Yesterday, I ran into my cousin, who told me she’d been in a 48-hour funk and couldn’t figure out why she was so grumpy. Finally, she sketched out a short story based on the old house she is renovating.

“My whole mood shifted,” she said, a self-satisfied smile spreading across her face. “I just needed to write.”

“Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.” – Jane Yolen (via Writer’s Bloq)