Joanna Smith Rakoff Recommends...

“I’m the least athletic person in the world—the proverbial kid picked last for teams—so what I’m about to suggest is a bit strange

: Go running. Whenever I get stuck in story, unable to get my character out of the car and into his apartment, I step away from my desk, throw on shorts, and hit the pavement. I hate sports. Truly. But there’s something about the rhythm of running—and the complete solitude it allows—that calms me down and allows me to work through whatever problems I’m encountering on the page.”
—Joanna Smith Rakoff, author of A Fortunate Age (Scribner, 2009)