Member Spotlight: Marina Marinopoulos

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? I’ve written since an early age. Self-expression, therapy, fun! Writing is one of the oldest forms of human communication. Also, what’s life without a good book? Books open doors into another world.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I don’t get writer’s block because I always have a few things on the go. When I get stuck, I don’t sweat it, I just move onto something else—painting as well as writing. Also, deadlines motivate me.

What is your favorite time to write? When I can steal a free moment. I actually work out quite a lot of plot details, even actual sentences when I wake up, before I even open my eyes. Also while chopping vegetables, walking the dogs etc.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Write what you want, what moves your imagination. Forget the rest.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? Copy pasting! In my youth you had to use carbon paper and tipex. And re write everything a million times! Also instant access to information. Research is so much easier and leads to unexpected discoveries and connections.

Marina Marinopoulos’s Marguerite, written under her pen name Marina Montrose, is out now with Cupid’s Arrow Publishing.