Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life

Years spent with art are years spent in cocoon after cocoon after cocoon, always emerging changed.

My hope is always that the new work feels at the same time like a natural continuation of the last book and a departure from it.

Sensory imagery is what makes the reader feel like they’re there, so don’t skimp on it.

“Paying attention” is a metaphor in itself: attention a form of currency we pay to things we value. We pay with our time, our energy, our selves. Any artistic practice requires this kind of investment.

ten principles of creativity: attention, wonder, vision, surprise, play, vulnerability, restlessness, connection, tenacity, and hope.

I’ve found that anything that applies to writing also applies to life. Problem-solving is a creative act. Conversations are creative. Parenting is creative. Falling in love, leaving your job, changing your mind—all creative acts. Creativity isn’t just about making art.

Being sensitive, attuned, observant—these things don’t just improve your writing, they improve your life.

May the poems keep coming to meet me in the clearing, and may I not scare them back into the woods.

Taking care of yourself is taking care of your creativity. Taking care of yourself as a whole human being is taking care of the writer in you.