(Design & illustration by Robert Roxby)

I’m a longtime fan of THE INTERN’s brilliant insider publishing blog, written from the perspective of an anonymous publishing intern. Now, not only can we see what THE INTERN thinks about writing inspiration… if you scroll down to the end of this post, you’ll find the link that unmasks her true identity, too!

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In INTERN’s imagination, human existence is made of up of two bubbles. There’s the cramped, worried, worldly bubble where you fret over book sales, deadlines, and when you’re allowed to take a break for toast. That bubble looks (and feels) like this:

When you spend too long in that bubble, that thing called inspiration can shrink away to almost nothing, crowded out by your own sense of self-importance and your willingness to distract yourself with things like toast breaks.

But lurking just beyond the boundaries of the first bubble is another, bigger one, where everything is dancing and nobody gives a crap about your book:

When you’re in that space, you remember how small you are in the great scheme of things, how fleeting your concerns, and how silly and magical and sinister and ecstatic the universe is when you give it half a chance.

You realize the fate of the universe doesn’t hinge on your book. Spiders will keep making webs. People will keep falling in love. Everything in nature is going to keep on doing its thing, and you’re going to keep on doing your thing too.

INTERN is inspired by the people who dwell in the second bubble—the mystics, dervishes, poets and musicians whose art beckons to us from the other side. They remind us there is something bigger than the next book deal, deadline, or toast break—and that’s the kind of inspiration you need to make great art.

—THE INTERN

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Want more in this blog series?

• Inspiring Novel Openings
• What Inspires Lisa Schroeder
• What Inspires Tara Altebrando
• What Inspires Bryan Bliss
• What Inspires Sara Zarr
• What Inspires Anna M. Evans
• What Inspires Christine Lee Zilka
• What Inspires Sophie Rosenblum
• What Inspires Mike Jung
• What Inspires Mike Martin
• What Inspires Veronica Roth
• What Inspires Laurel Snyder
• What Inspires Bennett Madison
• What Inspires Alexander Chee
• What Inspires Kathleen Duey