Member Spotlight: R.V. Wilbur

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Art in general is so important, both now and for future generations, but there is something about the written word that can be so impactful. I think it’s easy to forget that when you’re reading it is someone speaking to you, sharing their voice and their thoughts and a piece of their life and heart with you, and that’s something very powerful that not many other mediums can convey. For me personally it is much easier to put my feelings into words than it is for me to express them verbally, so in a lot of ways my writing speaks the things I cannot say for one reason or another. Likewise, the written words is able to travel much further and last much longer, and that is the kind of artistic power, freedom, and impact that we need to see more of (especially from diverse voices) in the world!

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Fresh air and simply time. You just cannot force it, and I’ve found that when I try to the block only becomes worse. I need to get outside, somewhere open, where I can spend time in nature and not in front of a screen, and just breathe and literally open my mind up. And then I give it time, and eventually that spark starts to come back and the knots unspool and I’m able to work through whatever is blocking me. And the better I am at practicing those things, the faster I’m able to get back to it.

What is your favorite time to write? I take notes, plot, and actively think about my characters and scenes 24/7, but I am solely a night writer. Occasionally I’ll “see” a scene and be able to knock it out during the day, but nearly all my creativity surges from about 10pm to 2-3am, or whenever the characters stop talking. I juggle/balance a lot of personal responsibilities, and also tend to feel guilty spending time writing when my family is awake and I could be present with them, so when they go to bed and it’s just me alone with the quiet, the notes I’ve taken during the day come together and the words FLY off my fingers!

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Write it ALL DOWN, even the “trash”, and let it flow. Then save it all, even the things you cut that don’t work, because you never know when you’ll come back to your old words in the future for a different project. And when it’s time to hit “publish”, recognize that the book no longer belongs to you, it belongs to the reader, and set it free.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? The freedom, especially in independent publishing, to write without constraints or barriers. It is far easier now than it was even just 10 and 15 years ago to find an audience, and I think readers at large crave things that are different, fresh takes on the tried and true. I think it’s really a unique time to be able to tell stories that are important to YOU and are what YOU would like to read, and to “find your people” from there.

R.V. Wilbur’s The Rebellion of Stars is out now with Night Owl Loft.