The Joy of the Tortured Artist: Why We Write, Even When We Hate to Write
A celebrated memoirist considers why putting pen to paper can be so emotionally taxing—and what the rewards are when we persist.
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Personal Victories: Writers’ Stories of the Wins That Mean the Most
Writers including CJ Hauser, Nancy Jooyoun Kim, Uttama Patel, and Ethan Rutherford reflect on the quieter wins that have affirmed them as writers, with or without a medal or trophy.
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The Time Is Now: Writing Prompts and Exercises
Write a poem using a variety of sounds to convey complex feelings, a story in which the setting reveals the mindset of a character, or a portrait of your life using overheard, seen, or invented language as it occurs throughout your day.
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Writing a Dream Into Reality
A fortuitous residency at Jentel gives the author of Incantation: Love Poems for Battle Sites a chance to dream big and forge the first hundred pages of a new collection in just two weeks.
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Runaway
In the aftermath of his father’s death, an encounter with a literary hero at the Disquiet International Literary Program gives the author of Wyoming what he needs to write again: gratitude.
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Close Encounters
Foxes, llamas, and one portentous bobcat remind the author of Ninetails: Nine Tales that the artistic process can’t be planned or tamed—and that perhaps its wildness is one of the reasons we write.
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Send Me a Sign
At Ragdale, the author of The Great Believers receives portents that shape her books and strengthen her resolve.
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Sometimes a Fish, Sometimes a Story
In a season of disappointment while trying to conceive, the author of How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder reconnects with creativity at the Summer Fishtrap Gathering of Writers.
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Residing in Possibility
Amid political turmoil and momentous life changes, a retreat at the Blue Mountain Center gives the author of The Archer inspiring ideas about how to be an artist—even without writing any new pages.
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Inspiration From Across the Literary Landscape
Five acclaimed writers traverse the literary landscape, gleaning lessons from diverse genres of writing and bringing them back to bear on any work.
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