Writing-Related Top Five

1. Walking among Redwoods
2. Talking poems with each other
3. Understanding why students don’t understand the power of writing
4. Trying to give yourself license to live in that power
5. Appreciating words

— Tereza Joy Kramer

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Writing-Related Top Five

1. Salinger-Heller-Vonnegut-Bellow and Pynchon.
2. breasts, asses, crotches, lips and eyes.
3. clouds-wind-rain-snow and sun.
4. child, boy, girl, woman and man.
5. smile, talk, tears, heal and peace.

— Michael Martin

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Top Five Favorite Places to Write
(in no particular order)

1. In the grocery store parking lot
2. In the movie theater before the movie begins
3. On the stretching mat at the gym
4. In my part-time, yellow-walled office, with two friends, during our weekly hour of writing time
5. In bed.

— Claire Guyton

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Writing-Related Top Five

1. Black Pilot G-2 0.38 Ultra Fine
2. The Guide to Literary Agents
3. @ChuckSambuchino
4. Writer’s Digest
5. WinningWriters.com

— Leah Angstman

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My Top 5 Favorite Words

1. avuncular
2. callipygian
3. ostensibly
4. tusk
5. sesquipedalian

— Leslianne Wilder

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Top Five Reasons I Have Fun Submitting My Work

1. It’s more enjoyable than doing my taxes.
2. When I hit the submit button; I like to imagine my story going out on a wild and daring adventure through the jungle of the Internet. The adventure ends, of course, with my story being devoured by a crocodile.
3. It’s impossible for me to find the obvious typos in my story until after I submit then. Having a bad editing process is better than having no editing process!
4. Now that I’m married, I miss the thrill of being turned down for dates; sending my stories out is a weakly acceptable substitute.
5. In all honesty, I’ve never really meant to submit a story. But my cat has figured out my laptop password, and I think she hates me.

— Tzu-Mainn Chen

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The Top Five Reasons He Continues Writing

1. Marc feels writing is inside him. It is his vocation. Although it hasn’t made him much money, he feels like it is something he can do quite well; better than other careers anyway.
2. He enjoys creating pieces of work. It makes him feel artistic and creative: worthwhile.
3. Finished writing is real. It has been created. Good work can even seem to have a spirit. It will last for a long time, like other physical creations. It may even outlast the writer.
4. Writing inspires Marc to continue experiencing and learning. If he wasn’t going to write about his experiences and thoughts Marc might not do half as much as he does; he would surely retreat into television addiction.
5. Marc is emulating his writing heroes, such as Jack Kerouac and Paul Theroux, and feels a part of the current writing community. He hopes that his writing will be enjoyed in the same way as his favourite authors have entertained and informed him.’

— Marc Latham

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My top five list of anything related to writing, or
positions my cats assume while I write

1. Gravity-enhanced notebook nap
2. Pen is evil attack mode
3. Utter boredom look of disdain
4. Meal reminder meow
5. Laptop furbody warmer

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Writing-Related Top Five

1. If you do not allow yourself to write badly, you will never write well.
2. If you ask for criticism on your writing, don’t be upset or defensive if it is critical.
3. Inspiration, like puberty, goes away when you reach adulthood.
4. Like Voodoo and the Occult, Writer’s Block is only true if you believe in it. If you don’t, it ain’t.
5. If you don’t know what to write, keep writing.

(from “Murphy’s Laws for Writers“)

— Peter Murphy

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Writing-Related Top Five

1. Images are the sprinkles on the donut memoir.
2. Sometimes I’m writing and I know I’m wronging but that’s ok because I’m learning.
3. I write it down so I don’t forget it. But when I come back to it I forgot I ever thought that. Writing is a way to erase what’s in my head.
4. Each day I get up, shower, eat, write, then #2 only when I’ve written enough for the day. This leads to not enough and too much constipation.
5. Quiet writing doesn’t sell, but we couldn’t write without its negative space.

— Benjamin Vogt

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