Member Spotlight: Eileen Stukane

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Whether through writing articles or books, I am able to share with others, information, learned experiences, and emotions that I would have held privately within my being. Writing helps me understand myself as I offer what I believe to be true to people I may never meet in person. I like to think that I am providing positive insights that are helpful to others. Where would we be if people had not used the written word to communicate? What history would we have about ourselves? Writing is a historic method of communication that is both personal and universal. May we never stop writing!!

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Sometimes, when I cannot seem to make my thoughts make sense on a page, I get exasperated, ready to give up. That’s when I take a breath and go back and read something I have written before, a paper, an article, a chapter of a book. When I read something I have written in the past, usually I am able to reassure myself that I know what I’m doing, and I will get through whatever is holding me back.

What is your favorite time to write? Early morning with my first cup of coffee is the best time for me to write. I wake up, throw some cold water on my face, grab my cup, put fingers on my keyboard, and let those alpha waves go to work in my brain.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? A NY Times reporter once told me that good writing comes from a commitment to “putting butt (although he used a different word) to chair.” Sounds simple, but I’ve found it to be true. When I am willing to sit and think at the keyboard for long stretches of time, words begin to take shape. Also, I think the best book I’ve read about the art of writing, and I highly recommend it, is Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? There are many voices on social media sites today, there’s a lot of conflicting information. I am excited about having my voice break through the din in my published writing. I am hopeful that I bring clarity to readers and that I engage them in thoughtful contemplation about what I have written.

Eileen Stukane’s The House that Held Everything: A Family’s Hidden Hoarding and the Secrets Left Behind is out now with Bloomsbury Academic.