Blackbird ArchiveTracking the Muse
Since 2007 we have invited contributors featured in our annual Introductions Loop to comment on their creative process. This year, Caleb Braun, Catharina Coenen, Colby Cotton, Patricia García Luján, Simon Shieh, and Lena Fultz step up to the task.
Poet Caleb Braun reflects on how movement and shifting inspiration shape his writing process.
FeaturesWhose Story, Whose SkinEssayist Catharina Coenen reflects on her drive to write her grandmother's WWII-era life story and the ethics of imaginative nonfiction.
FeaturesPerpetual BeginningPoet Colby Cotton describes his elusive relationship to drafting and memory in the writing process.
FeaturesWrite It Down—NowWriter Patricia García Luján describes using her phone's Notes app to capture fleeting story ideas and images.
FeaturesFrom Anger to ForgivenessAn essay on masculinity, patriarchy, and white supremacy as the writer confronts an abusive father figure.
FeaturesThe Story as WindowFiction writer Lena Fultz discusses how coming-of-age moments and a child's perspective shape her stories.