Member Spotlight: Erin Quinn-Kong

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? I love reading and writing book club fiction that asks questions and explores interesting situations in people’s lives. Reading about families, relationships, and lives unlike your own creates empathy and helps you see the world in new and different ways. What could be more important?

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? If I’m stuck on a scene, changing things up usually helps. So I’ll find a scene on my to-write list that sounds fun and then put 15 minutes on a timer. Usually that’s all it takes to get the words flowing. Also, when I’m out and about and have an idea for a scene or an argument between my characters, I email it to myself. That way, when I do sit down to write, I already have a good starting place.

What is your favorite time to write? I’m the managing editor of Texas Highways magazine and a mom of two kids in elementary school, so I am tired! I can’t do early morning writing sessions, so I do nights: usually between 8-10ish. And I try to squeeze in one good weekend writing session as well.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Find your own process. You don’t have to write first thing in the morning or every single day unless that is what works for you. If you can only write at 1pm when your baby naps or on weekends, then do that. The important thing is to be consistent. The book will be created writing session by writing session, regardless of when those sessions take place. I also think it is very important for writers to find their writing people, either in-person or online. Having other writers to talk to, ask questions, and bounce ideas off of is priceless.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? I’m excited to start conversations about topics that lots of people are dealing with but not everyone is talking about. In the case of Hate Follow, the main issue is social media and the privacy of children. But there’s also discussion of social media and phone use among teens (every parent I know if trying to figure out when to give their kid a smartphone) and other modern-day parenting challenges.

Erin Quinn-Kong’s Hate Follow is out now with William Morrow Paperbacks.