The Writer’s Desk featuring Katey Schultz

The Writer’s Desk features the desks and writing practices of Gemini Ink faculty, visiting authors, teaching artists, volunteers, students, interns, staff, partners and more. Receive new posts in your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter at bit.ly/geminiinknewsletter.

Join Katey Schultz on Tuesdays, Oct 7, 14 & 21, 2025, 6-8pm CST, via Zoom, for her workshop: Deep Revision. This course is for intermediate or advanced writers who have, at minimum, worked through a partial or complete first draft of a full manuscript, or who have published books and are ready to improve their next manuscript by learning how to become their own best editors.

1. Has your preferred place to write changed over the years?

Right after my son was born, I invested in a standing desk and for many years, that was my go-to space for writing. This is because I was doing so much sitting as a nursing mom, that the last thing I wanted to do when my hands were free was sit some more! A close second to my standing desk, and probably what I use most often now that my son is in gradeschool, is a massage table that’s set in a windowed-corner of my office, facing the best view. I use the table as a couch, really, and prefer to write by hand most of the time. If I’m not writing by hand, I’ll use my laptop to generate new work or revise existing pages, taking long eye-breaks to look out the window and observe the forest. I never write on my desktop computer — or at my seated (traditional) desk. I keep that space for teaching and business. It helps me to associate certain spaces and devices with certain activities.

2. What is the one piece of writing advice that you value most?

I think we hear and incorporate the “best” advice when we need it, therefore, what’s “best” changes from project to project. In general, however, I think it can be really helpful to remember that writing is nothing other than decision-making. Steve Almond said that and others have said it, too. For my part, I find this advice useful because if I’m stuck on the page, all I have to do is reflect about the decisions I made to get to that point, and see if I can choose something different. I also appreciate the mindset that writing is an act of discovery. All we’re doing when we’re looking over our pages is searching for the clues we left ourselves about what it is we’re actually trying to say. Verlyn Klinkenborg says a writer’s job is to search for “the sentence hidden inside the one you’re making” and I have built my career as a mentor to authors by following that ethos. It’s possible to teach others how to search and discover, and there’s nothing more empowering than bringing a draft back to life!

3. Is there anything that you’ve been listening to lately—an interesting podcast, a song list, or album?

I’m a huge fan of The Paris Review podcast, as well as the Vibe Check podcast. Pairing the unique soundscape created by the Paris Review’s podcast team with the powerful humor and cultural commentary of Vibe Check is just the medicine I need to stay in touch with my creative, happy self. As far as music goes, Pearl Jam is my go-to. You can’t beat a band that fights for women’s rights and voter’s rights, supports youth skateboarding programs, brings awareness to homelessness and housing inequities, and uplifts other musicians around the world. To say nothing of their incredible sound!

4. What are some misconceptions about being a writer that you can discredit?

Success should be defied by each writer on their own terms. It is not something that can be determined externally, or vetted or proven by anyone else–no matter how famous or prestigious. The lone-wolf writer at the desk, whittling away the hours and slaving at the desk is one of the most damaging and incomplete myths of our times. Writers are dynamic, diverse, often hard-working people. They live rich inner and outer lives. No one does it alone, even the most introverted. And no one should, either.

5. What’s the most interesting thing you’ve heard or read recently?

The news is difficult to follow these days, but it’s important to take action alongside caring for one’s self and others. For this reason, I listen to Jonathan Larsen’s The Fucking News on Substack for real headlines and reporting, with a very healthy dose of humor. In terms of publishing and literature, I was pretty moved by this article recently, which I completely agree with. In it, the author makes the case that “Social media backlash and review-bombing are increasingly leading to books being delayed, revised, or canceled before release.

This has created a culture of self-censorship in publishing, one in which even progressive authors are being silenced by public outcry on the left.
While rooted in good intentions to promote diversity and sensitivity, the movement has evolved into a moral panic that risks stifling creativity and narrowing the bounds of free expression.”

6. What is your current project?

I’m working on a novel set in West Virginia during the post-9/11, pre-covid era. It follows two protagonists through a unique and unexpected teenage friendship as each faces betrayals from their own family members. All of this is set against the backdrop of mountaintop removal (strip mining), which is another level of betrayal. Ultimately, the novel explores the question, How do you forgive the unforgivable?

7. If people want to learn more about your work, where should they go?

Mentoring other writers is my passion and my life’s work. I would love the opportunity to meet any Gemini Ink followers by learning more about how they make decisions about their writing projects. I’d invite them to explore www.monthlymentorship.org to find out more! And for those who are interested in creating a sustainable literary culture that models inclusivity for a future generation of authors, please check out my nonprofit, WRITEABILITY, at www.writeability.org.

Katey Schultz is the author of Flashes of War, which the Daily Beast praised as an “ambitious and fearless” collection, and Still Come Home, a novel, both published by Loyola University Maryland. Honors for her work include North Carolina’s Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction, the Linda Flowers Literary Award, Doris Betts Fiction Prize, Foreword INDIES Book of the Year award, gold and silver medals from the Military Writers Society of America, the Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year award, five Pushcart nominations, a nomination to Best American Short Stories, National Indies Excellence recognition, and writing fellowships in eight states. She has taught all over the country—at Interlochen College of Creative Arts, Fishtrap, 49 Alaska Writing Center, StoryStudio Chicago, and her own organization Maximum Impact, among many others. She lives in Celo, North Carolina, and is the founder of Maximum Impact, a transformative mentoring service for creative writers that has been recognized by both CNBC and the What Works Network.