Some days sitting down to write seems like the last thing I want to do based on my actions. Meaning that if you observed me you would think that randomly surfing the internet, doing laundry, or playing with the kitties took priority over writing. Then there are days like today when I am burning to get at the keyboard and create some good work. Is the fact that in about half an hour I need to leave for a dentist appointment related? Perhaps, because I loathe going to the dentist. Then again, who doesn’t?

Yet even at the dentist I can find some time to write. I will bring my notebook along and I will make notes and write, and if I’m lucky some fortunate image or idea will strike me and I will jot it down. Currently I am reading Pat Conroy’s book My Life in Reading. In the book Pat talks about how he learned the lesson of being precise, of properly naming things, and allowing this detail to build up in his writing. Today I think I will focus on properly naming things while I am out at the dentist’s office. How does one do this? By being curious, by asking what things are called. My experience is that people love to explain their work to others. The dentist, the receptionist, the hygienist, all have a language of dentistry that is unique and unknown to me. This trip to Palo Alto can be a research bonanza where I can collect some details that might make their way into a story one day. You never know.