Member Spotlight: Andrew Lyons

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing is the only job I’ve ever had where I’ve genuinely looked forward to starting work each day. I think writing allows us to connect to other people’s experiences when our guard is down and we’re more open to empathy and understanding.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? The only thing that has ever worked for me is to just start typing words on the blank page, no matter how crappy. Eventually the juices get flowing and something good emerges. Eventually.

What is your favorite time to write? In the morning. I do my best work between 8-11am. When I’m editing, I can usually guess when I originally wrote a section based on the quality of the writing.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? I’ve seen this attributed to Jay Whistler, though I can’t be 100% positive of the origin. Regardless, it works for me: “A problem that a character can walk away from, is a book a reader can walk away from.” As a thriller writer, this rings especially true to me.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? How writers can find an audience without having to go through traditional outlets. There’s never been a better time to find your people than there is today.

Andrew Lyons’s Furies Rising is out now.