Revelation
Very often when I am on the road and do a Q&A after a reading or presentation, people will hesitantly raise their hands and when called upon will ask: "What inspires you?" It's a question I always dread because the answer is too simple, and too complex, all at the same time. When I give my honest answer: "Everything," half the audience might think I'm being facetious while the other half may think I'm corny. But it's true. As writers, we must be open to everything in the whole world moving us to write. For me--and it doesn't have to be like this for everyone--writing feels like a kind of worship, or prayer. Not just the act of tapping out words on the keyboard, but the actual thinking process of writing. It is meditation, prayer, worship, living. If that sounds overwrought, so be it. In my new novel I am often looking to the writings of Thomas Merton to guide my lead characters. Merton was a Cathol...