Preface    
   
ONE: Orienting     
On Habits 
On Unlearning   
On a Space of Your Own 

TWO: Paying Attention    
On Learning to See        
On Looking and Looking Again 
On Paying Attention to Words  

THREE: Questioning        
On Asking Good Questions      
On Writing to a Question
On Question-Driven Writing    

FOUR: Exploring  
On Going Down the Rabbit Hole
On Creative Reading     
On Choosing Your Own Adventure      

FIVE: Connecting  
On the Three Most Important Words in the English Language  
On Joining the Conversation     
On Working with the Words of Others 

SIX: Reflecting       
On Seeing as a Writer   
On Reading as a Writer 
On Reading in Slow Motion     

SEVEN: Persisting  
On Encountering Difficulty      
On Learning from Failure 
On Thinking Unthinkable Thoughts     

EIGHT: Rethinking
On Letting Go of Writing-by-Formula 
On Structure      
On Revising       

NINE: Wondering 
On Argument as Journey 
On Imagining Alternatives        
On Complexity  

TEN: Playing 
On Laughter       
On Bending Conventions
On the Joys of Pseudonymous Writing 

Readings     
Frederick Douglass, The Woman's Cause
Eula Biss, Excerpt from On Immunity: An Inoculation
Cathy Park Hong, Bad English       
Andrew Leland, DeafBlind Communities May Be Creating a New Language of Touch         
Jia Tolentino, Can Motherhood Be a Form of Rebellion?  
Jesmyn Ward, Cracking the Code