Member Spotlight: Kim DeRose

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Beth Pickens’ book Make Your Art No Matter What was really instrumental in helping me think about why creating art mattered so much to me. She put into words something that I’d felt but hadn’t consciously understood. Artists need to create to feel happy and whole. It’s how I process the world and understand myself. I’m happier when I’m writing, whether or not the project gets published. And while sharing my art with others does feel wonderful and important (and Beth Pickens talks about this too, the importance of sharing our art), it’s still the act of writing that’s what matters the most to me. The writing journey and all the unexpected discoveries along the way is where the magic lives.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Whenever I feel stuck I first try to attune to myself to see if there’s something I need: do I need rest? Food? Water? Connection? Because if I haven’t taken care of myself I find it hard to be creative. The other thing I do is give myself a very small and manageable writing sprint – about 20 minutes. How I use that time varies. I might go over what I’ve written thus far to remind myself of what is working. Or I might step away from the page and do some freehand brainstorming around the problem I’m trying to solve, or the questions I need to answer about my project. Or I might take the time to do a writing exercise, just to loosen myself up and get less precious about my writing. That’s often a very good way of reminding myself that my brain is capable of infinite creative possibilities. Laini Taylor has taught me so much about the importance of writing exercises, and I highly recommend reading what she has to say about it on her Patreon.

What is your favorite time to write? Ideally, very early in the morning. I love writing when the world is quiet and still. That said, I have two kids and also work full time, so writing often happens whenever I can squeeze it in. I’ve learned to take the pockets of time when I can find them.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Writer and author coach Isabel Sterling has taught me so much and has had so many wonderful pieces of advice in her podcast, The Author Burnout Cure, which I highly recommend. It’s almost hard to choose one! But what’s coming to mind is the reminder that that careers aren’t necessarily made over night or built upon just one book, and the best thing I can do for both myself and my writing career is to just keep writing. (And listen to Isabel’s podcast, you will not regret it.)

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? I absolutely love writing for a younger audience in today’s world. Teen years are always full of so much emotion and can be such a hard time – and today’s world is especially heavy and wrought, full of so much chaos. The chance to make teens feel seen in the midst of that, and to give them the books I wish I would have had in my younger years, feels like such a privilege and such an important responsibility.

Kim DeRose’s Hear Her Howl is out now with Union Square & Co.