HeyJaredWords & Winking Figs
Welcome to Words & Winking Figs, a blog dedicated to figuring it out, one literary glimmer at a time. Follow for analyses, reviews, recommendations, and muses about how words can be flashes of possibility.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 7
- Latest publication
- Sep 27, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Aug 4, 2026
Latest issues
The Revisionist: Writing the Ending (opens the original)
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It is a truth universally acknowledged that there are three types of stories in fiction. Stories of conflict are those you'll likely recognize; they are the narratives where our character wants something very deeply, but an obstacle, typically another person, or a series of obstacles problematizes their ability to obtain that desire. Conflict transforms a retelling of events into a story; it is the moving force, the curious alchemy, that shapes the people and worlds inside its pages. It is the r
Where You Lead, I Will . . . Read (opens the original)
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IntroductionGilmore Girls is the reason I found one of my favorite novels.For those of you who are new here, the name of my blog comes from a piece of classic literature, one of the books that reignited my love of reading, The Bell Jar. Like generations of readers, I connected with Sylvia Plath’s protagonist and was entranced by the well-known analogy of the fig tree. It is one that is evergreen, allowing us to pluck new meanings each time we read it, fostering continual reinterpretations from s
5 Habits That Nurture My Creativity (opens the original)
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IntroductionDear Reader,Happy September. The air is just a little chillier, the days a little shorter. And I know many of us are prepping for or settling back into the academic year. For those of you starting a new semester, I’m sending you wishes for highlighters that never dry, batteries that last longer than you expected, and lots of self-compassion for the hard work you’re doing.In my last newsletter, I talked a little bit about my current relationship with reading and writing, especially ha
You Haven’t Read That? (opens the original)
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“[A] Book Which People Praise and Don’t Read”Picking up a book that’s been eyeing me on my shelf, I turned over to the synopsis to find an interesting quip from the author on the definition of a “classic” piece of literature. I felt, to understate it, called out. I’ve never praised something I didn’t read, but there are many books, like the one I was holding, that I haven’t read yet which others heralded for their genius, cultural impact, and merit. In my program of literature, there were
Finally Reading Murakami (opens the original)
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IntroductionWhen I sat down to begin this letter at my favorite park, a young girl fell and got right back up on the path ahead of me. She said, “I can still keep going,” and, within an instant she was on her feet, running along again. Yet before she said this, she first told her small dog, who had been running alongside her all the while, “It’s okay.” I was sitting in my usual spot near the lake when I witnessed this glimmer of tenderness. It got me thinking about resilience. We have so much of
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