Introduction: A Degree in Paris -- 01. A Day in the Place des Vosges: Support your artistic nature every day -- 02. Pure Flaneur: Practice flanerie, the art of strolling -- 03. Apricots: You must take the bad with the good -- 04. The Musee d'Orsay When It Opens: To be the artist is to be the exception -- 05. On Not Speaking French: You'll always find reasons not to write -- 06. Writing in Public Places: Exercise your craft in parks, subways, and churches -- 07. Hemingway Slept Here: Be less tourist and more artist -- 08. Your Novel in Six Months' Time: Plan for it and mean it -- 09. Privilege and the Place Vendome: Envision writing as good for humanity, not an unearned privilege -- 10. Human Scale: Paris teaches intimacy -- 11. Sartre and Inauthenticity: How to write authentically -- 12. Mimes and Literary Agents: Deal with and appreciate the absurd -- 13. Three-Week Books: Write in one big gulp -- 14. On Support: If it is in your power to help, help. If someone is in a position to help you, ask -- 15. The Pain of Perfect Little Parks: Beauty brings with it an odd prick of pain -- 16. The Doable Dream: Some impossible dreams are not even improbable -- 17. The Professor of Nothing: The cafe is the writer's home -- 18. Disrespecting Albert Camus: The nobility of the writer's occupation is in resisting oppression and accepting isolation -- 19. Gay Mayors: Celebrate the man responsible for freeing the Parisian park grass -- 20. Rainy Day Lover: Don't blame someone else when you aren't writing -- 21. Eating an Elephant: Scratch the surface to produce dramas -- 22. An Idea for a Novel: Overcome your defensive, chattering mind -- 23. Smaller and Smaller: Make sacrifices for your art -- 24. Picasso's Ghost: Meaning is primary; beauty is secondary -- 25. Not Writing: Only one in a hundred writers will ever write when visiting Paris -- 26. Second Chances: Make a heroic decision to persevere -- 27. The Great Escape: Whether or not people support you, your dreams are your dreams -- 28. Motivated by Croissants: Engage your senses. Engage your readers' senses -- 29. Running Off: Explore other cities once you're in Paris, but don't run away from your writing -- 30. With Your Daughter on the Rue de Rivoli: Visiting Paris as a lone wolf is not the only option -- 31. Maya and Lemonade: Meaningfulness slides into meaninglessness unless you can convince yourself that your journey matters -- 32. If Not Paris, If Not a Year: Schedule regular writing retreats, even if not in Paris -- 33. Fearing Paris: In order to create, we must forget our past failures -- 34. Au Revoir to the Place des Vosges: If you go to Paris, write. When you get home, keep writing -- A1. Appendix: A Planning Checklist -- A2. Appendix: Where to Write or Read -- A3. Appendix: Resources for Planning Your Trip.
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