Travis Nichols Recommends...

“To get my mind ready for writing, I try to sit quietly and stare at nothing for ten minutes.

It clears away the Salt-n-Pepa lyrics and staircase wit that have been clogging up the channels. After the silence, if I’m at a critical juncture, I then listen to records from Sublime Frequencies—a label specializing in a kind of post-field recording ethnomusicology—and try to transcribe what I hear. This doesn’t often result in work for the ages, but it’s a good reminder that the best writing comes from outside.”
Travis Nichols, author of Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder (Coffee House Press, 2010)