Member Spotlight: Elizabeth Rosner

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? I think most of us are constantly trying to figure out how to connect—even if we’re loners or introverts or simply overwhelmed by the seemingly endless onslaught of so-called information. As much as I love and depend upon many non-verbal modes of communication, somehow the written word is the means by which I feel best able to explore myself and the world at the same time—in hopes that what I write manages to connect with someone else. Words matter, deeply, even when they’re only a slender thread between one person and another.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I don’t particularly believe in writer’s block. I have often experienced long—sometimes very long—pauses in my writing life. So, I’ve learned to accept that these silences are part of my process. On the other hand, I also have to be willing to make a mess and write stuff that’s more like notes to myself, rather than to expect everything I write to turn into a polished piece of work.

What is your favorite time to write? I write while I’m swimming; I write while I’m walking; I write in the mornings and in the afternoons and at night. I am pretty sure I write while I’m sleeping too.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? An editor once said to me: “The beginning should contain the ending.” I absolutely love that advice, especially the spacious and intriguing use of the verb ‘contain.’ I share this recommendation repeatedly with my writing students, regardless of the form they are working in. To me, it means you can’t really solidify your beginning until you’ve made it all the way through to your ending. This makes a great beginning much harder than ever, but definitely worth striving for.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? I’m an actual human being! Writing my very own words entirely without the help of a massive database composed of text stolen from millions of writers!

Elizabeth Rosner’s Gravity is out now with Counterpoint.