Dear Geist,

Is there any such thing as a natural writer? If so, I’m not one of them, even though I spend almost all of my free time reading books and attending classes and showing up at readings and turning myself inside-out struggling with a piece of writing. Then someone in my group reads a little poem that just came to them that evening and it’s a knockout. I’ve seen it happen more than once, but it never happens to me.

—Clio in Wonderland

Dear Clio,

We’ve never met a writer of the sort you describe, although we have seen brilliant single pieces on pages, or flashes being read in public, presumably because they are the writer’s most impressive work. As far as we know, there is no shortcut to brilliant writing, and by now you know that you must love the work itself, in all its maddening glory.

We assume that you’re reading widely, as well as in your genre, and scrutinizing your reading as you go. You might try reading something different, and/or playing music that gives you fresh thoughts. For a refresher, look at the short prose to be found in ordinary letters, including emails and scrawled notes left on the kitchen table, or slipped into library books.

But whatever you do, stay on course with your core projects and adventures, even if you have to take breaks. They may be exasperating at times, but you are the only one who knows them.

—The Editors