Helen

Back in August when I was writing my 30 sentences (actually, 31, since there are 31 days in August) along with everyone else, I stopped and restarted a few times because I just couldn’t find a concept that stuck. About a week in, I finally settled on the idea of writing each sentence inspired by whatever I had on the calendar that day. Additional details could be lifted from anything that stuck with me from the day—the food I ate, conversations I had, things I saw. This concept gave me source material and alleviated the pressure to make something up out of thin air everyday. Even though the resulting story is tinged with sadness, the concept gave the writing process a sense of ease and playfulness. When I read my sentences aloud at the group get-together in early September, I displayed corresponding calendar entries to provide context. It was easy to see how most entries connected to the sentences but there were also details that were obscurely lifted from the day. For example, during dinner at the Japanese restaurant Shibumi on August 25, I learned that my woodworker friend Gary built the beautiful bar out of a log that was reclaimed from the bottom of a swamp.

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