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

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

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.

Take a walk or a drive. Book a window seat on a plane. Sit outside—in your backyard, on a park bench, at a café. Or make sure your writing desk (or reading chair) is next to a window with an appealing view. Take notes as you move through your day, or imagine what the speaker, narrator, or character might hear, smell, taste, or touch: the birds

If I don’t have paper handy, I might type notes into my phone or record myself talking so that I don’t lose the language or the idea.

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

Attention is a form of love.

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.

Specifics are “sticky.” They’re like little burrs that attach to the reader and hold on. Don’t we all carry images, lines, snippets of dialogue, and bits of description from books we’ve read? Some memorable details have lived in my head for decades, even though the characters’ names, plot points, poem titles, or even authors’ names may have long