Tending the Fallow: Navigating the Pause Between the Book and What's Next

Poet and essayist Camille Dungy has described the period between projects as "the fallow," a time of rest and renewal for farmed fields. Writers have to do more than scatter clover seed. We have to live through an oddly itchy, vaguely uncomfortable period in which we are at loose ends, exhausted, and wondering whether we'll ever be deeply engaged with another project. In this session we will discuss practical advice for structuring one's writing time gently while waiting for a new idea to emerge, the unique opportunity this window presents for reorientation, and the underlying emotional and intellectual challenges of these transition periods.