Thanks Kate. I'd connected the butchering and newsroom violence together a very long time ago. It's one of the themes that resonates through my novels Earth and Air.

I was in Armenia a month ago at a dinner party at an American Embassy official's house. Beside me were two Peace Corp workers, other development workers like me and two young American military guys.

On the shelf was a copy of Stephen King's On Writing. I pulled it out and told the party that I thought it was one of the best books on the writing process, even if you didn't read Stephen King. I told them I've recommended it to hundreds of my writing students and clients.

One of the military guys took it from me and showed it to his buddy. He said: "Oh, it's like the book On Killing."

We all laughed, thinking he was joking. He wasn't. I got back to Boston and got a copy of On Killing by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, a book on the psychological effects on a human of killing in war.

The author begins the book with the butchering of animals on a farm and shows how because we've all gotten used to understanding food as something that comes from behind suction plastic, killing has become a secret and turned into a perversion, as evidenced by all the murderous TV shows and films.

Also, I agree with Colleen about rough drafts. I've been writing nearly every day since I was 18, and I'm 45 now. It's not important to be eloquent on your rough draft. Just tell the story. Use a stubby pencil and the back of an envelope if you want. The equipment doesn't matter. Just get the story out of your head and onto the paper. That's a very necessary first step and it doesn't have to look pretty.

Thanks everyone for the fantastic comments. I kept thinking all day while I was at my studio that what turns tragedy into poetry is how you frame the story. How might we frame the financial crisis? A necessary world adjustment? A forced but needed re-alignment? How might it change the anxiety for everyone to tell that story differently?

Exactly Carol! That's why the friend of mine in London recommended taking a year to set the intent. In that year, a great deal changed for me as I got closer and closer to the core of my intention. Sometimes you have to shake things up, I completely agree...

Elizabeth, I have a fascination with the Himalayas; I have only trekked them, am not a climber by any stretch of the imagination, but love all stories of Everest adventures. I know and adore that quote you sent! Thank you!!

Bruce, I looked at the slide and it IS in line with the article I wrote. Thank you for that. How to express the mission -- you make a good point -- it comes up in fiction writing too. How to express the mission of the protagonist...

Dave,

Thanks for saying the articles are accessible. That feels like a great compliment. Because of the way I grew up, I've always had a passion for speaking clearly and simply. I've found the people I've liked the best in my travels have always been the ones who communicate with grace.

Thanks Beth! A friend of mine worked for years in HR, and she has the same complaint! Co-workers sent emails full of complex words, often used incorrectly. She says she thought the people were trying NOT to communicate, and were often using language as a sort of power trip.

I just think it all fits under the power of the written word...if one wants clarity, honesty and simplicity, one should be clear, honest and straightforward.

Jen, Exactly! When we just sit and think about it, we never get to that magical second or third paragraph where the words just sing from our fingertips.