Author: Austen Schreib

“If your writing life feels like it’s not working out the way you want it to, don’t give up. Instead, take a step back and ask yourself what you can do differently. What change(s) can you make that can positively influence the future?” -P.J. Hoover

“Every day is a new ‘now.’ Our work as writers is incremental and cyclical and cumulative. Every time we sit down to write, it’s like improvisational work, which is not to say we pluck something out of nothing. It means we awaken and mingle many somethings, many nows, that we filed away in recesses of our brain some time ago and can now bring front-of-mind and to the page. There’s no magic door or finish line; there’s only these breakthroughs and the belief that a nurtured writing practice will bear fruit in its own time.” -Cinelle Barnes

“I’ve found the challenges of being a writer are permanent… and the best way to approach them is to run away. If it’s writer’s block for a certain scene, write a different scene in your manuscript… the pressure we put on ourselves as writers to “overcome” stuff is in direct opposition to the reality of the writing and publishing world. For me, it’s about finding the strength to write everyday despite not overcoming many of these obstacles.” -James Wade

“You have to sit down and write. And you have to do it intentionally. Carve out some time, carve out a space, devote yourself to putting words down. It’s as simple as that. Inspiration follows action. Sometimes it’s the other way around, but most often it’s not. Don’t worry about how much you’re writing each day or whether it’s true to the project, particularly in the early days of a project. But do write, and write, and then write.” -Gordy Sauer

“Usually, any problems I may be having creatively or with the business side of writing are the result of me straying too far from my personal values as an artist and person. In those moments, I refer to a mantra from clinical psychologist Dr. Sandra Lewis and ask myself, “What does this have to do with what I came to the world to be?” Refocusing on what matters to me, on my purpose, usually grants me clarity in those areas where I’m struggling to make progress.” -Laekan Zea Kemp

“Authors like Chekhov, Austen, Mansfield, Dickens, Faulkner never studied writing in an academic program. Nobel Laureate Doris Lessing quit school at the age of thirteen. These masters learned craft by analyzing the work of celebrated authors. My advice is to read widely like they did, and notice craft features: word choice, a sentence’s musical replication of a character’s action, the convincing accuracy of an idiosyncratic voice, the tension and pacing of a scene, the symbiotic nature of the story’s elements. When you love something you’ve read, figure out why.” -Nan Cuba