Member Spotlight: Eli A. Brown

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? We are built of stories. Stories shape our identities and give us lenses to view the world.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Write badly. It’s not complicated but it may feel awkward. In my experience, writer’s block stems from an unwillingness to get messy, a fear of embarrassing oneself. If you are willing to fill a page (or many) with unworthy prose you will find glimmers of inspiration.

What is your favorite time to write? I prefer early morning, but as the father of young kids during a pandemic I have to take whatever I can get.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Talent and inspiration are over-rated. Revision and critical feedback are the real foundations of writing.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? I feel that there are more opportunities for a work to find its audience.

Eli Brown’s Oddity, illustrated by Karin Rytter, is out March 31 with Walker Books.