Tag: inspiration
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Cast the Flies Away
The other day I was in the middle of a drama class when a student pointed to my hand. It was bleeding. Apparently, in the throes of drama combat, I had ripped off a chunk of skin from the back of my hand. I had no idea what I did. No matter, a tissue and…
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When Lightning Strikes: The First 300 Words
I love talking about writing. I don’t know why. I guess it’s a tangent of the creative process, a way of analysis. However, more times than not, talking about writing is more akin to trying to demystify the brain. In other words, it’s smoke and mirrors because writing is not an analytical sport, it’s a…
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Summer Writing & Smiles
I smiled today. It was nearly involuntary. It emanated like a ray of light piercing through a small hole. That smile was summer. I’m finishing up my second year of living in Saudi Arabia and a whole two-month writing bonanza stares me in the face. Oh sure, there’ll be family and barbecues and fresh berries…
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If It’s a Fad, It’s Not a Lifestyle
A few years back I was getting a check-up at the doctor’s office. Weight-wise, I was not where I wanted to be at that particular moment, and she spoke the truth to me: “You have to do the hard work.” In other words, you aren’t going to lose weight without making the right choices, without…
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Making Peace with Increments
Successful discipline in any field is the art of making peace with increments. Whether writing a novel, losing weight, learning guitar, studying for a master’s, or driving in a traffic jam heading home on a Friday afternoon, if you can come to terms with where you are at, you’re on the right track to success.…
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Merry Christmas: A Vigil for a Starry Night
On a night when the clouds cover the stars like an impenetrable mountain cliff, I wait for a sign. A small tinge up my spine. A desperate plea for the ancient ways to speak once again. I wait for the light, hoping it will come, hoping it will be enough. . The stars, spread brightly…
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Hope
My mother-in-law, a beautiful human being, passed on from this life today. It’s been a difficult day for the family, and as my wife boards a flight to head home to be with loved ones during this time, I was reminded of one simple word: Hope. It’s a word I strongly believe in. And as…
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Only One Way to Go: Down
I was driving a van up a one-way, steep mountain incline. Four of us were on our way to a mountaintop retreat with a van packed with luggage and accessories. I whipped around one steep turn and gunned it in first as I plodded up the hill when a horribly sick sinking feeling struck me:…
Author Mark W Sasse 