Our Writer’s Field Guide is a collection of generative writing exercises inspired by New York City landmarks. Designed to encourage writers to step away from their desks and engage in the outside world, this Writer’s Field Guide is FREE and available as a digital download or interactive Google Map. You can also request a free print copy in the mail by filling out the form below.

These exercises are meant to be explored in-person across NYC’s five boroughs. Each has a different focus to improve your craft, whether it’s finding the perfect detail at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, developing dialogue on the Staten Island Ferry, changing point of view at the New York Public Library, plotting wild action at the American Museum of Natural History, creating characters at Green-Wood Cemetery, playing with narrative distance at the Queens Museum, or using setting to tell a deeper story at Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Whether you’re a local or a tourist visiting the Big Apple, we hope this Writer’s Field Guide will inspire you to explore new terrain and pen your own contribution to the literary history of New York City.

One Story would like to give special thanks to the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs for supporting this project; to Lisa Ko, Irina Reyn, and Hannah Tinti for creating these writing exercises; and to J.L. Zhang for designing the guidebook. 

Fill out this form, and we’ll mail a print copy of the Field Guide to your address within the next several days.