How to actually sit down and write a book (Rebroadcast)

WAMU 88.5 | By Haili Blassingame

Published April 9, 2024 at 2:25 PM EDT

A woman reads a book in a store in Beijing.

Imagine you’re at a desk staring at a blank document on your computer. You’ve written zero words, but your goal is to write…70,000. The days go by. Days become months, months become years, but you’re no closer to that word-count goal.

This probably sounds like a nightmare to some of you. But for others, this nightmare is the only way to attain their dream. If you’ve ever wanted to write a book, you probably relate to this.

Writer Jami Attenberg understands this feeling, too. It’s why shestarted 1,000 Words of Summer in 2018. It’s an online community that convenes for two weeks in June to write 1,000 words a day.

Jami’s new book is inspired by this community. It’s called,“1,000 Words: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round.” It includes letters from her and over 50 seasoned writers on how to do the work when it’s the last thing you want to do.

We speak with Jami and two other writers, Isaac Fitzgerald and Deesha Philyaw, about how they do what they do–and how you can too.