Anne-Marie Kinney
“Any story I’m working on begins with a mood—a tone, an atmosphere for the story to grow out of—and that mood, for me, is always informed by music. So, very early on, I settle on a soundtrack.
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.
Rosie Dastgir
“The thing that inspires me in my writing is chatting with my friends about family relationships. I’ve relished many conversations, over time, with two filmmaker friends: Kim Longinotto and Clio Barnard.
Jon Raymond
“I draw a lot of inspiration from visual art. One of the early and ongoing inspirations for me is a painter (and happily, a friend) named Michael Brophy whose ironic yet romantic images of western clear-cuts, slash piles, stumps, and domesticated forest scapes opened a whole new way of seeing my own backyard (the Northwest).
Brian Leung
“The majority of us start off asking our peers and our instructors, How can I improve my prose/poetry? How can I become ‘publishable’? These are necessary and essential questions. Equally essential, yet often neglected, is the question, How can I assist other writers?
Dani Shapiro
“My yoga and meditation practices have become such an integral part of my writing life that I can’t imagine what it would be like to sit down to write without knowing that, at some point in the day, I will be able to unroll my mat and quiet my mind.
Jac Jemc
“For almost three years now I’ve been obsessed with the work of South African photographer Roger Ballen. His photos act as a propeller for me in my writing. There is a spookiness to his work that invigorates me.
Alex Gilvarry
“From the moment a writer is attached to a story, said Saul Bellow, he or she suddenly has ‘feelers all over the place.’ So once I’m attached, I draw inspiration from what I think the character in question would read or consume.
Paige Ackerson-Kiely
“Because I am an American and often worry about many things, I seek out consolation before beginning to write, and little in this world consoles me more than the male falsetto: Skip James, Jónsi Birgisson, Pepe Núñez, Roscoe Holcomb, Antony Hegarty and company.
Hari Kunzru
“Pandit Pran Nath was a conduit for an understanding of Indian classical singing, and a major influence on American minimalism, whose disciples included Lamonte Young and Terry Riley.
Carolina De Robertis
“When I’m in the thick of a project, the most important sources of inspiration are those that help me open the gates of reverie, that make me descend into that nonverbal realm from which potent fiction paradoxically springs.