Member Spotlight: Mary M Desch

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? I write to channel my creative energy and entertain readers with stories I make up. I hope to infuse the stories with thought-provoking themes that leave readers thinking about the book after they’re done. I also aspire to make connections with readers that are lasting.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Keep writing! Whatever it is. It might be going to my journal and just putting down what’s on my mind. It might be journaling about where I’ve left off in my current WIP and what might be stumping me. I’m also in a critique group, so I can talk with my writing colleagues there, or with other writer friends I have. I all, I ask for patience and eventually my writing flow returns.

What is your favorite time to write? In the morning. Sometimes a story or an article piece will come to me while I’m meditating or trying to get to sleep. I try not to get up. but rather just wait until the next day.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Just keep writing and don’t lose sight of why you’re doing this in the first place.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? There’s so much to learn, and information is so readily available. It’s beyond a firehose of possibility so I have to remember to keep boundaries and remember to take care of myself and not neglect my relationships.

Mary M Desch’s Tangled Darkness is out now with Rowan Prose Publishing, LLC.