1000 Words of Summer 2026 - Day 10

Because you have been practicing.

If you are just joining us, here is the FAQ. Yes, technically, you have missed the beginning but also you can absolutely start now, you can start writing whenever you like. It is never too late to begin.

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Hi friends.

Today you will write 1000 words. Because you are sharp and focused and ready to go now. You have been honing your skills for the last ten days. When you touch down on the page you know what you need to do. Because you have been practicing. That’s how it works: we get better at our craft because we practice. And now, at this moment, we can see that the work is paying off. Today you will fucking fly. One thousand words at a time.

I’m ridiculously proud of you if you’ve made it this far. You’re nearly there. Let’s get this thing done.

We are also still trying to cross that finish line on our fundraising goals. Subscribe, venmo or read more about it here. I will tell you that I do all this to encourage and support you and because I love this community, but also…I really want to raise that money for charity. So if you can, please consider it.

Today’s contributing writer is the poet, essayist, and thinker Camonghne Felix. I’ve always thought of Camonghne as ahead of her time. Her absolutely stunning poetry debut Build Yourself a Boat was long-listed for the National Book Award in Poetry and shortlisted for the Lambda Awards, and she is also the author of Dyscalculia: A Love Story of Epic Miscalculation, which Raven Leilani called, “A frank exploration of pleasure, heartbreak, and reclamation.” She is a professor of writing at The New School. Here is a poem of hers I like, and here is another one. (It is always good to start your day with a poem.)

Her latest book is Let the Poets Govern: A Declaration of Freedom, which Publishers Weekly, in a starred review, called, “an evocative mix of literary analysis and memoir exploring language’s role in oppression and how it can be repurposed as a tool of liberation.” From this excerpt about language as resistance, I extracted this prompt: “In my classrooms, especially in my poetry workshops, I ask my students to write a sonnet for the end of the world.” A prompt for you today, if you need one. (I suggest you read the whole piece when you have time to see where she lands with her thinking.)

Camonghne has asked that her charitable donation go to the Sudanese American Physicians Association. Today she offers us clear-headed advice on one simple act to inspire writing.

“In my teens, Union Square Park in New York City was a gathering spot for young poets and rappers, where we’d go to read, write, and perform together. We’d sit on the steps and pass books around like spliffs (there were actual spliffs too) and it was all intuitive: we knew that there was value in educating each other. Ambitious and committed, we taught ourselves how to read rigorously in order to discover and then pass on some new lessons or obsessions to others in the group. We shared books and read books to each other that we’d never encountered in school which gave us the permission to read widely, to read works we could barely understand. This was the most important lesson of my career: we learned that to be good writers, we’d first have to become good readers. We saw the results each week in workshops. We could see ourselves getting better, impressing each other.

Students often ask me about how to get around writing blocks, how to make routines, and how to remain productive. I always say ‘read.’ It is the only piece of advice I can offer confidently, because it is the only advice that has ever made sense to me. There is no replacement for the act of reading, and the kind of freedom it gives you. For every writer, reading is an act of authority, an act of rigorous self-actualization, an act of youthful discovery, and it will always do something for your productivity, even if it’s just a couple of moments to think with yourself, and then there’s the magic of thinking with others. Reading in community with others, especially other writers, helps to establish rubrics. When you and the people in your community are able to understand each other’s interests and inspirations, you become better workshop partners.

My teen self is probably frustrated with my adult self because I’m likely less well-read and productive than I used to be. But I don’t panic because I know the way back to my work. I remember to charge my battery and go back to being young and curious about what could be out there. Writing blocks and productivity slumps are normal. But sometimes you should challenge the impulse to just ‘wait for it to pass.’ Find a sunny spot and a book you’ve been meaning to read, send the undone poem to your friend, and remember the cliche but reliable formula: read (widely), learn (together), think (hard) and then get to it.”

Let’s get to it.

Jami

You are reading Craft Talk, the home of #1000wordsofsummer from May 30-June 12, and, year-round, a weekly newsletter about writing from Jami Attenberg. I’m also on bluesky and instagram.