Into the woods, it’s time to go
I hate to leave, I have to though
Into the woods—it’s time, and so
I must begin my journey

—Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim

“I love taking writers into the woods. For me, nature is almost always the source of my inspiration, even if it’s deeply hidden in my writing.” When we posted this quote on The Writers Circle’s social media, someone commented that taking writers into the woods sounded slightly ominous. Indeed, it’s not hard to think of almost every Grimms’ fairytale and the truly terrifying things that might happen when you leave your comfort zone.

But when I think of the woods, I think of sanctuary. The moment I step away from the parking area and onto the trail, I feel my body relax. More than relax: I literally transform.

As all the trappings of civilization fall away, I find my senses opening. In this place of wind and bird song and wild whispers, I remember that I am an animal, too. My footsteps soften as I move from hard pavement to soft ground. Suddenly my progress slows and is no longer linear. My feet lift slightly higher as I step over tree roots or move sideways to avoid jutting stones.

As movement becomes more natural, I take in the sounds of birds I have learned to recognize even when I can’t find them among the branches: a wood thrush’s distinctive melody, the heavy pounding of beak-on-bark the differentiates a red-bellied woodpecker—which looks like it should be called a red-headed woodpecker, though that’s not common in our forests—from a huge, “Woody Woodpecker” pileated, which is.

You don’t have to be a bird-nerd to fall in love with the woods. No binoculars are needed to be amazed. Tiny flowers ripen to blueberries in our New Jersey forests, along with wineberries. (For years, I thought they were raspberries, but they’re still tangy and delicious.) And along some sunny trails, blackberries create a wild, thorny hedge that is worth tackling to get to the delicious fruit in midsummer.

Of course, northern New Jersey forests are hardly pristine—especially not those within viewing distance of New York City. On the paths I know well, I like to show writers the decaying evidence of human presence. Foundations of abandoned buildings secreted away. Graffiti carved into beech bark left by teens and lovers decades ago, some with dates that bring to mind history. 1970 on one trunk on a high, lonely trail. On another, May 1942. Each presents wonderful possibilities for creative writing. 

While writing my historical novel, AKMARAL, I would use my time on the trail to grow closer to my characters. It helped bring authenticity to my story of ancient nomads who lived deeply connected to their environment. And in imagining their perspectives, I found a wilder part of myself.

So, if you want to deepen your writing and maybe even discover something about yourself, come with me into the woods. Bring your notebook and your favorite pen, and be ready to open your senses—all of them.

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Step into the woods with Judith’s Writing in Nature workshop – four site-specific writing excursions, Fridays starting May 22.

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Founder/Director of The Writers Circle, Judith Lindbergh is the author of two novels set in wildly unfamiliar locales: AKMARAL in 5th century BCE Central Asia and THE THRALL’S TALE in 10th century Greenland. She has spoken at and published with the Smithsonian Institution and provided expert commentary for The History Channel’s documentaries. Judith received a 2024 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

The post Step Into the Woods to Write with Judith Lindbergh appeared first on The Writers Circle.

My debut novel, Odessa, comes out today.  I’ve wanted to be an author all my life, and I’ve been working toward that goal for as long as I can remember.  I definitely had unrealistic expectations about the publishing process, and it’s taken longer than I thought it would, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

All of my failures and rejections have only made me work harder and become a better writer.  Odessa is not the first novel I’ve ever written, but it’s the first novel I’m publishing.  It’s easy to get disheartened, but one of my favorite things to tell my students is that getting published requires relentlessness.  To be honest, it never even occurred to me to stop trying.  I would have kept trying for the rest of my life.  I would have written one hundred novels.  And even if I had never gotten published, I would still be writing.  I think that’s the essence of my beliefs about writing: it’s a craft, a practice– not something you do once, or all at once, but little by little, every day.  It’s something you try and keep trying.

Getting published requires relentlessness.  To be honest, it never even occurred to me to stop trying.

My brain loves writing.  It even loves editing.  It wants to create.  I’ve always searched for a writing community wherever I could find it, because I also love talking about writing.  It’s a million times better when you have consistent feedback for your work, and when you get in the habit of critiquing and thinking critically about a piece of writing.  It’s one thing to write alone, into the void, and another to write in a community where you have a supportive environment that challenges you to improve.  The Writers Circle was the first writing community I found.  I took classes in high school, interned in college, then after I went away to grad school for writing, I came back and became an instructor over a decade later.  I still hold my first students very dear to my heart.  I knew immediately that I was in the right place.  I found a writing community again, and surrounded myself with people who love to write and are so warm and supportive of each other. 

One of my favorite classes to teach is called Where Do I Begin? It’s for people who want to start writing but don’t know where to start, or haven’t written in a long time and want to get back into it.  I love the energy of that class.  It feels like we’re all embarking on a new adventure together, learning a new skill– the ability to create worlds, to translate our imaginations into  stories.  I always tell my students that writing is a habit like any other.  We find ways of incorporating it into our everyday lives, even just a little at a time.  We learn to observe the world like writers, to read like writers.  It’s a wonderful way to think, and to exist in the world.  I hope that my students leave feeling inspired and motivated to try and keep trying. 

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Join Gabby’s Where Do I Begin? workshop this summer, starting July 16.

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Gabrielle Sher attended Hamilton College, where she earned the Rosenfeld Chapbook Prize for her novella Bowerbird. She received her MFA and PhD in Creative Writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.  Her first novel, Odessa, originated as part of her doctoral dissertation titled “Who Made Us Monsters? Narrative Psychology and The Female Jewish Gothic.”  She currently lives and writes in New Jersey with her husband Jamie and their dog Bo.

The post Debut Novelist Gabrielle Sher on Writing Practice, Relentlessness, and Community appeared first on The Writers Circle.

Thanks to everyone who joined us for this glorious afternoon, and to our perfect hosts at The Nature of Reading Bookshop in Madison, N.J.

Next up: TWC’s Spring Mini-Retreat on Sunday, May 17, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Lord Stirling Park in Basking Ridge, N.J. Details and registration here.

The post Inspired by Poetry and Nature – our special Earth Month/Poetry Month workshop with poet Catherine Doty appeared first on The Writers Circle.

Here’s what Libby told us, in under 100 words, of course!

“Flash fiction s a great place to experiment with form, voice, and to fully explore the expanse of what a story can be. From stories inside of grocery lists to fairy tale retellings, from second-person narratives to the folding of time and memory, flash invites the writer to stretch beyond tradition, beyond their comfort zone. Writing in flash can also teach writers of all genres how to self-edit and distill the beauty of sentences. Where does a story begin, and where is the molten-hot center? What must be said, and what can remain unheard?”

Perhaps the best know flash fiction is the famous six word story attributed to Ernest Hemingway: For Sale: baby shoes, never worn. But flash fiction is so much more. Consider masters like MacArthur Fellow and Man Booker International Prize winner Lydia Davis.

Flash fiction teaches writers to pare down their words to the most incisive and necessary. It focuses on efficiency and the power of a single image to tell a larger tale. There’s so much to learn, even if you plan on writing novels.

Want to give flash a try? Start your short-form journey with Libby’s spring workshop beginning April 22.

• “This class helped me start writing again!”
• “Libby was very informative and covered a wide range of short fiction genres and styles…. The majority of class time was devoted to writing which was great.”
• “It’s a real hands-on workshop, where we wrote in class and outside class. Great discussions, too!”

The post Focus on Flash Fiction: What It Is and What It Can Do for Your Writing appeared first on The Writers Circle.

“Even though I’m teaching, I’ll never stop taking classes with TWC because I believe I’ll never stop learning more about the writing craft,” Palker said. “TWC has been there for my journey.” 

Here, Palker shares how she literally fell into her own funny, what to do when a joke flops, and offers practical advice for delivering a punchline.

How did you get into stand-up comedy?
I registered for the Erma Bombeck Comedy Writing conference in 2024, and entered their stand-up contest called Erma’s Got Talent. I placed as a runner-up, which allowed me to perform in the stand-up show at the conference. The experience was exhilarating. When I returned to New Jersey, I was selected to compete in another comedy contest called Ladies of Laughter, where I performed a set at the South Orange Performing Arts Center. Although I didn’t place as a finalist, I was bitten by the comedy bug. After that, I took a local stand-up class and attended open-mic nights. I thought, why can’t I start my own troupe so I can do this all the time? After all, I started writing and performing in my basement as a kid by forcing my family to be my audience and my cousins to perform my theatrical works. So, I thought, even if it was just family and friends who came, it would just be a grown up version of my basement shows. My mom knew this idea was brewing so she suggested reaching out to the owner of The Vintage Tea in Staten Island, that they should hire The Mom Coms for our first gig. And that’s how we got our start, performing comedy at a tea house, of all places. And our audience included strangers (not just family and friends) who loved the show. Thanks, Mom!

When did you realize/know you were funny?
When I was in 4th grade, I solo tap danced in a school talent show. I flap-ball-changed onto the super slippery stage because there wasn’t any resin for my tap shoes. As I performed, I slid all over the stage and even fell a few times! Embarrassed, I kept a smile glued to my face because quitting in the middle of a performance wasn’t an option in my mind. When I curtsied, the crowd applauded, stood up, and laughed simultaneously. Oddly, my embarrassment dissipated as I realized I made them laugh, even if it was at my own expense. It’s difficult to explain, but I could tell the audience was supportive, and they weren’t laughing in a mean-spirited way. They laughed because they related to the fact that I persevered under the pressure in this absurd situation. I liked making them laugh. Is that twisted?

What’s a common misconception about writing humor?
That it’s easy and/or low-brow.

What advice do you have for writers who might not see themselves as funny or who write about serious subjects?
I believe humor is one of the most complex forms of literary art because it’s difficult to execute. Humor requires timing and the ability to tell a story in the fewest words possible. Because humor often tackles serious subjects with relatability, it is nuanced. If you don’t think you’re funny, but you write about serious subjects well, then you’re equipped to be funny. Everyone is funny! The key is to stop trying to be funny, and just be yourself (or your character). You already possess the expertise. Now you just need to plug in some different techniques to make it work.

How do you handle a joke that flops (IRL or on the page)?
It’s easier when a joke flops on the page than in real life. If it doesn’t work on the page, I can just edit the joke. When a joke falls flat IRL, I have to think in the moment and improvise. Luckily for me, I enjoy the feeling of “falling without a net” on stage. I know, it’s weird. I’ve taken improv classes with The Groundlings and improv rap classes with Freestyle Love Supreme, so I try to employ techniques I’ve learned. One important technique to follow is taking whatever the audience gives you, addressing it instead of rejecting it, and then moving on. But it is easier said than done, and there are times that I’m unable to make it work, I feel awkward, and I move on, admitting to the audience that I’m thrown. 

How can you tell if humor is landing on the page if there’s no audience laughing back?
Sometimes it is hard to tell if humor is landing on the page because you know the joke so well in your mind that you fill in the blanks. But you could be missing an element that connects the reader. Whether it is a small detail, the order in which you present the meat of the humor, or wonky sentence structure, the only way that I’ve found helps is to read the bit to another person. Sometimes I read to my 12-year-old to judge how the joke hits. I need to understand why it is or isn’t working. She doesn’t need to laugh hysterically, but her reaction usually provides clues, and I even ask her questions about the joke. For me, all writing is a collaborative process at some point along the way.

Tell us about some writers who make you laugh and why? Who shapes the way you think about the craft of comedy?
I love Tina Fey. She is hysterical as a writer, comedian, and actress. I loved her memoir, Bossy Pants, because it was so relatable. Some of the books I relate to most simply have humorous moments, even if they are more serious in nature. That’s life, right? I gravitate towards women’s fiction in general because the genre does that well. Jennifer Weiner is The Queen. I fangirled over getting to interview her a few years ago for Literary Mama. I think her work illustrates employing humor but tackling more serious situations. As a comedian, I love Sebastian Maniscalco and his Italian-Jewish subject matter. His life is the male version of mine.

Do you practice humor writing?
Yes. I always practice my writing on a weekly basis. I write essays, work on my novel, and write joke sets all the time. I also keep an ongoing list of situations I encounter that might be funny or could be fleshed out into jokes in my phone’s notes app.

If you had to offer one piece of advice on writing funny, what would it be?
Write humor with a strong P.O.V, a distinct voice, and with detail rather than in generalities. Jokes spring forth from a kernel of truth or something relatable. Practicing these writing skills has made it easier for me to conceive of and deliver jokes that land.

Holly Rizzuto Palker is an award-winning writer and journalist, an editor at Literary Mama, a co-host of the podcast, This Mama is Lit!, a board member and Secretary of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), a former freelance editor at Your Teen Magazine and a mom. She enjoys acting and stand-up comedy. She is the founder, producer and a proud member of The Mom Coms stand-up comedy troupe. Her essays and articles appear in Parents, The New York Daily News, The Independent, Newsday, Literary Mama, Kveller, Huffington Post, Your Teen Magazine, Psycom, and more.

The post This Stand-Up Comic Helps Writers Turn Life Into Laughs appeared first on The Writers Circle.

Literary agent and author Kate McKean, knows what it means to “Write Through It.” At last Sunday’s virtual event, she shared her best advice for managing distractions, insecurities, creative struggles, and publishing uncertainties to keep writing even when life gets in the way.

Kate focused on the importance of creating a “writing practice,” rooted in the necessity to be kinder to yourself. In practice, “There’s room for imperfection. You should mess up. You are not a robot. Practice allows you to discover what you want a writing project to be.”

That gentle, generous advice should bolster all writers, whether they are beginners or published professionals like Kate herself. She tallied the seven books she wrote before she finally got one published. “Practice is failure,” she encouraged. “Practice is play!” As writers, we all need to remember how to play and embrace discovery, even if our work leads nowhere.

Kate also addressed inevitable struggles with imposter syndrome and competition. “Good writing takes time,” she stressed, “and everyone’s pace is different.” It doesn’t matter how many books your writer friends have published.  “Remember, it’s your practice. Eyes on your own page.”

Writing practice is also a kind of self-care, similar to a commitment to regular exercise or meditation. It requires and deserves designated time, but writing shouldn’t add to feelings of guilt or anxiety.

Kate talked about what she called “Magical Writing Math.” Writers often set a goal of, say, 1000 words per day, but beat themselves up if they don’t stick to the plan. “Thinking, planning, reading, and even staring at a wall counts as writing,” Kate said, “even if the word count doesn’t go up.” She also reminded everyone that the work doesn’t stop. “Even if you get a full draft on the 30^th or 80^th day, the work isn’t done. It’s just written.”

The event was especially meaningful as we live through particularly tough times in the world. With so many distractions and so much out of our control, including our personal publishing dreams, learning to “Write Through It” is a valuable lesson for everyone.

Get more great advice from Kate McKean by reading Write It Through: An Insider’s Guide to Publishing and the Creative Life and subscribing to her terrific newsletter, agentsandbooks.com.

The post Kate McKean Teaches Us to Write Through It appeared first on The Writers Circle.

When did you first know you were a writer?
It’s hard to say because it was never necessarily my dream to be a writer like I think it is for most authors. I’ve always been more interested in television and film, and while I wrote a few fanfiction stories as a teenager, I didn’t start writing seriously until my mid-twenties. I’ve always been a creative person and knew I wanted to work in a creative field, but I was just okay at a lot of things and not great at any one of them. At some point, I realized I just needed to pick something and pursue it. Writing felt accessible. All it really takes is a computer, patience, and time. So, I started writing one day, fully expecting it to be another short-lived obsession. Instead, I kept going. Somewhere along the way, I must have fallen in love with it. Since then, writing has felt less like a choice and more like a compulsion. I haven’t been able to stop. I often get fixations like this, but writing has truly been my longest.

What part of writing is the most fun for you? What’s the most challenging?
The most fun part is coming up with ideas. I love that moment when everything starts clicking and you realize you might actually have something worth pursuing. I also love when a detail that seems random or insignificant ends up tying the whole story together in a way that feels inevitable.

The most challenging part is when you see a scene so clearly in your mind and you just can’t articulate it in a way that does it justice. It takes a lot of drafts and a lot of tweaking and rewriting, but eventually it does get there.

Where do you get your ideas? What inspires you?
My inspiration tends to come from very random places. Rules for Rule Breaking started with a comment from my best friend. She said she wanted to read a story about the two most boring people imaginable. That’s how Bobby and Winter came to be. They start out as painfully school-focused rule followers. I wanted to tell a story about regular teens figuring things out in a way that suited their personalities, which led naturally to the idea of them breaking obscure, antiquated state laws.

My second novel, Solo Stan, came from an Agust D concert. For those unfamiliar with K-pop, Agust D is also known as SUGA or Min Yoongi of BTS. The morning of the concert, I decided to upgrade my seats and sold my original tickets. Two different people bought them, and based on where the seats were, I knew they were both going alone. I became obsessed. Where were they now? Were they dating? Best friends? Married? Enemies? That curiosity turned into a story.

Ghosted (coming in November 2026) came from a joke. A friend had been ghosted after a date, and I jokingly told him he should ghost the guy back and haunt his house. It spiraled from there.

I’m inspired by conversations, history, art, music, culture, my friends, trips I’ve taken. Really, anything. I’m the kind of person who knows a ton of useless facts, and as a writer, you actually get to use a lot of them.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I used to be a hardcore plotter. I planned everything down to chapter word counts and individual beats. Now, I work from a loose outline and figure things out as I go. Part of that shift is deadlines. I’ve learned to approach drafts with the mindset that they don’t need to be perfect, they just need to be done. I can always fix things later. I also think it comes with experience. I can feel story beats in a way I couldn’t before, and I’m much less precious about killing my darlings. If I pants my way into a corner and have to cut a lot, it doesn’t devastate me the way it used to.

Tell us about your process. Where and when do you write?
I mostly write using dictation, then go back and clean it up at the keyboard. You generally speak faster than you type, and dictation helps me get out of my own way instead of constantly editing as I go. I also make a lot of voice notes. I get my best ideas while driving, so I’ll record them and transcribe them later. I jot things down in my notes app whenever inspiration strikes, and I sometimes write directly on my phone. If it feels like I’m texting a friend, the pressure disappears, and the words come more freely. I’m sort of never not writing. But when I do sit down to focus, I start at my desk until I get tired of being upright, then move to bed with awkward T-rex arms over my keyboard. I always have water, sometimes an iced coffee, but I don’t usually snack. I like saving snacks for break time.

How do you get unstuck or motivate yourself to write?
I rely on small tricks. Dictation, writing on my phone, changing font colors, and changing locations can all help. When I’m really stuck on a plot point, I’ll ask a friend to read my draft. Usually, I just need fresh eyes or a little distance. Powering through isn’t always the solution, although sometimes it is. A lot of the time, the block has less to do with writing and more to do with my own health. It usually means I’m burnt out and need to take a few days off.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?
I’m a chronic underwriter. I tend to move quickly and don’t always sit with emotional beats long enough. I was advised to slow down and consider whether I’m starting my stories in the right place. Sometimes that means backing up and beginning earlier in a character’s timeline. Readers often connect more deeply with the smaller, quieter moments than with the big flashy ones, and that advice completely changed how I approach my work.

What have you learned from teaching writing?
I’ve learned that imposter syndrome never really goes away. It doesn’t matter whether you’re just starting out, or you’ve published multiple books. Writing is not something you ever fully master, and you have to be comfortable remaining a student forever.

What do you think all writers can learn from romance writing?
There’s a lot of elitism around romance as a genre, even though it consistently outsells almost everything else. I think writing romance teaches writers not to believe they are better than their readers. Romance centers on vulnerability and emotional honesty in a way that some genres don’t, which is why readers become so invested in romance books.

There’s a little embarrassment that comes with the romance genre, whether writing it or reading it. I think it’s similar to the embarrassment of admitting you have a crush. When you really think about it, why is it embarrassing to admit you like someone? Love is universal. That’s why I’m so glad the romance community is what it is now. It’s a point of pride rather than something to stealth-read in private.

As for what romance can teach you as a writer, even if you never plan to be a romance writer, trying it as a writing exercise can be incredibly helpful. The story generally follows the emotional arc of your characters, so it challenges you to treat them as fully realized people rather than just vehicles for plot.

What are you working on now?
I can’t seem to stop writing about ghosts. I’m currently working on a few projects involving Jamaican and Korean mythical creatures and spirits, and I hope they’ll see the light of day eventually.

My young adult, paranormal revenge comedy, Ghosted, will be released on November 10, 2026. It follows an eighteen-year-old boarding school student with a bad attitude, worse manners, and a sleep paralysis demon named Steve. After being ghosted by a boy she meets at her favorite food truck, she decides to ghost him back, literally. Armed with blackmail-worthy information, an impressive amount of spite, and help from a cute girl across the quad, she sets out to scare him so badly he’ll never step foot on campus again.

About Talia Tucker
Talia Tucker (she/her) is a young adult author who has spent her life investigating how identities shift and change between geographies, time, and cultures. Her Jamaican and Korean heritages inspire her to build worlds highlighting multiracial, queer, and neurodivergent characters of color within narratives that emphasize joy, something not typically centered in marginalized stories. She enjoys writing about messy women, soft boys, family, food, and trying to navigate the world as a child of multiple cultures. You can find her on Instagram @taliatuck and on her website www.talia-tucker.com.

The post How a YA Romance Author Fell in Love with Writing appeared first on The Writers Circle.

Writers came from across suburban New Jersey – from Madison, Montclair, West Orange, as far away as Princeton – to gather together for The Writers Circle’s inaugural Winter Solstice Candlelight Write on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. 

They spent the darkest night of the year nestled in the cozy surroundings of The Nature of Reading Bookshop, in the warmth of community and the glow of electric candlelight. 

And they wrote. 

TWC Founder and Director Judith Lindbergh offered solstice-inspired prompts, including music and readings of poems by Wendell Berry, Nikki Giovanni, Margaret Atwood, Mary Oliver, and others. 

Writers wrote freely what moved them, meditating on themes of darkness and light, as well as traditions, myths, and rituals associated with the Winter Solstice around the world.

“Let us pull back and inward to write into the darkness,” Lindbergh shared. “Find the still, small place that is the heart, where the spark of new brilliance must rest and regenerate before it can flame bright again.”

After the prompts, some writers volunteered to share what they’d created, including observations of the season, personal experiences, and poetry. In fact, one participant said that they wrote a poem for the very first time.

The sold-out event was a peaceful respite from the hurriedness of the season, a time for sharing, reflection, and connection, with sparkling apple cider, festive sweets, and a chance to linger among the books in this wonderful local bookshop. 

The Writers Circle wishes everyone, near and far, a peaceful and inspiring holiday season as we wait together for the light’s return in 2026.

The Shortest Day (Excerpt)
By Susan Cooper 

So the shortest day came, and the year died, 

And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world

Came people singing, dancing, 

To drive the dark away.

The post Writers Light the Darkest Night with Words appeared first on The Writers Circle.

When did you first know you were a writer?
Oh, I was late to the self-awareness game. I was a huge reader as a kid, and always writing – in journals, letters to friends, a ton of poetry and song writing. But I didn’t write with serious intent until I turned 30 and took a few classes on a lark. And somehow never stopped again

What part of writing is the most fun for you (or the most challenging)?
I love writing with a strong sense of place, a story that simply couldn’t happen anywhere other than where it does happen. I am inspired by traveling and by the world at large, so in the fiction that I write and read, I love to experience a new atmosphere and learn about landscapes and cultures not my own.

Where do you get your ideas? What inspires you?
When I was young I assumed that I couldn’t be a writer because I didn’t have any ideas. I really thought that people woke up one day with full blown novels in their minds and just sat down to transcribe them. One of the most freeing things I’ve learned is that, for many writers, you simply sit down and get to work, and only then do you surprise yourself into having an idea. That’s certainly how it works for me!

Are you a plotter or a panster? (Meaning, Do you plan your story out in advance, or do you write by the seat of your pants?)
Well, in my first drafts I am 100 percent making it up as I go. But once I bump into a few ideas and get my arms around them, I go back in and methodically re-orient the work around that idea to bulk it up. So maybe a little bit of both?

Tell us about your writing process.
I write in the early mornings before my family wakes up and starts their day. Without fail on the same spot on the same green couch with a cup of coffee on the windowsill, and these days, a dog named Daisy sprawled on my legs. I could not possibly write with music playing; zero chance. Not even classical. And while I tend to write on a laptop the most, I do start the mornings handwriting in a notebook, and switch to digital when my hand gets tired.  

How do you get unstuck or motivate yourself to write?
The only way to get unstuck is to get over yourself and get something, anything done. It’s the same with running or with any kind of exercise – the longer you go without doing it, the harder it is to begin again. I remind myself that I am only ever 30 minutes away from being someone that wrote today or ran today – it’s much easier to just get the work done, than to sit around and stress about not doing it.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you ever got?
A beloved teacher from my MFA program, Joan Wickersham, told me once that any writer who claims to know what they are doing when they’re drafting their work is either lying to you or lying to themselves. It was the most comforting thing she could have said, and greatly permission-giving to a person who always feels at sea in the work.  

What have you learned from teaching writing?
I started teaching writing during the pandemic, when I was on a furlough from my day job in the travel industry. I was so frightened before that first Zoom class – what did I know about writing, anyway? But not until I began to teach did I understand how much I really had learned over the prior decade of community classes and graduate school and early mornings at the laptop, and that I did have something to offer. And yet all the same there is always more to learn, and who better to open your mind to new styles, voices, and life experiences than your students? They profoundly inspire me.

What are you working on now?
I just finished up a short story so now I’m back to work on a novel that’s been plaguing me for ages now. Ever closer, though!

April Darcy‘s latest fiction can be found in Water~Stone Review and in Shenandoah, where she received the Shenandoah River Fiction Prize. Her nonfiction can be found in Cutleaf and in North American Review, where she was a finalist for the Torch Nonfiction Prize. She has received fellowships from Writing by Writers, the Napa Valley Writers Conference, and BookEnds at Southampton Arts of Stony Brook University. She is the recipient of a 2020 Elizabeth George Foundation grant, and a 2022 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, both in support of a novel in progress. 

The post April Darcy on the Simple Reminder That Motivates Her to Write appeared first on The Writers Circle.

I don’t love driving the carpool.

I don’t care for stinky cleats or the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack. I’m exhausted by the endless loops to soccer practice and dance lessons, which are cosmically aligned with dinner-time, siblings’ activities, and work calls. I’m also directionally challenged and easily unnerved by drivers who mistake the Garden State Parkway for a Formula 1 racetrack. 

But mostly, driving the carpool means countless hours not writing. You can’t make progress on a novel when you’re searching for a turf field your GPS can’t locate. Or can you?

Good news: Driving the carpool is not a detour from your craft, it’s a Master Class in characterization. 

Think about it. In what other circumstance would your tween or teen willingly permit you to sit in close proximity to their friends and teammates and eavesdrop? 

Next time you’ve got a gaggle of kids climbing into your SUV, listen. Listen to their word choice, tone, and cadence. Study their style of speaking and attempts at humor. Do they repeat what their friends say or phrases they learned from a video game? Stretch their vowels? Abbreviate words? Do they speak in lowercase voices or ALL CAPS? Are they bashful or full of bravado?  

Listen to the rhythm of their speech–the patterns, pauses, and punchlines. 

Listen to the way they razz each other: “Bro, I found your sister on Snap. She’s cute.” 

Or bait each other: “Don’t you think So-and-So is kind of annoying?” 

Or offer support: “Girl, you did AH-MAZING.” 

Or forget there’s an adult in the car, whisper feverishly so you can’t hear, or stare at their phone. 

Silence speaks, too. 

Maybe author Judith Viorst was driving the carpool when she wrote her classic picture book, Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day: “I said I was being scrunched. I said I was being smushed. I said, if I don’t get a seat by the window I am going to be carsick. No one even answered.”

Her protagonist didn’t want to sit in the middle seat. What about yours? 

Indeed, bad days and good ones can be studied by watching body language and mannerisms in the rearview mirror. Notice the kid sulking or the one talking over everyone else, spilling Gatorade all over your upholstery. The kid who never takes out their earbuds, or the one comforted by the blue light of their device. 

Pay attention to the way your kid changes the Spotify playlist to save their peers from your mortifying taste in music, or how they cringe when you dare to make small talk. 

Caution: There will be a vibe shift when you speak. “So, how’s school going this year?” 

Can you hear your kid’s internal monologue? Ugh, Mom. Puh-lease stop talking.  

Does their pal reply with a mumble or full sentence? Talking to grown-ups can be “legit awkward,” but some kids are gifted at it or know the script: “Thank you for the ride!”

At a recent Writers Circle workshop, author Carol Goodman suggested one way busy writers can find time to work, even when not at their desk, is to set an intention to think about the project while doing other tasks – folding laundry, going for a walk, commuting. This seemed doable. So I set my intention to listen during carpool, then translate what I heard to the page. 

I took it a step further with a side-writing exercise, putting the characters of my middle grade novel-in-progress into a carpool setting. It was clarifying to think about who sat where, what they would say, how they’d say it, and to whom. This exercise can extend to older characters, too. Put your fictional grown-ups together in an airport van or an Uber, and see what unfolds. 

My journalism training taught me to listen for a pull quote, those sentences that pop or distill the heart of someone’s statements. I use that same skill to write quotes for fictional characters (making them up instead of transcribing them). I think deeply about what they’d say in any given situation, then try to give them a voice that’s uniquely their own.  

So next time your kid says, “Hey, Mom, can you give some of the guys a ride?” or the TeamSnap app says you’ll be heading to a tournament in Pennsylvania, don’t despair. Buckle up, tune into the words and actions around you, and proceed to the route. Your best writing may be up ahead.  

Erin Madigan White has worked for The Associated Press, TIME, Fortune, and for non-profit and arts organizations. She holds an MFA from VCFA, loves writing middle grade, and teaches creative writing for kids at The Writers Circle. She wrote this essay while waiting in a parking lot on her carpool night.  

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