jywo
Motivation and Intention as a Writer
“‘This is your heritage,’ he said, as if from this dance we could know about his own childhood, about the flavor and grit of tenement buildings in Spanish Harlem, and projects in Red Hook, and dance halls, and city parks, and about his own Paps, how he
Other Moons
Writing is something that happens in phases, but so too is the way we accept it. I’ll explain. When I write I feel all at once captivated and captive, held and hurt, lost and loved.
Movies: It’s All in the Writing
Engaging with different artforms is a great way to generate new material.
The Purr
For a long time I’ve described writing as trying to move a wall by pounding it with my head. But now it’s harder. I am productivity’s kryptonite. I feel incorporeal (despite the pain and sickness grounding me to my body in small eternities).
Flash Fiction Crash Course
Flash fiction and short stories are two forms of short fiction storytelling. Flash fiction differs from short stories in numerous ways, though what those differences are depends mostly on who you ask. The primary difference between the two is length.
Tapping Into Non Traditional Sources of Knowledge
One of my earliest creative writing teachers was Yasiin Bey. Not in any classroom, mind you. I was near obsessed with his rhyme patterns and the imagery in his raps. I would sit in my room and play the Blackstar album on repeat.
2 Black Girl Magic Books, 2 Prompts
We finally have more books with Black girls on the cover, yay! Here are two Black girl magic books that came out this year that I’m loving. Have fun and try out the prompts inspired by each book.
Painting, Letters & Displacement
Write an abecedarian after Evie Shockley’s “tonight i saw” poem. Focus on an image that inspires you.
Inspiration in the Everyday
People often think of writing as a mystical exercise: A writer sits down in solitude and selects a pen, smooths a sheet of pristine paper, and spills out prose or poetry from a place of secret inspiration.
On the Art of Exercising Words into Poems
Like how the moon has many phases and faces, the poet too has fluctuating moments of creativity. So, whenever a low tide comes to shore and poems need to be written, writing prompts become a go-to solution.