The last two weeks have been spent writing the biggest (in terms of work and hopeful payout) grant application SideWalk Chalk has ever submitted. There hasn’t been much writing going on outside of of that, but I’m still reading each night until I fall asleep and again first thing in the morning. Here’s the current book… A gift from our board advisor, Teri Hein. Sherman Alexie serves on Teri’s Board of Directors with 826Seattle. This is fast becoming a favorite of mine, and is doing a great job of satisfying …

The second time SideWalk went into a 4th grade classroom to lead a writing workshop we were early. The guidance counselor was reading a story to the kids, all crowded on the reading carpet in the front of the room. Our six volunteers sat with them. The story was about a young boy, his mother, and younger sister who were moving to a motel to escape an abusive father. None of the children were shocked.
“What should the mother do?” the guidance counselor asked.
The girl …

I sat in the back seat of the truck’s cab, where i could see Hank’s hands, where I could either strangle him or dive out of the truck if he pulled out a gun, depending on how brave I felt.

“It’s coming up, on the right,” Hank said. “Just past that telephone pole.”
We pulled into a dirt driveway and passed a few single-wide trailers.
“That one,” he said, pointing to one in the back.
Phillip parked in front of the door and killed the engine.
Why did he turn off the engine?

A few quick things I’m reminding myself of every time I write:

1) Tell the truth, but don’t list the facts.
This is the breath of life of every story, and it applies to fiction and non-fiction alike

Every day is filled with opportunities to forgive. Somebody cuts us off in traffic, and we let it go, or raise a finger. A roommate TiVos over last week’s episode of Lost before we’ve seen it. We take a breath, or return the favor.
This is not about that.
Over the next few months I’ll be posting a series called “Forgiveness, or Lack Thereof”. The plan is to interview several people (a few known and a few I hope to meet) who have been forced to deal with a seemingly unforgivable wrong. …