Welcome to Notes. I’m originally from NC, but now (for almost 20 years) a NY-based writer, photographer, and poet. This post is for writers—anyone who wants to pick up a pen, put words on a page, and go wherever that leads them.

When I walked past this diner on the main street of a small North Carolina mountain town a couple of years ago, I placed my camera lens against the glass door and suddenly found a way into the closed, solitary space. I’m on the outside looking in. I loved the clock and the leaning plates and stacked bread and coffee left in the bottom of the pots. Sometimes when I’m shooting pictures, I’m trying to document a time or place, but often I’m interested in making images that tell stories and also leave room for other people’s stories to take shape.

Suggestion: Set a timer for 10 minutes, create a start line…something like, I remember…look at the photo, and then write for 10 minutes. Don’t stop, edit, or cross out words. Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar. Just write. When the timer goes off, read what you’ve written out loud. This is a fun exercise to do with a writing friend or a couple of writing friends. When you read back, just listen to each other. Don’t critique. No critics allowed. This is for fun. I hope this diner was a good starting place.