Collect pennies. This is a piece of writing advice that people don’t consider, because this act takes place when you are not writing. This week on How to Write Good, I continue with my rules. Sometimes, I run into something that I continue to go back to again and again. One of the things that has stuck with me since I read it is a personal essay by Annie Dillard called “Seeing.” In the essay, Annie talks about how she used to hide pennies so people would have a surprise they can find. She then connects this idea of pennies to finding small but beautiful things in the world. In my own life, I have found her ideas to be connected to Mark Twain, Zen, mindfulness, liminal spaces, and cliches. And I love cliches (And I love to collect pennies). If you enjoy this episode, here are some others you might find interesting: On Starting Over, On Why We Go to the Movies, On Taking Your Time
An article on liminal spaces (very interesting)
A few articles on liminal space and liminal experiences and thinking:
1) https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-creativity-cure/201306/creativity-and-the-liminal-space
2) http://www.liminality.org/about/whatisliminality/
3) http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198183983.001.0001/acprof-9780198183983-chapter-1
4) https://medium.com/@davegray/the-roots-of-liminal-thinking-3be4bea6fd63
A summary of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
An article to give a more comprehensive explanation of mindfulness
One Last Toast for Ebenezer Fleet
Intro and Exit Music Credit: Brain-Eating Zombies from Area 51 by Moolen
If you have any issues with the player above, you can find the link to this episode here