1000 Words
A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round
Table of Contents
About The Book
In 2018, novelist Jami Attenberg, faced with a looming deadline, needed writing inspiration. Using a bootcamp model, she and a friend set out to write one thousand words daily for two weeks straight. They opened this practice to Attenberg’s online community and soon hundreds then thousands of people started using the #1000WordsofSummer hashtag to track their work and support one another. What began as a simple challenge between two friends has become a literary movement—write 1,000 words per day without judgement, or bias, or concerns about writer’s block, and see what comes of it.
1000 Words is the book-length extension of this movement. It is about becoming—and staying—motivated, discovering yourself and your creative desires, and approaching your craft from a new direction. It features advice from more than fifty well-known writers, including New York Times bestsellers, Pulitzer Prize winners, and stars of the literary world. Framing these letters are words of wisdom and encouragement, plus specific strategies, from Attenberg on how to carve out a creative path for yourself all year round.
Paired with vibrant word art illustrations, 1000 Words is an accessible and motivational craft book that allows you to open any page and get a quick and fulfilling hit of inspiration.
Featuring Roxane Gay, Bryan Washington, Susan Orlean, Maris Kreizman, Sara Novic, Rumaan Alam, Lauren Oyler, Emma Straub, Christopher Gonzales, Benjamin Percy, Mira Jacob, Laura van den Berg, Carmen Maria Machado, Courtney Sullivan, Rebecca Carroll, Ada Limon, R.O. Kwon, Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, Elissa Watusha, Alexander Chee, Maggie Shipstead, Deesha Philyaw, Jasmine Guillory, Kristen Arnett, Attica Locke, Megan Abbott, Min Jin Lee, Lauren Groff, Andrew Sean Greer, Camille Dungy, Megan Giddings, Isaac Fitsgerald, Hannah Tinti, Michael H. Weber, Celeste Ng, Elizabeth McCracken, Will Leitch, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Morgan Parker, Kiese Laymon, Melissa Febos, Alissa Nutting, Liz Moore, Laila Lalami, Megan Mayhew Berman, Rebecca Makkai, Meg Wolitzer, Mychal Denzel Smith, Josh Gondelman, and Dantiel W. Moniz.
About The Author
Jami Attenberg has written about food, travel, books, relationships, and urban life for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The Sunday Times (London), The Guardian, and others. She is a New York Times bestselling author of seven books of fiction, including The Middlesteins and All Grown Up, and, most recently, a memoir, I Came All This Way to Meet You. Her work has been published in sixteen languages. She is also the founder of the annual #1000WordsofSummer project, and maintains the popular Craft Talk newsletter year-round. She lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Product Details
- Publisher: S&S/Simon Element (January 7, 2025)
- Length: 272 pages
- ISBN13: 9781668023617
Raves and Reviews
"Devotees of Attenberg’s fiction (All Grown Up, All This Could Be Yours, many others), and her pandemic-sparked newsletter, Craft Talk, have used her 1000-words-a-day-in-summer model to push novel and book projects along, helped by Attenberg’s feel-good approach to the sweaty toil of ~generative~ work. This offshoot of the project stretches the approach to get you through the year and includes tips from other Names like comedian and essayist Josh Gondelman. It will be the new Bird by Bird, you heard it here first."-Lit Hub
“Jami Attenberg’s new writing guide [is] bound with tender, delicious wisdom from fellow authors Lauren Groff, Roxane Gay, Alexander Chee, and literally dozens of others... a handful of our culture’s most brilliant literary minds. Where the book—and Attenberg, by extension—truly triumphs is not through revelatory advice but in simple, earnest insistence." —Elle
“Because Attenberg’s own entries appear throughout the book, it’s her authorial voice that makes 1,000 Words feel cohesive. Her piece of writer advice (perhaps best understood as encouragements) are presented under simple headings, such as “When to Write About Something Personal,” “Reading Your Work out Lous,” and “Giving Criticism.” Sometimes, she’s the parent sitting in the stands shouting your name and rooting for you, and at others, she’s the football coach standing on the sidelines, dishing out tough love.”—Johns Hopkins Magazine
"Jami Attenberg has taken her wildly popular online writing movement #1000wordsofsummer, and turned it into a book of advice and inspiration for writers. More than 50 writers contributed their wisdom, including Carmen Maria Machado, Roxane Gay, Lauren Groff, and Celeste Ng."—Bookriot
“1000 Words collects and distills that project into a motivational volume every writer should keep close at hand.”—BookPage, starred review
“Attenberg offers up a kinetic, atmospheric river of inspiring words designed to help writers keep churning out prose” —Shelf Awareness, starred review
“A fantastic set of essays… Readers of this collection will feel surrounded and bolstered by like-minded people who have been in the trenches.” —Booklist, Starred Review
“I’ve admired Jami Attenberg for ages. Now I’m a super-fan. I started reading [1000 Words] last night when I should have been reading for work and I cannot wait to get back to it today. It is inspiring, motivating, comforting, encouraging, and will earn a permanent spot on your bookshelf. Right up there with Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird and Stephen King’s On Writing.” –Kristyn Kusek Lewis, editor at Real Simple and author of Perfect Happiness
“[An] encouraging handbook… Aspiring writers will appreciate Attenberg’s cheerleading.” -Publisher's Weekly
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): 1000 Words Trade Paperback 9781668023617
- Author Photo (jpg): Jami Attenberg Photograph by Bryan Tarnowski(0.1 MB)
Any use of an author photo must include its respective photo credit
