Caroline Leavitt
“For me, the best novels have a never-ending quality. Nothing is tied up neatly by the last page.
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.
Jamil Ahmad
“Looking back and reflecting on my life, I realize how accident prone I have been in these eighty years.
Christopher Boucher
“Merrill Garbus, who performs under the moniker tUnE-YArDs, recorded her first album using a handheld voice recorder and distributed it on recycled cassette tape.
Lydia Millet
“Typically my writing prompt is nothing fancy—just your basic same old, same old. Fear of death.
Christian Wiman
“I never try to write. If the work isn’t urgent enough to make me sit down and work, I don’t want it.
Christina Shea
“Maybe the one good thing about having ADD, as I do, is that you tend to draw inspiration from whatever you are focused on at the moment.
Joshua Baldwin
“Without fail, I am inspired to start writing a story in any hotel lobby, but particularly one with marble floors
Leah Hager Cohen
“Humble labors help when my mind becomes overwrought, when my thoughts stop being good company
Susan Daitch
“Sometimes inspiration comes from unpredictable sources that I wish were more easily and predictably harnessed.