The idea for my book Kicking in the Wall, which was published by New World Library last year, was inspired by a quote from Patti Smith: “I would go as far as I could and hit a wall, my own imagined limitations. And then I met a fellow who gave me his secret, and it was pretty simple. When you hit a wall, just kick it in.” (That fellow by the way was Sam Shepard.)

The book has a year’s worth of writing prompts/exercises plus quotations from wonderful writers, and in February I’m going to teach a six week course based on it in the Writers’ Program at UCLA Extension. The course will focus on either finding your way into a new memoir, essay or fiction, or breaking through the wall into something you’ve already started. I’m excited about teaching a new course. Sign up and come join us if you live near Los Angeles.

Here’s a quote I used in the book by one of my favorite fiction writers, Richard Ford:

“I’m trying to cause people to be interested in the particulars of their lives because I think that there’s one thing literature can do for us. It can say to us: pay attention. Pay closer attention.” – Richard Ford

And here’s my prompt from the book: “Write about a time you tried to pay attention but couldn’t. You floated out of your head, or you fell asleep, or you studied your finger nails. What was it you didn’t want to pay attention to? What was it you were avoiding? Or was boredom part of it?”

From the Marketing Whore: If you can’t take the class, buy the book.