Red Oak Writing (we, us, our)

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Colson Whitehead: "I always have these ideas, and I think, 'That would be really good; if I was a better writer, I could pull it off.' And then I try to become a better writer to do it justice."

What ideas have rooted in your head and motivated you to do them justice? #writer #writing #writingcommunity

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Louise Penny: "People might read the books and think I'm creative, and the fact is I'm not. I just write what I see. And I write what I feel every day."

Sometimes, our best ideas come from simply observing. #writer #writing #writingcommunity

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from R.F. Kuang: "Fiction should be about imagining outside our own perspectives, stepping into other people's shoes and empathizing with the other."

Books offer an incredible opportunity to understand others' lived experiences. #writer #writing #writingcommunity

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from bell hooks: "No black woman writer in this culture can write 'too much.' Indeed, no woman writer can write 'too much' ... No woman has ever written enough."

Your words have incredible value. #writer #writing #writingcommunity

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Toni Morrison: "I wrote my first novel because I wanted to read it."

Whatever story it is that you want to tell, there's no time like the present to tell it. #writer #writing #writingcommunity

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Julia Alvarez: “Every time I want to touch bottom in myself, I return to poetry.”

Poetry speaks to the deepest parts of ourselves. What is your favorite poem? #writer #writing #writingcommunity

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Paul Beatty: “Writing is a risk no matter what.”

Writing is always a risk — but isn't that what makes it worth doing? #writer #writing #writingcommunity

Graphic reading "Happy New Year from your Red Oak Writing community!" with three red oak leaves.

Happy New Year! What are your writing goals for 2026? #writer #writing #writingcommunity

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: “Radical honesty is possible in fiction.”

The stories we write tell the truths we aren't always able to speak. #writer #writing #writingcommunity

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Joy Harlo: “Poetry is the voice of what can’t be spoken.”

What truths have you discovered in your own poetry? #writer #writing #writingcommunity

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from George Orwell: “Good novels are written by people who are not frightened.”

What would you write if fear couldn't hold you back? #writer #writing #writingcommunity

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from James Baldwin: “The responsibility of a writer is to excavate the experience of the people who produced him.”

Who made you the writer you are today? #writer #writing #writingcommunity

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Ray Bradbury: “Once you nail down what you want to say about yourself and your fears and your life, then that becomes your style.”

What defines your personal writing style? #writer #writing #writingcommunity

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Casey McQuiston: “Five-year-old me was right: Writing books is what makes me happiest.”

How long have you known you wanted to be a writer? #writer #writing #writingcommunity

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Amanda Peters: “I did the terrible thing that writers do: Put themselves in front of a blank screen.”

Every writer knows that that blank screen can be daunting. What gives you the courage to push through? #writer #writing #writingcommunity

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Isaac Marion: “I was 14 when I realized that there was no reason I couldn't write books just like all the books I loved reading.”

The stories we love become the stories we long to tell. What books inspired you as a kid? #writer #writing #writingcommunity

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from P. Djeli Clark: “I figured everybody gets their ideas from somewhere, mine just happen to be something I've studied or read.”

What feeds your need to write? #writer #writing #writingcommunity

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Zaina Arafat: “The act of remembering feels like the starting point for the writing process.”

Our experiences don’t just shape who we are – they shape how we write. #writers #writing #writingcommunity

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Audrey Niffenegger: “I think it would be very freeing for all writers to be able to reclaim the territories that have been ceded to the genres.”

Often, our stories are too wide-reaching to be crammed into a category, genre, or trope. Who is your favorite genre-bending author? #writingcommunity #bookstagram #reading #booktropes

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from George Saunders: “To my way of thinking, the (happy, liberating) point is that the writer doesn’t have to decide; she has to discover.”

Sometimes, we don’t know what we’re writing about until we put pen to paper. Sometimes, the story writes us. #writingcommunity #bookstagram #reading

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Laurie Halse Anderson: “I write from anger, I write from curiosity, and I write from confusion.”

Writing gives voice to the parts of ourselves that are heavy to bear. How has writing been cathartic for you? #writingcommunity #bookstagram #reading

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Sara Pennypacker: “I like to imagine my readers holding up my books to their adults and saying, ‘This is how I feel. This is what it’s like for me.’”

Books provide us with an entirely new way to communicate how we feel. What books have resonated deeply with you? #writingcommunity #bookstagram #reading #yanovels #yafiction

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Clive Barker: "I was rewarded by the incredible intellgience of the younger people responding to the books, incredible clarity of thinking and humanity."

The kids are alright. What children’s or YA authors do you or your kids love? #writingcommunity #bookstagram #reading #yanovels #yafiction

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Alice Oseman: "There are so many people who want queer stories, especially young people. There is absolutely a market for those stories in mainstream media."

As the author of “Heartstopper,” Oseman knows – readers want queer stories that exist outside of tragedy. What queer authors have inspired you? #writingcommunity #bookstagram #reading #heartstopper

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Sonora Reyes: "There is no right or wrong way to create something."

Every author’s process is unique. How will you go about creating your masterpiece? #writingcommunity #bookstagram #reading #writingprocess

5 Writerly Things, 8.8.25 Resources to support your writing life

Some writerly resources for those who like words. open.substack.com/pub/kimsuhr/...

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Xiran Jay Zhao: "I think a lot of us writers of color grew up thinking that we're not allowed to put ourselves in our books ... Now we're finally writing the books that our younger selves would have died to read."

The value of seeing yourself in the pages of your favorite stories cannot be overstated. #writingcommunity #bookstagram #reading #representation

Red and black quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Rupi Kaur: "We're seeing so much more diversity within the writing scene and there's so much room for it. But you can't wait to be let into the door, you just have to find a way to sneak in."

Diverse stories deserve to be told. #writingcommunity #bookstagram #reading #representation #rupikaur

A red stopwatch framed by red oak leaves with the text: "Time's running out! Register today for Red Oak's Youth Writing Camp."

Today is the LAST DAY to register for our summer writing camp. Head over to redoakwriting.com to secure your spot! #writer #writing #writingcommunity

A black and red quote graphic framed by red oak leaves. This week's quote is from Leigh Bardugo: "Sometimes, the only way to get a draft finished is to just write, no looking back."

We want to help you finish your draft. Join us at our youth writing camp this summer! Registration ends Friday. #writer #writing #writingcommunity