Kristin Naca
“When I’m writing every day, I read and meditate a lot. I look to architecture—in landscape and art—as a way to generate stillness, inspire form, and make me feel less alone.
Writers Recommend
In this online exclusive we ask authors to share books, art, music, writing prompts, films—anything and everything—that has inspired them in their writing. We see this as a place for writers to turn to for ideas that will help feed their creative process.
Katherine Dunn
“Sometimes all that saves me is being willing to make mistakes. There are projects that strike me as so beautiful, important, complicated, or just plain big, that they convince me of my own inadequacy.
David Shields
“Ross McElwee’s self-reflexive documentary Sherman’s March changed my writing life.
Kate Durbin
“I ingest art daily—from the films of Lars von Trier, Takashi Miike, and Lucrecia Martel to fashion blogs to art openings in Los Angeles.
Ed Skoog
“‘Go see some live local music’” is the hourly recommendation from New Orleans radio station WWOZ, and it’s good advice, not only true to New Orleans
Michelle Wildgen
“After years of thinking setting didn’t inspire me at all, I have come to realize that it does—but only after I’m gone.
Orlando White
“For some poetic guidance I always find myself going back to books like the Orphan Factory and Selected Early Poems by Charles Simic; also, Reasons for Moving and The Weather of Words by Mark Strand.
Catie Rosemurgy
“When I first moved to Philadelphia, a friend of mine was very excited to show me Marcel Duchamp’s assemblage Étant donnés: 1° la chute d'eau, 2° le gaz d'éclairage... in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
January Gill O’Neil
“Like most writers—specifically parents who are writers—I don’t have a lot of time to find inspiration.
Joanie Mackowski
“It helps me to remember that inspiration needs courting; it won’t come if I wait passively.