Old Friend From Far Away | Round Two

When I was in college, writing was a dream that seemed attainable. I already did it every day--academic papers kept me sharp and well-read, and my creative writing minor had me pumping out quality personal essays on a regular basis. And then there was the feedback--the constructive criticism that made me better every time. I never knew what I was going to "do with my life" (sometimes I still don't), but I knew that I would always write.

This might sound ridiculous, but this blog doesn't always feel like a place where I write. I don't like that. It feels like I'm not being true to myself in some way. I love sharing my life with you guys, but I want 2014 to be the year I start writing more things I'm proud of--things that feel more like complete pieces than blog posts. And I want to start getting better again, because when I sit down to a blank Word document, I realize just how rusty I've gotten.

Back in 2011, I vowed to write a piece of creative nonfiction every week. It was obviously an ambitious goal, or else I would have done it. But I would like to try again.

These posts will be labeled "Old Friend from Far Away" (because the writing prompts are all taken from the book--get it here), and I'm not sure how I'm going to go about them. I once made a list that I think was easy to follow, so I'll go ahead and do that again. I've spoken with a few people who would like to follow the prompts and write along, and I'd love that.

• 02/17: What's been on your mind? What have you carried and gnawed over? (OFFA, 154)
• 02/24: Tell about periods when you haven't read. What were you doing? Where and when do you read best? (OFFA, 160)
• 03/03: Often we are pulled between two places...Tell us about them. Give us the pull, the conflict, the desire. (OFFA, 204)
• 03/17: Write about your mother's jewelry. Write about her shoes. (OFFA, 153)
• 03/24: What is your anchor, what you trust and know and can come home to over and over in your writing? (OFFA, 238)
• 03/31: What is the third thing? There is you and there is writing. But you can't write about writing. It's ingrown. You and writing must gaze out at a third thing. Of course, a fourth, a fifth will appear, but for now the two of you look out together. What is there in this world? (OFFA, 42)
• 04/07: A lunch you loved. (OFFA, 209)
• 04/14: A memory of a Popsicle. (OFFA, 209)
• 04/21: A memory of sunscreen. (OFFA, 209)
• 06/23: A self-portrait in third person. (OFFA, 214)

Thanks for reading. Thanks for writing.