An aerobic exercise for writers : Two by two

The power of two. The old mind body split. Twins and opposites. Yes and no. The entire computing world built on zero and one, and only zero and one.

Every now and then writers need a way to get their juices flowing. They also need a way to practice, since writing is more a practice of writing than writing on demand.

I stumbled on this great writing practice on a bus trip to St. Louis. If you’ve seen the interstate highway between Kansas City and St. Louis once… you've seen it forever. But boredom is a powerful force and across the miles I discovered the power of two’s for writing practice.

Share this with your writing friends. I’m interested in whether it works for anyone else. Please let me know.

Here’s what I wrote in my notebook (at least what I can read of it):

Red bud magenta in bare woods.

Wet fields and muddy rivers.

Brown fields and farm ponds.

Rusty cars and abandoned yellow school buses.

Shredded wheat bales and billboards for “Nostalgia USA.”

Arrow Rock and Pilot Grove.

Balers and new green cultivators next to the Triple X Adult Super Store.

Rough cut corn stalks against wet black fields.

Tall white sycamores among layers of white dogwood blossoms.

Prairie Grove Baptist Church and, well, I suppose a prairie and a grove were here once upon a time.

Artichoke Annie’s Antique Mall (I did not make this up) and the Warehouse of Dinettes (nor this).

A young mother who plans to quit smoking this summer for her daughter who tells her daughter stories each evening when she picks her up at Grandma’s so she won’t go to sleep before they get home.

Jesus Completely Saves and kids turning the pages of a CD case like a family scrapbook.

Rainy morning and big heavy bus wipers. Wish they could wipe away these heavy questions about what to do with the small part of life I have left to live.

--Lofflin