Nelson Algren, 45, wrote a successful novel five years ago called The Man with the Golden Arm, and now lives in a bungalow outside Chicago. While working on another book, Algren is living on a ...

Exercise acts as an extra twist to open the tap of creativity.

A multitude of books have been published about writing and the writing process, and the works that comprise this genre are surprisingly diverse. Some volumes are largely prescriptive—think of Strunk ...