Member Spotlight: Erica Silverman

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? We are inundated with noise. Writing helps me shut out the noise and focus, to reach inside myself with the hope that ultimately my words will connect with readers. The link between writer and reader is intimate and powerful – from mind to mind, heart to heart. I write for young children and it’s extremely satisfying when I hear from a parent that my books have gotten a child excited about reading.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I tell myself I’m just doing an exercise. That takes the pressure off and let’s me play. It gets me started. It’s a way of tricking myself by taking the pressure off.

What is your favorite time to write? I’m not a morning person, so usually late afternoon, into the evening works best. When I’m deep into a project, I get obsessive. I will get started in the morning and work all day.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Don’t be afraid of critique and revision. That’s where the real work begins.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? This is a difficult time. So many challenges! Climate change and biodiversity loss are existential threats that compel me to use the power of language without being didactic. Writing is a tool for fighting despair and inspiring hope and action. There’s great work being done. There are stories that need to be told. I’m excited to be doing this with my new book which celebrates successes in urban re-wilding around the world.

Erica Silverman’s The City Sings Green and Other Poems About Welcoming Wildlife, illustrated by Ginnie Hsu, is out now Clarion Books.