" Anne Lamott, in her wonderful book Bird by Bird (one of the few books about writing that I recommend every chance I get) tells about a writing exercise she gave her students. I haven’t read it in a while, but here’s how I remember it. They were to choose an old family photo, put a one-inch picture frame over part of it, and then write about only what’s in that little square. Don’t write about Uncle Clarence if he’s not in there. Maybe write about his shoulder there in the corner, but focus on the blurry painting on the wall in the background, or Aunt Gertrude’s pearl earring. Lamott’s point is that you can fill pages and pages with what’s in that tiny space. One thought leads to another, leads to another, leads to another, and when that string runs out you can return to the one-inch frame and find another telling element to get you running. "

― Andrew Peterson , Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making