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ghosts of christmas past
“On the day she turned 18, she told her parents she was leaving for school, but then she hitchhiked to Mexico.” This was yet another of my friend Laura’s wild stories about her mother. “That’s where she met my dad, who was stationed there. They got married within a month.” “Geez,” I said. “Has she…
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to be a toddler
When I first came to Peru three years ago, I found a community of language learners: some learning English, some learning Spanish. I was learning Spanish, armed with high school vocab and an impressive Duolingo streak (250 days!). Yet it was not past experience, nor commitment to an app, that indicated anyone’s success. Nor was…
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saws and other writing tools
“If you’ve never seen a saw, then a log looks like a miracle.” Think about that. If what you want feels impossible, it’s tempting to conclude that it is. But maybe… Maybe it just seems that way because you haven’t yet found the right tools. Maybe, to someone with the right tools, it’s in reach.…
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the scriptwriter’s secret
There’s a character in the book Aunt Julie and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa* who’s known for writing dozens of scripts a day. He writes constantly, and what he writes is good. So people ask him: How do you do it? What’s your secret? His answer: He poops a lot. !!! He says, “Un…
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twenty cat-cows
“Let’s go into cat-cows,” my yoga teacher said last Monday. “We’re going to do twenty.” (Me, silently: That’s way too many cat-cows.) “Don’t go to your full range of motion at first,” she went on. “Start small, and let each one expand a little more.” I felt called out, trying to arch my back as…
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ghosted
Years ago, I met a client in person after months of working together. Right after, she ghosted me. She was a renowned clothing designer, and I was nervous to visit her studio. Still, she was friendly and welcoming, and I left thinking it had gone well. Then she stopped returning my emails. Weeks turned to…
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the remedy for writer’s block
“Let the muse find you working.” “Don’t wait for inspiration. Start writing, and it will come.” That’s the common advice we hear about writing, and it’s missing something crucial. What we need isn’t inspiration. But neither do we need stubbornness or a work ethic of steel. What we need is clarity. * We get writer’s…
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how to write
(a lesson in grammar) Earnestly. Honestly.Tired, cold, thirsty. With a pencil or pen.With or without a plan.With alarm or with tranquility. With abandonWith uncertaintyWith angerWith patience Joyfully. In big letters! Messily, illegibly. Or neatly. On a laptop, in a notebook, on the back of a receipt. On a Post-It, on a napkin, in the snow,…
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sometimes this happens
Sometimes this happens: Someone’s talking to me in Spanish, and in my brain a second line of thought powers up. Hey, I’m understanding! I get everything they’re saying! I even got that turn of phrase they just– And then I realize I’ve stopped listening. Then there’s this: Someone starts speaking in Spanish. Right away my…
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deep sea creatures
“Mia’s teachers want her to skip a grade,” some guy named Tim was saying about his daughter. This was a friend’s house, maybe five years ago. “But we’re gonna keep her in first.” “Why?” I asked. Several people turned and looked at me like I was an idiot. “Um, because it would be really hard…
Kimberly Bunker, MFA 