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6 days ago | 
grantfaulkner.substack.com | Grant Faulkner
I’ve been wondering why humans have such a deep need to confess, to bare their souls in search of relief. Whether a confession happens in a church confessional, on a therapist’s couch, or at an AA meeting, the goal is similar: to find reconciliation, grace. To unshed burdens. To gain back yourself. To be seen in your full truth, your full being. Absolution comes through expression, acknowledgment. By giving your story to another, you find a new story. Or you hope you can.
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1 week ago | 
grantfaulkner.substack.com | Grant Faulkner
I’m a bad parent. I’ve been so busy this year that I forgot to mark the third birthday of The Art of Brevity, which is actually my favorite book that I’ve written on writing. It’s the book I most often speak about and teach—so reach out to me if you’d like to book me!I’ve spoken with a lot of writing/reading groups as well.
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2 weeks ago | 
grantfaulkner.substack.com | Grant Faulkner
I recently moderated a panel of authors who published their first book after the age of 50 (as did I), and it occurred to me how our creativity is shaped by our perceptions of time. To be precise, the way we feel our mortality influences the what, the how, and the why of our creativity. When I turned 60, I watched a clip of Jamie Lee Curtis, who talked about the urgency she felt when she turned 60.
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3 weeks ago | 
grantfaulkner.substack.com | Grant Faulkner
Sometimes a single word can open a doorway into another’s sensibility, and perhaps even provide a view of their soul.
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1 month ago | 
grantfaulkner.substack.com | Grant Faulkner
I often get asked how I get story ideas, and I rarely know the answer to that question. A story idea is always a drifting, mystical thing that somehow catches and takes root, and then hopefully blooms with a lot of hard work. My business and life ideas, however, tend to always be specifically grounded in a moment for me.
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1 month ago | 
grantfaulkner.substack.com | Grant Faulkner
One of the most difficult things in life is to declare yourself as . . . yourself. Among the first questions people ask when they meet each other is, “What do you do for a living?” or “Where are you from?” Humans have a deep-seated need to swiftly put people into a neat category and place them safely in a box. To be from Peoria puts you in a different category than if you’re from New York City. To be a lawyer puts you in a different category than if you’re a waiter.
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1 month ago | 
grantfaulkner.substack.com | Grant Faulkner
For years I’ve dreamed of going on one of those perfect, luxurious writing retreats where one can take a reflective walk through the countryside, write in the meditative peace of an elegant castle, and then dine in the evening with inspiring artists—much like the photos above (keep reading for more!).
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1 month ago | 
danschorr.substack.com | Dan Schorr |Miranda July |Brooke Warner |Grant Faulkner
Can we talk about All Fours? I read ’s novel last month and it has stayed in my head ever since, in a way that’s different from any other book I’ve read recently. And while I felt a strong connection to this story, I’ve also wondered whether I’m actually supposed to be part of the target audience. I thought this novel was so interesting, not just because of its actual story, but because of the wildly varied reactions it inspires.
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1 month ago | 
grantfaulkner.substack.com | Grant Faulkner
This past week, I stumbled on Charles Baudelaire’s prose poem, “Be Drunk,” in my Instagram stream, and the poem was not only a welcome antidote to my spiraling list of worries but a reminder that we always have a bigger life available to us—we just need to be drunk!Not drunk on alcohol (or not necessarily). Drunk on the page. Drunk in our imaginations. Drunk in our hopes. Drunk in our love. Drunk in our faith. Drunk in our grace. Drunk in whatever makes our heart beat.
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2 months ago | 
grantfaulkner.substack.com | Grant Faulkner
If you’ve read this newsletter or listened to my podcast, you’ll know I grew up in a small town in Iowa, I sometimes write about small towns, and I have a complicated relationship with my hometown—or a fascination might be a better way to put it, an endless fascination. I often say that growing up in a small town is the best habitat for a budding writer—because a small town is a fish bowl full of drama.
