Member Spotlight: Kerry Lonsdale

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing is important to me because it not only helps me make sense of my own thoughts, but I make better sense of the world and life around me through my stories. I believe both reasons also make writing an important medium for the world. What better way to see the world than from different perspectives. Writing widens our viewpoints and broadens our understanding. Writing makes us more compassionate toward others.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Walking, for me, usually cures writer’s block. But I think it’s also breathing fresh air, getting some oxygen inside me, that straightens out my thoughts.

What is your favorite time to write? My favorite time to write is the morning, right after I exercise. I’m awake in mind and spirit, and my body isn’t sluggish. I’ll write for 2-4 hours and use the afternoon for marketing and admin tasks, unless I’m on deadline. Then I write 8-10 hours/day.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? The best piece of writing advice I’ve ever receive and would like to impart to others is not to listen to writing advice. Write the story you want to write the way you want to write it. Just know the first draft is merely you getting your thoughts on paper. Use the rewrites and revisions to make you story shine. That’s when you want constructive input from experienced editors and writers.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? I am truly blessed to have a flexible day. I used to work in a corporate environment, spending my days in offices, cubicles, and sterile meeting rooms. I’ll never go back to that. I couldn’t. I write when I feel like writing and where I want to write. Some days it’s in my home office. Other days it’s at a cafe or in the park.

Kerry Lonsdale’s Falling for You Again is out now with ‎Lake Union Publishing.