Story Is a State of Mind: Writing and the Art of Creative Curiosity

Cultivate a state of mind to help your writing flow with acclaimed writing instructor and Scotiabank Giller Prize finalist Sarah Selecky.

For over a decade, Sarah Selecky has been running an online writing school as a compassionate alternative to MFA programs for writers of all genres who want to write well. Story Is a State of Mind is the logical next step: a gentle guide to help writers strengthen and tap their inner resources in service of a limitless writing practice.

For Selecky, writing is both an art and a contemplative practice, and her approach as an instructor is literary and intuitive. Writing exercises and guided meditations are interwoven with practical advice and heartfelt encouragement to help writers find a groove, and to build awareness, confidence, and technique. Story Is a State of Mind goes beyond offering solutions to individual writing problems, and helps writers settle into a mindset that allows them to see possibilities and discover new connections in their work--and beyond.

This is a book that encourages presence, urges us to slow down and get centred, and asks us to embrace a wholeminded writing practice through study, craft, and play. Pair it with Sarah Selecky's Story Is a State of Mind Deck of 50 writing prompts for maximum inspiration!

Sarah Selecky is the author of Radiant Shimmering Light and This Cake Is for the Party, which was was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Commonwealth Prize for Best First Book in Canada and the Carribean, and was longlisted for the Frank O'Connor Prize. The New York Times called the stories "utterly fascinating." She also runs the Sarah Selecky Writing School, a creative community of over 10,000 writers from around the world. Raised in Hanmer, Ontario and Evansville, Indiana, Selecky now lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario.