Tina May Hall
“When I’m stumped, I often go to the library stacks and look at old science treatises.
Benjamin Percy
“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.
Carol Moldaw
“On a narrow strip of cork board, among news clippings and postcards, is a small vellum-colored paper square, printed by the artist Tom Ashcraft, that has inspired me for many years.
Jacob Ritari
“As a rule of comedy combining something cute with something sinister is good for a laugh, and the logic is the same as the real-life behavior
Aimee Bender
“Rules. I’m a big believer in structure, and the idea that creativity loosens up when constrained a bit.
Brando Skyhorse
“Never start writing in a bad mood—makes it too easy to quit before you get going.
Patricia Engel
“I’ve been reading the journals of Albert Camus since I was thirteen years old and his words have become my most faithful and intimate companions.
Joshua Ferris
“I take inspiration from the subtle daily forecasting of death. This should be impetus for anyone to get off his ass.
Jean Valentine
“Sometimes typos can be helpful. Looking at a poem in a language you can’t read, and working from the sounds.
Glenn Taylor
“As Jerome Washington wrote, 'The blues is our antidote.’ So I listen. Blues doctors like Neal Pattman inspire something in a writer’s blood. Anyone who can play harmonica like he can, with one arm no less, will get me going.