I’m one of those writers who isn’t very routine-oriented, unless I’m at a writing residency or in some place where I have total focus (which, I’ll be honest, isn’t home). That said, I love to write in the early mornings after walking my dogs and a little meditation. I have momentum and the sharpest mind I’ll have all day before 11 a.m. Also, my two dogs are usually calm in the morning, and I believe they’ve snored in the background through numerous drafts and revisions.
When it comes to my desk, the items that bring me the most joy right now are my little owl air plant and a gift from a good friend—a tiny decorative plate (see top) that she said captures my creative spirit. I aspire to make it true.
Because I coach writers and edit as well as write, I often recommend that writers minimize at-home distractions. In my life and space currently, that sometimes means leaving the house, so I also get a fair amount of writing done at OSU, where I arrive before the start of the workday when much of campus is still asleep. I also love a good coffee shop or library write-in session as well.
About the Author
Jen Knox is an educator and storyteller who teaches writing, leadership, and meditation. She is the author of We Arrive Uninvited, which won the Steel Toe Books Award, and The Glass City, which won the Press Americana Prize for Prose. Her short fiction and nonfiction can be found in Chicago Tribune, Five South, McSweeney’s Internet Quarterly, The Saturday Evening Post, and more. She was the recipient of CutBank’s Montana Prize in Nonfiction and earned an Honorable Mention for the 2023 Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest. Jen recently received a grant from the Ohio Arts Council to support the completion of a collection of essays on her day jobs from ages fourteen to twenty-two. After teaching writing for over a decade and managing a leadership program at Ohio State University, Jen began to combine meditation techniques, leadership research, and the power of creativity to launch Unleash Creatives, a holistic arts organization in the Midwest.
