Writing what you know: David McCullough (sp?) the very popular author of many non-fiction histories that read wonderfully says that one should avoid writing what they know and find something that will cause them to learn a lot about something new as they will find all of that more interesting and they will remain more motivated. I fall on the middle line between David's "find something interesting about which you know nothing, learn a lot, write," and the write what you know model. For relative beginners, encourage writing what one knows is the best place to start. Also, the definition of "what you know" can be anything from writing about baseball to writing about intense emotional experiences so it is a wide path for virtually everyone who did not grow up in a plastic bubble <smile>. Hugs, cdh To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.