Remembering & Forgetting

— Lynda Barry, What It Is, 163

Clementine writers,

If you get stuck while writing in your journals this week, I’d like you to think about what Barry is suggesting here about the curious habits of our mind. “Hint,” she writes in tiny, curling cursive a few pages later:

When you get stuck, instead of trying harder, try doing something with your pen that helps you not force things.

What It Is, 170

Or if you are stuck, try this: make a W o r d B a g. See pages 178–183 of What It Is for instructions. This is a great project for enlisting the help of children with writing and cutting and hiding in the bag. Then, when you have a bag full of words, and it’s time for you to write, set a timer for 7 minutes, stick your hand in that bag, grab a word, and write whatever appears, keeping your pen moving…

If you’ve lost your book in the quarantine shuffle, here’s a page of Barry’s words to get you started. Make some of your own, too!

What It Is, 183–4