I can’t isolate a single ‘aha’ moment. I felt I was always going to be a writer.
I love when my conscious brain shuts off and I’m able to access a mysterious subterranean place. Later, I look back at what I’ve written with surprise.
I really love the challenge of responding in the moment to what I’ve just heard. I consider everything from macro issues (i.e. how does this relate to overall plot/character arc) to tinier tweaks or refinements. I love when we as a group become collaborators, pulling for each other. We’re invested in each other’s stories, and we feel eager to hear more as they evolve. We make suggestions for next steps in the plot, or we bring a new insight into a character or situation.
I’m reading Zoe Heller’s The Believers. I’m not as taken with it as I was with her earlier book, Notes on a Scandal; she’s know for writing “unlikable” characters, and yet I’m finding these protagonists a little too crusty. They are, however, complex and full-blooded, and Heller’s writing itself is nimble. I’m an anglophile, and I love all of her British-isms.
I admire the E.L. Doctorow image of writing as being like driving at night in the fog; you can only discern what’s immediately ahead of you. Personally, I’m not one for outlining, and I enjoy uncovering what my characters are going to do and allowing them to guide me.
Instructor Michael Belanger is an author and high school history teacher. His debut novel, The History of Jane Doe, was a finalist for the Connecticut Book Award and received a Kirkus starred review. More recently, his writing has appeared in Flash Fiction Magazine, Pigeon Review, Bright Flash Literary Review, and the 2025 Connecticut Literary Anthology.
BY AMANDA PARRISH MORGAN It’s become a bit of a truism to point out that if a career has an “appreciation week” it’s a sign those employees are underpaid. After all–while I very much appreciated the anesthesiologist who administered the epidural I’d begun asking for the moment my water broke,
