comfort you feel listening to your dog softly snore at your feet as you write. That's the moment I'm having right now.
The thought of dogs brings to mind the answer of a state's poet laureate when asked how one becomes inspired to write. His answer: "Sit outside a Paris cafe watching people pass and pay attention when your dog dies."
