The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience

How NY Times Bestselling Author Jami Attenberg Writes

Jan 12, 2024

Jami Attenberg, NY Times bestselling author, discusses documenting the writer's process, building a literary movement, and her latest writer's guide featuring essays from acclaimed authors. They explore topics such as the importance of writing, retirement savings, unique cover design, book structure, and author newsletters.

35:19

Episode guests

Jami Attenberg

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Quick takeaways

The 1000 Words of Summer movement encourages writers to generate new work and has grown into a supportive community of over 35,000 subscribers.

Jami Attenberg's book '1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round' provides valuable insights on embracing the messy first draft, finding accountability, and celebrating accomplishments in the writing process.

Deep dives

The Origins of 1,000 Words of Summer

Jamie Attenberg, a New York Times bestselling author, shares the story of how her literary movement, 1,000 Words of Summer, began. It all started when she and a friend challenged themselves to write a thousand words a day for two weeks. Jamie posted about it online, and people showed interest in the challenge. She started a newsletter, which grew from 2,000 subscribers to nearly 35,000. The movement encourages writers to generate new work, and Jamie emphasizes the positive impact writing can have on one's life.

Introduction

2min

The Art of Being a Writer

9min

Various Topics: Retirement Savings, New Music, Writer's Guide, and Online Organization

2min

Exploring the Origin and Collaboration Behind a Book's Cover Design

2min

The Structure and Content of a Book

15min

Discussion on Newsletters and Paid Subscriber Projects

2min

New York Times bestselling author, Jami Attenberg, spoke with me about documenting the process of being a writer online and off, building a global literary movement, and her latest, 1000 Words: A Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All-Year Round.

Jami Attenberg is the New York Times bestselling author of seven books of fiction, including The Middlesteins, All Grown Up, and her recent memoir, I Came All This Way to Meet You. Her work has been published in 16 languages, she is the founder of the annual #1000WordsofSummer project and maintains the popular Craft Talk newsletter.

Jami Attenberg’s latest is 1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round. “Inspired by [her] wildly popular literary movement #1000WordsofSummer, this writer’s guide features encouraging essays on creativity, productivity, and writing from [over 50] acclaimed authors including Roxane Gay, Lauren Groff, Celeste Ng, Meg Wolitzer, and Carmen Maria Machado.”

Lit Hub said of the book, “It will be the new Bird by Bird, you heard it here first.” A Booklist, Starred Review called it “A fantastic set of essays… Readers of this collection will feel surrounded and bolstered by like-minded people who have been in the trenches.”

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In this file Jami Attenberg and I discussed:

The blessing and the curse of knowing you’re a writer

How she built an online writing community into a literary movement

Her tongue-in-cheek approach to the craft

The reason she uses the seasons as a metaphor for writers

How to harness the power of write-alongs

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

JamiAttenberg.com

1000wordsofsummer.substack.com