Why "Save Your Life" Writing?

I asked one of my students to give me a quote regarding the class which I could use as a testimonial. She very kindly wrote: "The exercises and encouragement have helped not only to start my book project, but [Chrysler] has taught us to continually be aware of every sound and action in every moment of the day. I feel more alive! I cannot wait to start the next set of classes."

Now if I were to ascribe to writing rules, after Read A Lot Write A Lot, the second would be:

Pay Attention.

To everything around you, to your friends and family, to their conversations, to their beauty, to their quirks. To the natural world. To animals. To your thoughts and inventions and idiosncracies. To what you love. To what you hate. To the horrors and wonders you experience or imagine. Because it's all grist for the mill.

Then once you've sufficiently paid attention to the world around you, write as much as you can, as well as you can, about it.

If this rings true to you, if you want to live this way (for it becomes a way of life), try having a go at my blog www.happinesscansaveyourlife.blogspot.com which will give you some direction until it just becomes habitual. It's a good way to live. And it does change your life, whether you consider yourself to be a writer, or not. Hence the name. For whoever might wonder, why "Save Your Life" Writing? This is the answer.