Beginner's mind, pen and paper -- First thoughts -- Writing as a practice -- Composting -- Artistic stability -- A list of topics for writing practice -- Fighting tofu -- Trouble with the editor -- Elkton, Minnesota: whatever's in front of you -- Tap the water table -- We are not the poem -- Man eats car -- Writing is not a McDonald's hamburger -- Obsessions -- Original detail -- The power of detail -- Baking a cake -- Living twice -- Writers have good figures -- Listening -- Don't marry the fly -- Don't use writing to get love -- What are your deep dreams? -- Syntax -- Nervously sipping wine -- Don't tell, but show -- Be specific -- Big concentration -- The ordinaryand extraordinary -- Talk is the exercise ground -- Writing is a communal act -- One plus one equals a Mercedes-Benz -- Be an animal -- Make statements and answer questions -- The action of a sentence -- Writing in restaurants -- The writing studio -- A big topic: eroticism -- A tourist in your own town -- Write anyplace -- Go further -- Engendering compassion -- Doubt is torture -- A little sweet -- A new moment -- Why do I write? -- Every Monday -- More about Mondays -- Spontaneous writing booths -- A sensation of space -- A large field to wander in -- The goody two-shoes nature -- No hindrances -- A meal you love -- Use loneliness -- Blue lipstick and a cigarette hanging out of your mouth -- Going home -- A story circle -- Writing marthons -- Claim your writing -- Trust yourself -- The Samurai -- Rereading and rewriting -- I don't want to die.