Member Spotlight: Lonnie Busch

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? I am compelled to write by the stories that haunt me, the ones that ravage my waking mind and steal my sleep. But to the world at large, is writing important? I used to believe it was, as I believed all art to be, but not anymore. If it were important, the world wouldn’t be in the mess it’s in. We all would have evolved past the mistakes we are now repeating.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? This question surprises me, frankly. I believe writer’s block is a myth. In over thirty years of writing, I have never experienced such a thing. I write because I am driven to. If I don’t feel the need, I just don’t write. The notion of “writer’s block” may be a misdiagnosis of a very different aspect of creativity, which is, that the creative mind needs time to rest and recuperate. Relax and quit trying to force it.

What is your favorite time to write? Every time I write is my favorite time. I sometimes write on my phone when I’m taking my morning walk. Or in the middle of the night, when I have to pull myself from the warm blankets to answer an impatient urge to write a sentence or passage that won’t wait. Often, first thing in the morning, I find myself rushing to the computer with the solution to a writing problem I went to bed with the night before, then sit and write for two or three hours. I don’t have a writing schedule.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? I would just say this about writing; if you don’t absolutely love it, love playing with words, reworking and revising, invoking crazy gods and demons who whisper into your thoughts, don’t bother with it. It is not a sure road to riches or fame, and chances are your friends and family (and complete strangers) will never take you seriously enough to buy your book. Writing is its own reward. If you don’t understand that, then writing is probably not for you.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? Not much. I’m also an artist, so I love creating my own covers, but to be honest, I am intimated walking into a library or bookstore by the sheer volume of work, most by true masters of the craft. And then there’s the AI garbage being churned out, which will, over time, tend to lower the bar on quality. (Lucky for me there are so many [untouched by AI] physical books from the past at the library I have yet to read!). So, I take a deep breath and remind myself why I write; because I have to; I want to. Since this past summer, I have been working on four novels—two finished (not revised), one in progress, and one in stasis—all of which I may never publish! The joy is in the writing, the exploration and discovery. Once the story and characters drag me into the brawl of words, it’s hard to extricate myself. That’s why I write.

Lonnie Busch’s Without a Face is out March 30 with UBiQ Press.