How to Motivate Yourself to Write When No One Else Will: A Q&A With Bestselling Author Jami Attenberg

Her '1,000 Words' movement has galvanized writers around the globe. The prolific novelist—and judge for our 2024 Memoir Prize!—talks about being an inspirational cheerleader for writers.

Collage by Yunuen Bonaparte

Has there ever been a better time to believe in the power of the pep talk? Currently on my nightstand (in addition to the novel I’m reading, a few next-reads, plus this mango-shaped lotion I’m obsessed with) are two hardcovers that serve as motivational pick-me-ups. I took Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning, Gnight! Little Pep Talks for Me & You out of the library in, err, early November, and it’s been grounding to read before I start my day or right before I go to bed; and

Jami Attenberg

’s 1,000 Words, which has been there for even longer, is a book I dip into whenever I need a writerly atta girl, a push to keep going, or sometimes (many times), the assurance that if I’m having the kind of day, week, month, where I’m not as productive as I’d like to be, that’s fine too.

In 2018, Jami, already well-known for her complex and vivid novels (she’s written seven!), birthed what became an extremely popular literary movement, #1000WordsofSummer, inspiring writers, and herself, to writ…