| Center for Creative Writing

The Center blog is teeming with tips and inspiration for starting and maintaining your writing practice.

dark photo of a single pillar candle behind an open book with a pen resting on it, via Canva

Survival is owning our stories

Making art matters, and writing is an act of survival.

beyond a book review_uncertain futures in how high we go in the dark, purple text over lightened image of an open book

Beyond a Book Review: The uncertain futures of How High We Go in the Dark

Sequoia Nagamatsu's How High We Go In the Dark, is an exploration of hope when humanity uncovers an ancient virus that threatens its existence.

closeup of three woodland sunflowers which people often view as weeds

Photo writing prompt contest: July '24

One person’s weed is another person’s wildflower.

Helena Writes, Helena Clare Pittman's monthly Center column on her writing life

Nonfiction: Helena Writes #67--On the sounds that anchor memories

Helena Clare Pittman, one of the Center’s most dedicated teachers, has written, painted, and taught her entire life. In her monthly Helena Writes series, she shares a lifetime of wisdom, one pearl at a time.

In her 67th post, Helena recalls some of the sounds of the old Brooklyn building that was her first adult home. Enjoy!

on deck with Ten intuitive imagery prompts for writers_text over a deck of colorful cards fanned out

On Deck: Tarot reading for writers June ‘24

Teneice Durrant, creator of Tarot with Ten, will use various tarot and oracle decks to provide monthly readings for writers, with exercises on using imagery and intuition as prompts. June’s prompt is about using the energy of the summer solstice to generate a story explaining why days grow shorter.

Solstice celebrations across cultures

Thursday, June 20, marks the Summer Solstice and the beginning of Cancer season. This month, I thought we’d take a break from exploring and developing the different types of literary conflicts to celebrate the longest day of the year.

5 reading recs for PRIDE month '24

June is Pride month. At the Center, we stand with the LGBTQIA community this month and every month, because dignity is being able to live and belong as you are, trans rights matter, and love is love.

This Pride month, we encourage you to buy books by LGBTQIA authors from LGBTQIA-owned bookstores. As always, Bookshop.org is an invaluable resource for both; unless otherwise noted, all book links in this post lead to Bookshop.org, where your purchases support independent bookstores across the U.S.

Here is Bookshop’s complete PRIDE 2024 curated list (plus 15% discount code through June 30), with some of our favorite recent releases in more detail below.