How to Let Our Writing Reveal Itself

What whittling can teach us to be a better writer

Photo by Dominik Scythe on Unsplash

My cousin Pete was a whittler and folk artist. He started working with wood in the Navy to pass the off-duty hours. Pretty soon he was carving toys for his fellow sailors to send to their kids. His work wasn’t refined, but more folk art and heartfelt; he worked intuitively with the wood. Several times, he tried to…