Tag: book coach
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how to start writing
“I want to write a book, but I don’t know where to start.” People tell me a lot, and I often feel excited when I hear it, because answering it is fun. As John Cage, the experimental composer, said, “Begin anywhere.” Literally. Just start writing. It can be the first page of Chapter 1, or…
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on “being a writer”
“I’ve always wanted to write a book, but I’m not a writer.” I hear this a lot. Maybe you’ve said it before. Hearing that always makes me smile because it reminds me of an inside joke my best friend and I have. Whenever we’re grocery shopping together, and one of us is pushing a cart,…
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on writing awe
When I was growing up, we had some relatives I’d see about once a year. Without fail, every year, they’d be shocked about how much I’d grown. “You’re in eighth grade already?!” they’d say, looking around for another adult to share this revelation with. “How is that possible? Just yesterday you were in diapers!” I’d…
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on finding “om”
Yesterday I went to a yoga class where we began and ended by chanting “Om.” The first one, after only five minutes of meditating, was dissonant. It sounded like everyone had picked their own pitch, totally ignoring everyone else. The final “om,” though, after 55 minutes of hatha yoga, was completely in tune. Every single…
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80s rock & an andean reverie
In 2022, three friends and I went to the Sacred Valley. We stayed in Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire, and spent the week exploring the Andes, Andean towns, Macchu Picchu. I was in awe: these staggeringly sophisticated people had invented agricultural methods that produced more than half the food products the world eats…
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on self-trust: or, how to scare the muse away
Two weeks ago, I had to tell a potential client that I couldn’t commit to the project we’d been discussing. I really didn’t want to have that conversation. They were expecting me to sign a contract soon, and I knew they’d be disappointed. But if I didn’t say something, the gnawing feelings would only keep…
Kimberly Bunker, MFA 