How I Do's It

How I Do’s It

I’ve been incorporating some eastern practices into my life. It helps me write.

Things like tying my hair into a bun, cooking with a wok, trying to sit still for long periods of time, using oils extracted from sesame seeds and soy beans to season my food, I meditate on the beyond, -30 wind chill does not keep me from Tai Chi chuan, being born in the year of the dragon means something to me, when I get a note in my dessert I take what it has to say into account: conquer your fears or they will conquer you.

I want to be diligent. I want discipline. I want patience.

I am Uma Thurman.

I follow the tutelage of Pai Mei.

“What if your enemy--is three inches in front of you…what do you do then?”

This is the thing I try and think when I sit in front of a white page.

“Curl into a ball…or do you put your fist through them?”

So I practice punching keys. I bang out letters into words then make sentences. I try to find heart in everything. I try to push myself into the mystery of the story, I tell myself not to be afraid of getting lost. I want to get lost then make my way back home.

It is the keyboard that should fear my hand—not the other way around.

This is true. I punctuate with authority. I hit the commas, the semicolons, and especially the periods with resounding forceful clicks. There is a small crack forming in my spacebar. I write work to mean something to someone, I am in control.

These things will get me where I want to go.

-Fiction Editor, Dennis Scott Herbert

*A special thanks to Quentin Tarantino

**This video does not belong to me, TM & © Miramax Films (2012)