Writing is hard. I say this to myself almost every time I'm working on something new or old or really, anything at all. How I imagine the story in my mind is like a living, breathing thing, a story trying to come alive or I can hear it and see it like a movie, complete with music and the back flash scene where the little girl is running to her house from across a field to some life-altering news. But when I start putting words on the page, the breathing thing falls silent, and I wonder why I didn't learn a very useful trade like donut-making. I'm serious. My town has two very amazing donut shops. (The donut in the picture is from Hole in West Asheville and the mug is handcrafted by Jen Seifert of Juno Pottery.) This is why we writers - creators of all configurations - need each other. This is why we people need each other. And yet: I have to push through my tendency to compare in order to really see the value of clinging to the love, creativity, wisdom of others. The minute I see what I don't have whether it be more published stories or a family that is living under the same roof or more wit, I want to stay far away, so that I don't feel the pain of what I don't have. What if I shut up and write? Listen for the story and welcome whatever it is in the moment, knowing that the process evolves and flows. What if we all shut up and do the things we love or like a little and stop worrying about that movie ideal in our heads? What if we show up even if we suspect we might be the one in the room with the least donuts? THAT BEING SAID: Welcome to my website and blog! I can't wait to start roping people into to my writing community and business where, among other things, I help others find the write words, because, damn, I know how hard it is.