How to Write Better Great Writing Is Playful
10 snips
Apr 2, 2026 Jessica Ciencin Henriquez, poet and essayist (MFA, author of Burn After Reading), talks about editing down to the essential, the push-pull of social media as fuel and distraction, and using Substack as a playful lab for writing. She reflects on vulnerability versus oversharing, wrestling with ego, and how AI fits into a human voice–driven practice.
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Avoid Social Media While Creating
- Avoid social media during creative phases because it's an attention monster that derails focused work.
- Jessica Ciencin Henriquez says she can't create while on Instagram and lost hours from a single login, so she intentionally limits app access.
Deleted Lines Reveal The True Story
- The story you truly want to tell hides in the sentences you keep deleting.
- Jessica recalls an editor telling her that deleted lines reveal the vulnerable core that resonates most with readers.
She Burned Her Memoir And Found Truth
- Jessica burned a completed 287-page memoir after a psilocybin ceremony because it felt ego-driven and disempowering.
- Cleaning the ashes she found fragmentary pages where only the truest lines remained, which inspired her new poetic work.
