Poets Painters Hypnotists

What is that open window, skylight-atop-the-head that is necessary to cultivate and coax a voice and vision from within? For me it requires patience, diligence, love, vulnerability and attentiveness, and repeat action: be there at the same time each day.

My friend Terry used to make a date with his favorite morning radio show. He had to be in his home-office at his desk by 6AM, to hear the opening theme song, even if he wasn't fully dressed yet. Make it an appointment, a date a routine a habit.

A tango-loving muse? Smooch the muse, listen to your cues.

My elderly neighbor Slim had to have coffee but never at home. He would ritualistically go to Paul's Family Restaurant around the corner next to the butcher shop. He wore his dark green mechanics outfit even though he was long retired. I loved Slim and Lil' and I miss them terribly. Nobody tells you that your friends, neighbors, and family are going to die someday.

'The strangest thing about my wife's return from the dead was how other people reacted.' A few minutes later the voice said: 'I have a couple of handicaps. I may not have mentioned that.'
-Anne Tyler

That voice was the voice of Aaron, her protagonist, and the book that arose from it was her 19th, The Beginner's Goodbye (2012). (from The Writer's Almanac)