Eileen Pollack
“When I’m stuck, I daydream my way back to a place that still holds a great deal of emotion for me, and a ritual that used to take place there, lingering on the objects that vibrate and glow with some hidden, deeper meaning
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.
Hilma Wolitzer
“Whenever I finish writing a novel, I feel bereft of the characters. I also believe I’ve expended everything I know
Nathaniel Bellows
“Usually when I need to work something out in a poem or a piece of fiction, I go on a walk.
Steve Almond
“This is going to sound pretty awful, but I’m inspired by humiliation. My own, mostly, but also what I see in the world at large.
Tina Chang
“I am currently surrounded by diapers, squeaky toys, and crayons scattered at my feet. This is the life of a working writer/mother.
Janice N. Harrington
“Inspiration? A sleepless night helps, when my mind has nothing to do but wander.
Peter Orner
“I’d like to recommend the great and criminally undersung novelist Wright Morris.
Kirsten Kaschock
“I’m obsessed with windows. How they organize the world by cutting away most of it. Then let some in.
Peter Selgin
“A writer far more experienced than I once said to me something like, ‘You’ve got to bushwhack past the first million or so rotten words to get at the good stuff.’
Caroline Leavitt
“For me, the best novels have a never-ending quality. Nothing is tied up neatly by the last page.