These ten tweets from Joanne Harris were collected on Aerogramme Writers’ Studio yesterday (click on the link to go to them). They are so good, and such good reminders of my own practice, that I am compelled to share them with you, rather than just tell you all my own stuff, again. Write every day. Write for a short time if you don’t have  a long time. Read like a fool.

“Don’t sit around waiting for the inspiration fairy to call. You can (and should) write without it.” You can follow Joanne (author of Chocolat and other books) on Twitter at at @Joannechocolat.

And happy writing in 2016.

I came across this poem misattributed to another David in a book I’m reading (a book I otherwise love). So I looked it up and found it on the web with typos, mistitled, etc. But it also appears (correctly) on Best American Poetry.

The whole process made me reflect on how mistakes can add emphasis in our lives, reminding us of where we are, and what our assignment is. The whole point is to stand still and pay attention. Take a deep breath. Look. Listen. Remember to breathe.

Lost

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.

— David Wagoner
(1999)