Prompt to Page

Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame author Fenton Johnson doesn't believe in writer's block. "Fighting with the white page over a week, a month, a year, sometimes 10 years," he says, "that's what we call w…

Poet Leatha Kendrick believes that creativity is a habit. "To exercise your creativity is to keep it active and alive," she says. "You have to get up and walk to the library and then something can ha…

"A teacher giving a prompt is the same as the world nudging you to write something," says poet and educator Christopher McCurry. 

On this episode, Christoper shares two prompts that will inspire you a…

For author Wes Blake, a former West Jessamine High School English teacher, writing about his obsessions helped him find his subject matter.
 

"When you write about what obsesses you," he says, "it guid…

Poet Lynnell Edwards enjoys using what she calls "external prompts" from other authors. But she believes that "ultimately as writers, we've got to have sort of internal prompts." 

On this episode, Lyn…

When novelist Tammy Oberhausen feels "stuck or uninspired," she tends "to wallow around with it for a while and feel bad." Writing prompts help her ideas flow again. "Don't wallow too much," she says…

Amelia Zachry, author of Enough: A Memoir of Mistakes, Mania, and Motherhood, didn't think anyone would want to read about her trauma. But being vulnerable about her experiences "invited people to be…

Author Jessica Handler believes "that when we write well, we're writing about what matters to us." 

What matters to you? On this episode, Jessica shares a prompt that will help you understand what you…

For poet and fiction writer B. Elizabeth Beck, "making sure that you are actively engaged in a community is... the salvation to your sanity and to your work."

On this episode, Elizabeth discusses her …

Novelist Jacinda Townsend believes that "writing is a habit, and the imagination begets the imagination." Having a set writing routine helps her create because "the imagination is a kind of muscle." 

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Novelist Robert Gipe believes that when you use writing prompts, "you're just kind of fishing for something that works."

If you're lucky, you might end up with "a couple of sentences that have some en…

When creative writer Deidra White feels stuck with her writing, she tells herself to "write the poem that you need to read." This exercise helps with one of the most challenging aspects of writing: v…

Are you an aspiring writer who thinks you’ll write a novel when you have more time or your children are older? If so, author and Kentucky Poet Laureate Silas House has some advice for you. 

“Often you…

Kaitlyn Hill, who writes young adult romantic comedies, didn't always take those stories seriously, even though she was drawn to them. "It was just really powerful for me to come to the realization t…

Sandra Gail Lambert, author of My Withered Legs and Other Essays, started writing in her forties. She believes her age helped her cope with the "rough and tumble world" of publishing.

"There's so much…

Do you wonder if you have a book inside you? According to Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame member George Ella Lyon, "you have to write to find out." George Ella says writers "have to dwell in uncertaint…

If you're a writer who works another job to make a living, poet Robin LaMer Rahija has some advice for you. "I think ideas and thoughts and little tiny chunks of motivation come to all of us througho…

Author and arts administrator JC McPherson is also a trained master electrician who approaches poetry with a troubleshooting mindset. He says that "writing a poem is no different than wiring up a new…

On this episode, we talk to Tracee de Hahn, author of the Agnes Luthi mystery series and coordinator of the Carnegie Center's Author Academy. 

Tracee prefers "to think of a prompt as a possibility, bu…

On this episode of Prompt to Page, Sean L. Corbin, the Poetry Gauntlet Coordinator for the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, discusses his belief that "everything is a prompt." 

"If you sit d…