Man's self-knowing mind is the instrument which perceives reality, and cognizes, or realizes Truth - Ernest Holmes

One of my favorite moments as a reporter was when I was training my replacement at the Coast. He was fresh out of school and super eager. I loved how interested he was in the people, and stories, I'd become quite attached to. I knew I was leaving my beat in good hands.

As we were driving up Highway 101, M. turned to me and asked, "What if I run out of stories? Where will the ideas come from?"

"Oh, they'll come. Trust me, your problem will never be I have nothing to write, only that you can't fit it all in."

This has turned out to be as true in my fiction work as it was in my reporting. This morning I was thinking about the name of the town in my book, Vineyard, and it occurred to me to look it up. I realized the town itself is, in a way, a character. I had no idea about the second part of the definition, but it couldn't be more perfect.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.



"Whenever I have a piece of work to write, I flex my often-used spiritual muscle and quietly go about my day, knowing that the ideas I need will soon pop into my thoughts. They always do. Inspirations usually don't just happen. They gain admittance to the mind with a clear means of receiving them." - Margaret Stortz