Exploring the writing routines of some of the most renowned authors throughout history.
"I’m interested in decolonizing narrative and language in storytelling, especially in writing about cultural and inherited trauma."
— Janice Lee
Janice Lee is a Korean American writer, spiritual scholar, and shamanic healer. She has authored eight books encompassing fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, including titles like KEROTAKIS, Daughter, Damnation, Reconsolidation, The Sky Isn’t Blue, Imagine a Death, Separation Anxiety, and a ...
"In this busy world, where distractions are constant, having a retreat allows for a deep dive into creative projects without interruptions."
Imagine having a special hideaway, a personal haven just for writing – that's the essence of a personal writing retreat. It's a dedicated time and space where writers can step away from the hustle and bustle of daily life to truly immerse themselves in their craft.
"It’s not just about the inability to put words on a page; it’s also the lingering doubt and the dampening of creative enthusiasm that comes with it."
Writer's block is like that unwelcome guest at a party, turning up unannounced and often overstaying its welcome.
"My writing routine is to not have a writing routine. I long ago learned that I’m a deadline writer—for prose, at least—and so I often work backwards from a deadline, starting with what I hope is enough time to finish. That’s probably why I was so productive in grad school—I had an essay due every three or four weeks, so I’d get it done."
— Simmons Buntin / Terrain.org
Simmons Buntin is a multifaceted professional known for his roles as editor, writer, publisher, and educator. He founded Terrain.org in 1997 and serves as its editor-in-chief, also heading Terrain Publishing as its director and president.
"But in an ideal world, I wake up early and sit down with my coffee. Go through my email and try very hard not to get distracted. I find if I start the day with admin work, my creative brain throws up its hands and stomps off in a fit.
But I usually try to write – with lots of breaks – until about 1 in the afternoon. This can be anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 words. And then I take a very long walk with my dog who has been waiting patiently."
— Molly O'Keefe
Molly O’Keefe, who discovered her passion for writing early in life, has been a prolific author since publishing her first Harlequin romance at 25.
"I write in longhand and preferably on paper with margins and thick lines with wide space between the lines. I prefer to write with pens that glide very easily over the paper because my handwriting is fast." — Margaret Atwood
"Early morning, lunch break, on the train, late at night — it doesn’t matter. Find the extra hour, go to the same place, shut the door."
— John Grisham
"Starting a novel isn’t so different from starting a marriage. The dreams you pin on these people are enormous. You are diving into the lives of your characters, knowing that you will fall in love with all of them, knowing (as surely Elizabeth Taylor knew) that in the end the love will finish and turn you out on the street alone."
— Ann Patchett
"When I’m writing, I write every day. It’s lovely when that’s happening. One day dovetailing into the next. Sometimes I don’t even know what day of the week it is." — Raymond Carver
Whether it’s exploring personal memories, observing societal dynamics, or simply musing on the quirks of daily life, these prompts are designed to cover a wide array of themes.
Creative nonfiction is a unique blend of storytelling and reality, where the facts of life meet the art of narrative. It’s a genre that invites writers to explore their experiences, thoughts, and observations, weaving them into stories that resonate with truth and authenticity.
"I usually write and read extensively in the summer and during winter break and devote my time to my students during the semester. I do have writing breaks on Saturday afternoons during the semester where I go to a coffee shop in the afternoon and put in several hours of writing."
A conversation with Jennifer Maritza McCauley about her latest book, When Trying to Return Home, daily writing routines, handling writer's block, and more.
Jennifer Maritza McCauley is a writer, poet, and university professor. She has been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts in prose, Kimbilio, CantoMundo and the Sundress Academy for the Arts.
Gone are the days when the only path to publication was through the gates of traditional publishing houses. Now, anyone with a story to tell can take the reins and publish their work.
Self-publishing has truly revolutionized the world of writing. It's a game-changer, especially for those who have long dreamed of seeing their words in print.
"What I realized is, as I did this more, is that you are an excavator. You aren’t imagining the story. You are excavating the story."
Exploring the daily writing routines of famous authors throughout history. We look at David Grann's writing routine, daily habits and work rituals.
"I don’t navigate them very much anymore, I just let those feelings happen. There’s not much finding or searching to be done in the experience of jet lag for me. It’s a moment of embodiment, a time to just be and let the experience wash over me."
Nina Li Coomes is a Japanese and American writer. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic, Guernica and Catapult, among other places.
Regina Scott is a novelist who began writing in third grade. After honing her skills in vocabulary, sentence structure, and plot, she published her first Regency romance novel, The Unflappable Miss Fairchild, in 1998. She later expanded into Christian romance with The Irresistible Earl in 2011, and debuted with publisher Revell in 2019.
Regina Scott is a novelist who began writing in third grade. After honing her skills in vocabulary, sentence structure, and plot, she published her first Regency romance novel, The Unflappable Miss Fairchild, in 1998.
Karen Pinchin is a journalist known for her complex, investigation-driven stories on food, science, culture, and the environment.
Iris Yamash*ta is a screenwriter and author who grew up in Missouri, Hawaii, Guam, California, and Japan. Although she studied engineering at UC San Diego and UC Berkeley, her true passion has always been fiction writing.
Catherine Gammon is a fiction writer and Soto Zen priest with a diverse publishing history. Her novel China Blue won the Bridge Eight Fiction Prize and was published by Bridge Eight Press in 2021.
J. Ryan Stradal is a novelist from Southern Minnesota, where he grew up in the town of Hastings. He graduated from Northwestern University. He is based in Los Angeles County, California, where he currently lives and works.
The age-old conundrum: having a burning desire to write, yet being tethered to a demanding 9-to-5 job. For many passionate writers, this scenario is all too familiar. The heart yearns to weave stories and express thoughts, while commitments and responsibilities dictate the rhythm of weekdays.
The age-old conundrum: having a burning desire to write, yet being tethered to a demanding 9-to-5 job. For many passionate writers, this scenario is all too familiar. The heart yearns to weave stories and express thoughts, while commitments and responsibilities dictate the rhythm of weekdays. Can on...
Separating the processes of writing and editing can unlock a world of creativity and efficiency that might just revolutionize the way your stories are told.
Every writer, whether seasoned or just starting, grapples with a certain dilemma: that nagging urge to edit every sentence, every word, as soon as it’s penned down. It’s like an itch that begs to be scratched immediately. But what if there’s magic in resisting that itch, at least for a while? ...
Your day job – yes, even that seemingly endless string of meetings – can be a treasure trove of inspiration.
Isn’t it easy to fall into the trap of thinking our day jobs are just barriers to our true calling? That they’re mundane, while our writing is where the magic happens? Well, let’s rethink that a bit. What if the 9-to-5 grind we often sigh about is actually brimming with untapped stories, just ...
Jonathan Eig is the author of five books, three of them New York Times best sellers. Ken Burns calls him a “master storyteller.” Joyce Carol Oates referred to his book, Ali: A Life, as “an epic of a biography.”
"My dream is to wake up early and write for an hour or two—with coffee and silence and a lit candle, the whole writerly cliché—before doing anything else. But I have a one-year-old daughter who wakes my husband and me up at the crack of dawn (or earlier) every morning, so this time is usually reserved for what I’ll call playful chaos. We make coffee and breakfast, play with her, go for a walk, get ready for the day, and THEN I actually start working."
Annelise Jolley is an essayist and journalist with an insatiable curiosity about the world. She is particularly drawn to the intersections of place, food, ecology, and faith and often explores the interplay between these subjects.
"When I’m stuck, I find it helpful to do something physical that frees my mind, e.g., going for a bike ride or skiing (cross country), depending on the season; mowing the lawn or shoveling snow, again, of course, depending on the season; even doing the dishes. I tend to keep rather regular business hours and don’t like to work in the evenings or on the weekends. That’s family time."
John Rosengren is a talented American writer and author known for his feature articles, profiles, and essays. He has contributed to over 100 publications, including well-known names like The Atlantic, GQ, The New Yorker, and Sports Illustrated.
"You just do the work, which in my case is gathering records and talking to people. The more work you do, the easier it is to write."
Ethan Brown is an investigative journalist and author, having written four books about crime and criminal justice policy, including his debut, Queens Reigns Supreme: Fat Cat, 50 Cent and the Rise of the Hip-Hop Hustler.
"Writing goes on in the back of my head all the time. I never spend time staring at a screen wondering what to write next. I do, sometimes, have to detour to look up a specific historical fact. I don’t send a novel to my agent until it’s been through at least nine drafts. So most of my writing is rewriting. Writing a first draft is like trying to get a pill down a cat, but re-writing is like petting a cat. I just love it."
Margaret Verble is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated author and a proud member of the Cherokee Nation. As an enrolled citizen and a part of a large and historic Cherokee family, Margaret has a strong connection to her heritage and is dedicated to preserving its history and traditions. Margaret was raised i...
"I tell my students one of the most important things they need to know is when they are their best, creatively. They need to ask themselves, What does the ideal room look like? Is there music? Is there silence? Is there chaos outside or is there serenity outside? What do I need in order to release my imagination?"
Toni Morrison was an American author and editor, best-known for her novels The Bluest Eye; Song of Solomon; and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Beloved; as well as for winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.
Exploring the daily writing routines of famous authors throughout history. We look at Toni Morrison's writing routine, daily habits and work rituals.
"I don’t know why I write. If I knew the answer, I probably wouldn’t have to. But it is a compulsion. You don’t choose it, it chooses you. And I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody."
Exploring the daily writing routines of famous authors throughout history. We look at Paul Auster's writing routine, daily habits and work rituals.
"There’s no simple explanation for why I write. It changes over time. There’s no hole inside me to fill or anything like that, but once I started doing it, I couldn’t imagine wanting to do anything else for a living. I noticed very quickly that writing was the only way for me to lose track of the time."
Exploring the daily writing routines of famous authors throughout history. We look at Michael Lewis' writing routine, daily habits and work rituals.
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