Member Spotlight: Miranda Schmidt

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing and reading have always been one of the core ways that I make sense of my world. Though they can be very solitary practices, I find them to be such important modes of deeply connecting with others. They encourage empathy and give us insights into the ways our fellow humans think and exist. And in difficult times, especially, art is a such a crucial mode of communication. A way to think through the impossible cruelties of our age. A way to find the hope that comes in remembering what creates brightness, joy, and connection. I remember realizing I was definitely going to keep writing for the rest of my life when I understood that I could face difficulty and sadness and struggle and tragedy as long as I could write, when I understood that as long as I could make art from them in some way, the hard parts would have meaning for me.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Going for a walk. Visiting trees. Listening to crows. Movement and being outside and simply being receptive to what comes of that always helps to inspire me. My own writer’s block generally springs from overthinking the work. Moving through it is often about getting out of my own way, listening to the quieter voices in myself and trusting the story to know where it needs to go.

What is your favorite time to write? In the very early morning before my family wakes up with only my cats for company. My mind is usually the freshest then and the comparative quiet helps me hear the words better. Occasionally I’m able to be a night writer, which I find very exciting, but that’s rare these days.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Most of the best writing advice I’ve ever received boils down to being true to one’s specific project at the particular moment it’s in, to listen to oneself and trust the work to know where it needs to go.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? So much! The breadth of work I get to read and that my writing gets to sit beside. There are so many ambitious beautiful books coming out every year-books that push against the boundaries of genre and form, that delve into subjects that need more discussion from perspectives that need more space. I’m so excited to be a reader right now. The quality of books I see come out every year. The success of so many small presses (my debut novel is out with Stillhouse Press, a really exciting one). Much as we face a chaos of practical challenges as writers today and terrible as things can look so much of the time when we look at our world, there are wonderful books being made and authors doing incredible work. And that feels immensely important to me. It’s such an honor to be one small voice among so many great ones.

Miranda Schmidt’s Leafskin is out March 25 with Stillhouse Press.