Inspiration
My Favorite Essay
I return to this essay each spring, scattering my ink under Eliot’s. I remember Dr. Evans’s shock at my love for Eliot. It seemed incongruent with my love of Mark Twain and Steinbeck and all of those early loves who stole my heart with strong voices. Eliot employs voice differently than fiction writers, and for me, the voice of “Tradition and the Individual Talent” feels like the canon itself is speaking, directly to me, as if I am the recipient of a love letter from literature itself. When Wally (Dr. Evans) referred to Eliot (and Emerson and Hume) as stuffy old bastards, it was my turn to react with shock. I’m sure I looked at him like he had three heads or a tuba growing out of one ear. I feel an intimacy when I read Eliot. “Journey of the Magi” brought me to tears the first time I read it.
By Harper Lewisabout 6 hours ago in Writers
Mark Twain: The Man Who Lived, Laughed, and Witnessed America’s Transformations
Have you ever wondered what it was like to grow up along the Mississippi River during a time when America was transforming faster than anyone could imagine? Meet Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain—a boy from a small Missouri town who rose from modest beginnings to become one of the greatest storytellers the world has ever known. Twain didn’t just write stories; he captured the soul of a nation, observing both its humor and its heartbreak with a sharp, unforgettable voice.
By Haroon Pashaa day ago in Writers
The Accidental Novelist
I never intended to write a novel. But I did. And HarperCollins published it. Titled The Gorgeous Girls, it was based on a number of pieces I'd written for Toronto's NOW magazine. They appeared in NOW's feature, Naked City, which was all about love and sex.
By Marie Wilson3 days ago in Writers
Fading Ink
The box was never meant to be opened. It had lived quietly on the highest shelf of my childhood closet, taped at the corners, labeled in my own looping handwriting: “Important — Do Not Throw Away.” I used to think anything I labeled important would remain that way forever.
By Jhon smith3 days ago in Writers
Alone in the Jungle
The canopy is so dense that it suffocates all light. I am slashing through the dense boscage to get to the light, but I don’t know which way to go, or if I will ever get out of the forest. This jungle feels often filled with peril, and lonely. I came to this tangle of vines, underbrush, and unknown unfamiliar territory, with a dream, a goal, a determination. I planned and still plan to reach the end of the primeval and reach the inner sanctum of a place that is not easily traversed. I am a writer, and I want to write as a career.
By Alexandra Grant3 days ago in Writers
letters never meant to be sent
Some words live inside us for years. They sit quietly in the heart, waiting for a moment that never comes. Not every feeling finds its way into conversation. That is where letters never meant to be sent begin — as private conversations with ourselves.
By shaoor afridi4 days ago in Writers
Why You Keep Quitting Right Before It Gets Good
There’s a cruel pattern most people don’t notice about their own lives: they quit right before things start to work. Not at the beginning, when it’s obviously hard. Not at the end, when success is visible. They quit in the middle—the awkward, quiet stretch where effort hasn’t paid off yet, progress feels slow, and motivation has evaporated. This is the valley where dreams go to die. And it’s not because people are weak. It’s because the middle messes with your head.
By Fred Bradford5 days ago in Writers
This Writing Trend Is Making Teenagers Rich in the US
A quiet revolution is happening across the United States. It’s not in Silicon Valley boardrooms or Wall Street trading floors. It’s happening in bedrooms, dorm rooms, and coffee shops, where teenagers are typing on laptops and smartphones and earning money that many adults only dream about.
By Sathish Kumar 6 days ago in Writers
