The assignment for today was to create a personal shelter.

I find safety and warmth under the roof of an open book.

Good books, great stories, and brilliant poetry have always been like shelter for me. A refuge from the non-fictional snags in my own life’s plot. A depot where I watch characters come and go, noticing how they manage ideas and actions and emotions. And more and more, an observatory where I study the words and choices and craftsmanship of other writers.