COMPLETE PODCAST SHOW NOTES
Episode Title: Things I Didn't Know I Loved: How Focusing on Small Pleasures Helps Writers Navigate Challenging Times
Episode Description: In this episode of The Writer's Journey, acclaimed author and writing teacher Laura Davis explores a transformative writing prompt that helps writers find grounding during times of fear and uncertainty. Drawing from master teacher Deena Metzger's book Writing for Your Life, Laura shares how the deceptively simple exercise "Things I Didn't Know I Loved" goes far beyond standard gratitude lists to reveal intimate truths about our lives.
Through student examples and her own 50-item list, Laura demonstrates how attention to overlooked details can become a powerful antidote to today's chaos and a pathway to joy.
What Laura Covers in This Episode:
The origin of the "Things I Didn't Know I Loved" writing prompt from Deena Metzger's Writing for Your Life.
How this prompt differs from traditional gratitude lists by focusing on overlooked rather than obvious blessings.
A complete reading of student Shoshana Helman's creative and surprising response to the prompt.
Laura's own extensive 50-item list, ranging from practical pleasures to profound life experiences.
How the exercise helped Laura's writing students feel grounded and centered despite living with fear and uncertainty.
The therapeutic power of focusing on small, specific details in our daily lives.
Why list-making can serve as a powerful precursor to longer, more developed writing pieces.
How this exercise reveals intimate truths about the writer and creates windows into their inner world.
Episode Highlights:
The Prompt That Goes Deeper: Laura introduces a writing exercise from Deena Metzger that asks writers to dig beyond obvious gratitudes and instead identify small, easily overlooked pleasures in their lives—things they didn't consciously know they loved until they stopped to notice.
A Student's Surprising List: Laura shares student Shoshana Helman's beautifully crafted response, which includes unexpected items like "the ding that announces an incoming text," "showering in the dark," and the profound closing entries about readiness and living a good life.
Laura's Personal Inventory: Laura reveals her own 50-item list, offering intimate glimpses into her life through details like her c-pap travel pillow, the white streak in her hair from chemotherapy, motion theatre practice, and the Spanish pronunciation of her name.
The Universal Response: When Laura's students completed this exercise, they reported feeling grounded and centered, discovering that focusing on small pleasures provided relief from the fear and chaos of current events.
Lists as Windows to Self: Laura explains how list-making exercises in her classes consistently reveal deep truths about the writers who create them, serving as both creative warm-ups and profound self-discovery tools.
The Compulsion to Continue: Both Laura and her students found they couldn't stop writing once they started, with ideas continuing to flow even after the timed exercise ended—a sign of the prompt's power to unlock authentic expression.
From Ordinary to Extraordinary: Laura's list demonstrates how the exercise transforms mundane details like paper towels as napkins, organized freezers, and heated toilet seats into meaningful acknowledgments of life's small luxuries and hard-won wisdom.
Connection Through Specificity: When students shared their lists in small groups, the specific, intimate details created powerful connections and offered windows into each writer's unique experience of being alive.
About Host Laura Davis:
Laura Davis is an acclaimed author and writing teacher with over 35 years of experience guiding writers to tell their most important stories. Her award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars won the prestigious BookLife Prize in 2021, cementing her reputation as both a masterful memoirist and an expert on the craft of personal narrative.
As a writing instructor, Laura specializes in helping students access deep truths through carefully crafted prompts and exercises. She teaches regular writing classes, offers private coaching sessions, and leads transformative international writing retreats that combine creative practice with cultural immersion.
Laura believes in the power of specific details, authentic voice, and the courage required to examine our lives with honesty and compassion.
Resources Laura Mentions
Books:
Writing for Your Life by Deena Metzger (source of the "Things I Didn't Know I Loved" prompt)
The Burning Light of Two Stars by Laura Davis (award-winning memoir, BookLife Prize Winner 2021)
International Writing Retreat:
Write, Travel, Transform: Cuba (April 13-26, 2026) - A 14-day writer's journey combining daily writing practice with cultural exploration in Cuba, featuring meetings with local historians, artists, and cultural practitioners.
Learn more: https://lauradavis.net/cuba/
Websites and Publications:
Laura's Substack: The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis (https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/)
Laura's main website:https://lauradavis.net/
Key Takeaways from This Episode:
Dig Beneath Surface Gratitude: The most powerful appreciation lists go beyond obvious blessings to uncover small, easily overlooked pleasures that genuinely enhance daily life but rarely receive conscious acknowledgment.
Specificity Creates Connection: The more specific and detailed your list becomes—from "the rounded edges of my favorite teacup" to "counting cash and facing all the bills in the same direction"—the more it reveals authentic truths about who you are and creates genuine connection with readers.
Lists as Therapeutic Practice: During times of fear, chaos, and uncertainty, intentionally focusing attention on small pleasures and everyday luxuries can provide emotional grounding and restore a sense of calm and gratitude.
Let the Writing Continue: When a prompt feels generative and ideas keep flowing even after the designated writing time ends, honor that creative momentum rather than artificially stopping—it's a sign you've tapped into something meaningful.
Small Exercises Yield Big Insights: Simple list-making exercises can serve dual purposes as both warm-up activities that prepare writers for longer work and as stand-alone pieces that offer profound windows into the writer's inner world and values.
Episode Call-to-Action
Ready to try this transformative writing exercise yourself? Set a timer for 20 minutes and create your own "Things I Didn't Know I Loved" list. Remember to dig beneath obvious gratitudes and look for small, overlooked pleasures in your daily life. Don't censor yourself—let the list flow naturally, and notice what surprising truths emerge about what brings you joy and comfort.
Share a few items from your list in the comments section of The Writer's Journey to connect with other writers exploring this prompt. Your specific details might inspire someone else or help them feel less alone in their own experience.
If this episode resonates with you and you want to deepen your writing practice under Laura's guidance, explore her regular writing classes, private coaching sessions, and transformative international retreats at https://lauradavis.net/.
Connect with Laura Davis:
Subscribe to The Writer's Journey: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/ (receive regular posts, curated poems, nature photos, and essays on life and the craft of writing)
Main Website: https://lauradavis.net/ (information on writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats)
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The Writer's Journey with Laura Davis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support her work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You'll receive regular posts like these, as well as beautifully curated poems and nature photos, essays on life and the craft of writing, and more.
You can subscribe here: https://laurasaridavis.substack.com/
Learn about Laura's writing classes, books, workshops, and international retreats at: https://lauradavis.net/
