Diamond Forde
“Sprawled out in the dark beneath our clunker TV, I used to understand the late-night Comedy Jam performers of my youth as magicians, as people capable of transforming a room with the well-timed punctuation of their bodies.
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.
Polly Atkin
“Approach it like a wild deer you would do anything not to startle. If all else fails, approach writing by not approaching it at all.
Agri Ismaïl
“Surely, I think, if someone can write or play the ‘Hammerklavier,’ I should be able to describe a peach.
Brian Gyamfi
“Dice rolling across a table sound like a miniature version of fate, and for a few hours I’m not a poet revising a line; I’m a half-elf mapping stars or a bard trying to charm the gods.
Glen Pourciau
“I like to think of waves when I’m at my desk, their depths, their inherent sounds and movements.
Edgar Gomez
“It’s healthy to take a break sometimes to be a fan and remember the larger legacy you’re a part of.
MaKshya Tolbert
“Juggling takes me far from myself at first, and then, soon enough, brings me miraculously back.
Delaney Nolan
“Sometimes, when I’m stuck, I’ll pull books from the shelves and luxuriate in other people’s first sentences.
Michelle Peñaloza
“Pulling cards feels like an invitation to openness and to inspiration, as well as an exercise in interpretation and finding connection that can help prepare me for writing.
Kelly Sundberg
“Because it can’t be forced, I let the rituals bring the writing to me. All I have to do is make the space for it.