I read Julia Cameron’s seminal work, The Artist’s Way, more than a decade ago. It was a life-changing book for me. It showed me that the brains of other artists work in the same quirky way mine does and that I wasn’t so different after all. It helped me to embrace the fact that I am a writer. She encourages readers of that book to take themselves on weekly Artist Dates–time alone to explore and refill the creative well. Many of my artist dates take me to the St. Johns river, which runs through downtown Jacksonville.