Member Spotlight: Diane Hatz

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing is as important to me as breathing. It’s how I communicate with the world and connect with all around me. The silence of writing can speak volumes louder than any voice. It’s an important medium because through writing we can not only find ourselves, we can explore and find each other.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I don’t believe in writer’s block. If I can’t write for whatever reason, I always have a million other things to do – edit, marketing, research, etc. I make a point of not stressing and find that I soon have the urge to put pen to paper again.

What is your favorite time to write? Early morning. I’m trying to get to my desk by 5:30am, but that’s still a goal. I usually get to work by 6:30-7:00. I love that time of day before life begins to stir – I find that my most creative time. I also find that early morning is when my brain is the sharpest, and I can get the most done.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Writing is rewriting. That has helped me immensely! I don’t worry about how well put together my sentences are in the first couple of drafts. I focus on getting the ideas and the story down. I focus on editing and fine tuning much later in the writing process. For me, what I’m trying to say comes first. How I say it follows. When it works, they both come together like a symphony.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? I’ve wanted to write fiction since I was fifteen years old. Being able to pursue that dream finally at age sixty-two is a dream come true. I’m so excited that the market seems to have caught up with my slipstream, speculative, absurdist, innovative fiction style, so I’m ecstatic that more and more people are beginning to understand my work.

Diane Hatz’s Fallen Spirits is out August 19.