“When I push weights around, I push words around. I usually hit the gym in the afternoon, and when I do, I think about the story or chapter I was working on that morning. I rewrite sentences. I realize metaphors. I excise characters, rearrange paragraphs. And sometimes I come up with what I’m going to hammer out the next morning. Maybe I’m listening to the Avett Brothers or maybe I’m listening to an audiobook, but inspiration always strikes, and when it does, I hit pause, switch over to the notepad app on my iTouch and punch out my idea.”
—Benjamin Percy, author of The Wilding (Graywolf, 2010)
Photo credit: Jennifer May