Member Spotlight: Merry Jones

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing has been important to me since before I could spell. I’ve always written, from the time I could hold a pencil. I can’t say why, exactly. I think that, at first, it was a way to make my ideas/stories/thoughts “real,” by having them exist on paper, outside my head. I made things up, wrote them down, and, poof, they had their own existence. Other people could read the words, and whatever I’d written was then not just mine, but theirs, as well. That process, of reaching out and sharing with readers, was what drove/still drives me. As for the world, writing allows us to cross boundaries of time and place, gender, race, age, ethnicity, etc. Through our work, we can touch people, presenting themes and ideas that can influence them, maybe change them.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? First I just keep writing. About anything. I write for at least a half hour a day, at the same time of day. If that doesn’t spark any new projects, I take a break. The break can last a day or a month, but it’s finite. Writing isn’t all inspiration. A lot of it is discipline. I can’t force ideas, but I find it helps to keep working, using writing prompts, journaling–it doesn’t matter what. But staying in the rhythm of working helps me ride through the blocks.

What is your favorite time to write? Mornings.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Three things: 1. The best way to start is to start. (In other words, don’t wait to be perfect, just do it.) 2. Just write. 3. Writing is an art. Publishing is a business.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? There are more possibilities than ever for writers. Publishing is not in the control of a few big publishers anymore. There are hundreds of small, independent publishers. And writers have the option to self-publish, as well. Ebooks eliminate many distribution issues, as does the option of print-on-demand.

Merry Jones’s What You Don’t Know is out November 2 with Bloch Books.