Even if we don't write about nature specifically, Tina Welling demonstrates how nature triggers our stories. This is because "everything we know about creating, we know intuitively from the natural world." One can set the stage for creation by consciously naming the information gathered by the senses, describing the sensory details of one particular object, and interacting with the energy system of the universe. Welling experienced this last step while hiking and observingan intricate spider web shimmering in sunlight. Spider webs, she notes, are both "wondrous and ordinary." They're ordinary in that they are made of chewed up insects, yet wondrous in their intricacy. Writing often seeks for just this kind of connection between the everyday and its hidden, worthy-of-attention wonderful. Making this kind of connection, and developing a fruitful relationship with wildness inside and out, is a process Welling makes accessible to any writer, journalkeeper, or insight seeker.
