The Writing Life
Therefore, my dear friend, I know of no other advice than this: Go within and scale the depths of your being from which your very life springs forth…For the creative artist must be a world of his own and must find everything within himself and in nature, to which he has betrothed himself.
– “The First Letter,” Rainer Maria Rilke
“So” is a word commonly used to mean “very” or “really.” For example, “he was so late.” The word is a vague intensifier and should either be cut from the sentence or accompanied by an explanation.
It’s said that you don’t forget how to ride a bike. It’s a somewhat true statement. If you have ridden a bike in the past and decide to start riding again, you have a slight advantage over the person who has never ridden one. Then again, maybe you don’t have an advantage. You rode in the past, but your final ride was horrific. You had to stop riding, not because you chose to, but because you were physically incapable of riding due to an injury. For you, the challenge is not in the pedaling but in the images and memories that fill your mind.