‘How Do I Overcome My Inner Critic?’
It’s better to change than to improve.
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Yanyi
The Writing: What's inspiring you lately? (+ help me decide on something new!)
Read morePostscript: ‘Where Do I Find Inspiration?’
Read more‘Where Do I Find Inspiration?’
Originality comes from origins.
Read moreThe Writing: What piece are you most proud of? And ask me anything!
Read more‘I Think I’m a Writer, But What Kind Am I?’
Certainty comes from mistakes.
Read more‘Where Do We Go From Here?’
Some advice and an update about The Reading.
Read moreThe Writing: What's your favorite revision technique?
Hi everyone, Today’s The Writing will be the last one to run for everyone. I originally started this series as an opportunity to discuss practical concerns and questions about the writing industry and writing practices. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity of getting to know so many of
Read more‘Am I Allowed Writing Resources If I Don’t Belong?’
Hi everyone, I finished this letter earlier yesterday right when AP called the US presidential election for Joe Biden. I write to you with a sense of renewed determination for what is still possible and what the future might hold. Today’s letter is one I’ve been sitting on
Read moreThe Writing: What do you do in the face of uncertainty?
Hi everyone, In the past few months, I’ve been working on an essay on close-reading and uncertainty in poetry. In the question of hateful ideologies and their transforming aesthetics, I ask Who can afford to be uncertain? Who will die if we’re wrong? There’s the kind of
Read more‘How Can I Work, Write, and Be Part of a Family?’
Hi there, Most of us think of writing as a solitary pursuit. But today’s letter reminded me of what there is to be lost when we write without each other. The Reading started in empty classrooms and dark bars; it started on those afternoons and nights not writing, but
Read moreThe Writing: What are your completion rituals?
Hi everyone, Teaching this year has given me the gift and insight of how pivotal writing communities are for the uncertainty of our lives. The Writing is not going anywhere, but it is going to be smaller: a place for those of you who most want conversation and community wherever
Read more‘Why Can’t I Do My Edits?’
Hi everyone, I’m so grateful to each of you who have written, shared, and signed up for paid subscriptions since last weekend. Thank you to each letter writer, whose questions help me clarify my own positions on what it means to write. I had no idea that I had
Read moreThe Writing: Do you have a writing playlist? If so, what do you listen to?
This Sunday, I announced the pre-launch for paid subscriptions of The Reading. My dream for The Writing is to bring community, conversation, and direct access to practical answers on what it means to be a writer today sustainably. I’m incredibly excited to expand this resource with you. After November
Read more‘I’m Tired of Working So Hard for So Little.’
Hi there. This week, I’m kicking off “pre-orders” for paid subscriptions to The Reading. The experience you’re getting now is what you’ll continue to receive in a subscription after November 15: a Sunday letter, its audio format, and Wednesdays’ The Writing. As ever, Sunday’s letter will
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