I Knew I Liked Her.

It is naptime, and I am visiting with Anne Lamott. Vicariously. Through her writing, not really in my chair with me. (Hence, the New Year's Resolution... I'm reading more. Without apologies.)

Listen to this...

"We have so much to remember these days. So we make all these lists, filled with hope that they will remind us of all the important things to do and buy and mail, all the important calls we need to make, all the ideas we have for short stories or articles. And yet by the time you get around to everything on any one list, you're already behind on another. Still, I believe in lists and I believe in taking notes, and I believe in index cards for doing both."

She goes on to talk about her personal methodology for catching ideas as a writer, which is to have an index card with her at all times, just in case something strikes that she must capture right away.

She also writes:

"One of the things that happens when you give yourself permission to start writing is that you start thinking like a writer. You start seeing everything as material."

So true. I have learned this, firsthand, since this blog and I began our journey together.

In my daily routine of list making, I have a box called, simply, Blog. And that is where I store the events and ideas of the day, until I can plant myself here and unleash them. And look at that... it's what real writers do.

I love Anne. And her permission and affirmation of my own similar methods, however unorganized they are, depending on the day.

That woman makes me want to write.

Oh, and here is one more quote which I couldn't part with (with regard to memory loss, why it's important to capture ideas as they pass by, and the true consequences of bearing children):

"When a child comes out of your body,

it arrives with about a fifth of your brain clutched in its little hand."

Yet another reason to make lists. Thanks, Anne.