Tiana Clark
“I try to reject the rote compulsion to plug my ears with wireless earbuds and listen to a podcast or music on my phone, so I can be present to the unspooling scenery daring to be named and noticed outside of my office.
Writers Recommend
In this online exclusive we ask authors to share books, art, music, writing prompts, films—anything and everything—that has inspired them in their writing. We see this as a place for writers to turn to for ideas that will help feed their creative process.
Sulaiman Addonia
“As I lose myself, the characters in my novels feel more real. It’s as if shedding parts of me allows their humanity to flourish.
Vinh Nguyen
“A moment of laser focus here and then I can roam in the green pastures of other words elsewhere, which always feels like freedom.
Felicia Zamora
“Thinking of the longevity of the work—collapsing linearity into the strange and false construct that it is—takes a large amount of pressure off of writing.
Olivia Wolfgang-Smith
“I find photography archives most useful for jump-starting my writer’s engine in their total dissimilarity to prose—amateur snapshots from remote historical eras feel particularly effective as unofficial writing prompts.
Mai Der Vang
“Somewhere in that daydream or meditation, I begin to channel ideas, words, phrases, and it often feels as if my ancestors are working with me and through me to say what needs to be said…
Olufunke Grace Bankole
“Now I know there will be days when the work feels stale or I’m just pulled to do something else.
Vidyan Ravinthiran
“If you’re not machinic then standstills and goings-astray are to be lived with and through.
Tree Abraham
“When I am stuck, I return to these folders until envy thrusts me back to making, their luster still lingering on my fingertips so that my words pass through theirs as I type.
Ruben Reyes Jr.
“If it’s good enough, an album will offer a sense of flow and consistency that helps me write. The vibe and genre should match what I’m working on…