A JCPL librarian interviews published writers about their favorite writing prompts. These exercises can help inspire, focus, and improve your creative writing.
Brought to you in partnership with the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning.
Listen to Episode 61
Author Joe Bond thinks “it’s okay to struggle in the wrong direction for a while” with your writing.
It took Joe a long time to find his subject matter. But once he began writing about the boys in his novel Hope House, the stories—inspired by his experience growing up around group homes—came flooding back.
Joe doesn’t regret that initial struggle. “I learned a lot through my mistakes,” he says.
On this episode, Joe shares some of the moments and images that prompt his writing and offers tips for how you can learn to recognize those moments in your own life.
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About Joe Bond
Joe Bond’s novel Hope House was recently longlisted for The Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. He began working on it after his story “Damico” won The Masters Review Short Story Award.
His writing has been published by The Paris Review, People, Lit Hub, New South, The New Ohio Review and ESPN. He grew up around group homes in eastern Kentucky and lives now in New Orleans.
Join Us for a Book Club Discussion of Hope House
“Set in 1980s Kentucky, this striking debut novel is told from inside a treatment home for teens, where lost boys become more than their pasts and discover the transformative power of hope.” —Provided by publisher
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