6. You are free to write the worst junk in America.

Over and over I have done timed writings beginning with “I remember,” “I am looking at,” “I know,” “I

This is how it works: You’ve always wanted to be a writer, but instead you decide you should become a health care worker. You go to school for four years. You get a degree in social work. You are at your first day of your new job, listening to an orientation, and you realize you really did want to be a writer. You quit your job, go to the library w

It’s better to figure out what you want to say in the actual act of writing.

1. Keep your hand moving.

Finally, don’t worry about style. Be who you are, breathe fully, be alive, and don’t forget to write.

I thought I would be redundant, but reading a book about writing is different from actually getting down and doing writing. I was naïve. I should have remembered that after I read the Tibetan Book of the Dead, I was still afraid to die.

“Not gifted with genius but honestly holding his experience deep in his heart, he kept his simplicity and humanity.”

5. Don’t worry about punctuation, spelling, grammar.