i don’t think that we artists are capable of conjuring up work that is wholly original. we are a mirage of references. our work, especially as young writers, is often a mimicry of those who came before. the difference here though is when we consume work, we digest it until it mixes with everything else we’ve eaten, all of our own memories and fears... See more

there is something within you that is drawn to this work [you wouldn’t be posting and calling yourself a writer if you weren’t]. the next step is growing a spine and deciding if you want this enough to confront your own mediocrity and battle it.

making art is hard. there is no cheat code that would make it easy. excavating the soul should be hard; it would be alarming if it wasn’t. the satisfaction you feel, however, when you see the words trooping along the page exactly as you dreamed them up, melodic and honest; it is heaven made real.

my question is why you think productivity and artistic practise should be viewed as anything other than the conflicting, oxymoronic ideals they are. the purpose of writing or creating isn’t to tout a finished product; the value of what we do isn’t in having a sellable thing to make us a profit. it is to fuel our curiosity and reflect who we are in... See more

most of history’s greatest advancements were made because good people were revolted at the cruelty of the existing systems they saw, at slavery and colonialism and gender inequity.

you’re too scared to let people see you, too lazy to dream up anything of true worth [something honest, something new, something moving, something cathartic to even just yourself], that you would rather betray us all. i will not call an orange an apple because it might hurt the former’s feelings. i will not bend reality to coddle you and your... See more

as a writer, even as a child, long before what i wrote began to be published i developed a sense that meaning itself was resident in the rhythms of words and sentences and paragraphs - joan didion

what makes a writer? i don’t think a creative writing degree makes you one, neither does acclaim or fiscal success. i think a writer is quite simply someone who does not know how to navigate this world without putting pen to paper, someone who is preoccupied with words and sentences and story.

i don’t think that we artists are capable of conjuring up work that is wholly original. we are a mirage of references. our work, especially as young writers, is often a mimicry of those who came before. the difference here though is when we consume work, we digest it until it mixes with everything else we’ve eaten, all of our own memories and fears... See more