Inkhaven is a writers residency in Berkeley, in which the only requirement is you have to publish 500 words each and every day. Though I always had some confidence in my ability to write, I never actually did it much until I applied to Inkhaven. I had finished only two short stories before I applied: The Maker of MIND and The Liar and the Scold. And it was them I used in my application.
In the roughly twelve months since I was accepted, I have written thirteen, and even some half-finished things that will never see the light of day. And this isn’t including the essays and micro-fiction I wrote during the fellowship. By the metric of getting me to write more, Inkhaven was a great success. And would have been worth it even if I had a miserable time.
Despite a slight proclivity for having miserable times, I found myself unable to do so for long at Inkhaven. I rarely write utopias, and when I do they curdle by the time the story ends. But I suspect utopia will feel a lot like Inkhaven did for me once I got settled. You would think putting a bunch of strangers in a retrofitted hotel for a month might go poorly, but it hasn’t so far. Everyone just reliably becomes friends, even with people very unlike themselves. It was not uncommon for those who hated each other in the first few days to be close friends by the last.
I applied on a whim, and almost left in the first three days as I was very stressed and depressed. I am very lucky I stayed, as it became one of the best experiences of my life and has paid extraordinary dividends intellectually, socially, and artistically.
I would never have read Borges as deeply as I did if Ben Steinhorn (Pulitzer Prize, 2031) hadn’t forced a copy of Labyrinths on me. Which means The Distaff Texts (Linch calls it my best story) would never have happened. Duane Arnold is inspired by things I witnessed while visiting the startup scene in San Francisco while at Inkhaven. The Company Man, my most popular story, was written in a panic after I was accepted, me trying to prove to myself I could still write, having not written much of anything in years. I have even gotten a few job offers downstream of pieces I would not have written if not for Inkhaven.
I will be at Inkhaven 3 as an advisor, along with much cooler people like Scott Alexander, Aella, Scott Sumner, Max Harms, Vishal, and Jenn from Jenneral HQ.
I can’t emphasize enough how weirdly excellent both Lighthaven and Inkhaven are. The last eight months have been some of the best of my life, and most of that is downstream of Inkhaven, friendships made there, and the work it inspired me to write.
If you have any interest in writing, I strongly urge you to apply.
You can do so here: https://www.inkhaven.blog
Dog with an odd nose or plush toy? My inquiring mind wants know.
bjarthaven