“Red Couch, Black Polka Dots. Just a Couch.”

Red couch. Black polka dots. Red couch. Black polka dots. He figures if he keeps repeating it over and over he'll believe that's all it is. A red couch, with black polka dots connected by slight lines. She'd traced those lines countless times, she said it helped her think. Just a couch. It shouldn't make …

Natalie

My next place, she muses, will have hardwood floors, shining in their newness. It will have high ceilings and many, many windows, so that the sun can beam through. Perhaps she'll have a cat, and her cat will nap in the pools of sunshine pouring into the apartment, heating those hardwood floors. She walks over …

2, 3, 4

My friend encouraged me to get out of a writing rut by suggesting that I do the following exercise: Take a pen and pad of paper, set a timer, and don't stop writing until the timer rings. Write about anything, even "I don't know what to write." It encourages subconscious thoughts to rise to the …