Loving the Small Things

Hello Friends,

A lot of people comment on the point of view in my photos. Mostly, they are struck by the things I bother to pause and notice: a leaf, an insect, a puddle, a rock, a sticker slapped on a pole, a drop of water, a cat, a crow, a cloud…

I don’t photograph grand vistas—except on very rare occasions—or large crowds. I photograph the things I notice, and it’s the details that I love. The same goes for people. It’s the small gestures, the ways people show up for each other that I love. My fiction is the same. Sure, I write about larger ideas, but what I’m interested in is what people do with those larger ideas. How they act. How they live within and for them.

Theory is useful, but it’s practice that I return to, again and again. And practice is all about the small things. It’s the small things that keep me grounded. It’s also the small things that keep me going.

I don’t sit down and write a novel. I write a sentence. Then a paragraph. Then a page and chapter. But when I start to feel resistance or like I’m getting stuck? Ah. That’s a sign that I’ve expanded too much into the larger picture. It’s back to one sentence again.

How about you? What small things do you notice? What small things do you love?

best wishes — Thorn

Everyone: In case you haven’t read it yet, the ebook for my Witches of Portland novel, By Earth, is still free.

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