Talking About Care and Craft With Bryan Washington

Welcome to I Have Notes, a newsletter featuring essays, advice, notes on writing, and more. This is a free edition, but Atlantic subscribers get access to all posts. Past editions you might enjoy include You Do Not Always Have to Say Yes, How to Organize Your Writing Ideas, A Comforting Apocalyptic Story to Ring in the New Year, and A Choice in Name Only. To support my work and gain access to my full newsletter archive, subscribe to The Atlantic here. And you can always send any thoughts or questions to ihavenotes@theatlantic.com.

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When I launched this newsletter, I knew that I wanted to hold space for conversations about how we can pursue writing, publishing, and other creative goals without losing compassion for ourselves. In the years when any writing I wanted to do was relegated, by necessity, to the margins of my life, I often felt that I could do my best work only by sacrificing other needful things—whether that meant sleep or meals, healing or recharging time. But the strain and grief of the last few years has forced a kind of recalibration, and I’ve been slowly learning that I can’t do the work I want to do if I approach it as though I’m a machine. The importance of treating yourself humanely has found its way into every class I teach, every writing talk I give; I think of it as an essential aspect of creative work, as important as any craft discussion.

I know I’m not alone in this—when I talk with friends and fellow writers, we frequently find ourselves considering questions of care alongside those of craft, and so I thought it might be helpful (and fun!) to share some of those conversations with you here. Up first is my friend , award-winning author of and , who I got to know while editing several of his for magazine. He’s, and teaching creative writing at Rice University (and you’ll soon be able to read his in as well). He’s one of my favorite authors, and while he’s as busy as any writer I know, he is also someone whose generosity is a model for me and for many. I’m grateful that he took the time to chat with me over Zoom about the questions that animate his writing, his approach to teaching, the ways in which he tries to advocate for himself and the needs of his work, and how his community informs his creative process and priorities.