DANIEL QUINN (finally)

I had a realization today about why I have a hard time keeping up with this (well, any) blog. I always try to tell a story. I want there to be an arc, and by the end I want the protagonist (i.e. me) to have learned something by the end.
Like with the Daniel Quinn post. It blossomed into this outline about inspiration, motivation, and validation.
Really, all I should have to say is, "I had the honor of treating Daniel Quinn and his wife to lunch today. It was really cool to sit around and casually visit with someone who has, through his writings, had such an impact on my life. I was, of course, ridiculously nervous, but felt better about ordering a glass of wine to calm my nerves after he ordered Scotch, and she ordered wine.
"Unfortunately, I have great difficulty starting a conversation. I got the impression that he does, too, because once Rennie proved to perfectly capable of it, he and I both took a back seat to her. (In fact, she pointed out that she should stop talking, as she had only eaten half her meal by the time we were finished.)
"We mostly chatted like friends, talking about places we'd been, and what we had been doing. Occasionally we would go into broader subjects (education, people in general), but I'm afraid to say I would shy away from going to far, as I was intimidated by the situation.
"We did talk about the Discovery Channel thing, and how strange it was that someone could resort to violence over what Quinn had said in any of his books.
"Rennie also brought up the Farm in Tennessee, having heard of it from Daniel's daughter. We also talked about the idea of 'The Project' that Scott & I talk about. The Quinns, who live in the center of Houston, agreed that they could never have done something like that.
"Shortly after we finished our meal, we parted ways. Daniel asked that I keep them updated on our progress. How cool is that?"

Look. I did it. How damn simple.

Despite the simplicity of the casual conversation, however, I learned a ton, and continue to learn, from the experience. I won't go into how right now, since this post would end up as just another draft.