Reading If on a winter’s night a traveler while editing my own novel reminded me that stories don’t always want to behave. A reflection on Calvino, creative interruption, and what happens when a book teaches you how to keep writing—by refusing to be straightforward.

Writing a novel isn’t about sudden inspiration or perfect conditions. It’s about showing up—again and again—with imperfect sentences, stubborn characters, and a blinking cursor. Discipline, I’ve learned, is less about control and more about returning to the story until it finally speaks.