Member Spotlight: Anna Harwell Celenza

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? I find that when I write about a topic, or explore an emotion or idea in writing, I reach a level of understanding that doesn’t come from just pondering or talking about it. There is something about putting pen to paper that opens my mind in a new way. I also enjoy the subjectivity of writing. I like that different readers can find different meaning in a piece of writing. I like the way reading and writing together (in book clubs and writing groups) helps build community and understanding. Like other narrative art forms, writing also can capture a moment in time. A book (be it fiction or non-fiction) can serve as a time capsule. Writing encourages us to contemplate the world around us. At its best, it opens our minds to various geographies, belief systems, rituals, histories, and points of view. This is what makes writing such an important medium.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? When I have writer’s block, I change my method for putting words on the page. If I have been working on a piece using my laptop, I switch to pen and paper. If I’m still struggling, I create a storyboard (for fiction) or compile a PowerPoint presentation with images and quotations (for non-fiction). I should confess, that my writing approach can be quite chaotic in the early stages. I don’t write from beginning to end, but instead jump around, writing bits and pieces in various ways. The final product might appear clear and cohesive, but in reality, it’s just a big mosaic composed of fragments written at different times using different methods. Shifting modes of writing in this way isn’t the most efficient, I know, but it’s the way my mind works, and it often helps me push through or avoid writer’s block.

What is your favorite time to write? I really enjoy writing late at night, but other obligations in my life (that require getting up early in the morning) often make that impossible. My other favorite time to write is during a long train ride. I travel quite a bit, and for some reason, when I take my seat in the train, my brain just clicks into writing mode. It’s like a mini-writer’s retreat. I owe Amtrak credit for supplying me with the most productive hours of writing in my career!

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Read good writing. Start your day by reading REALLY good writing…the type of writing you would like to produce yourself. And as you read, analyze what makes it so good. This was a lesson I learned from one of my professors in college. I was a poor writer who struggled to put my thoughts into words on the page. My professor handed me a stack of New Yorker magazines and said “Start reading these, find a few essays/stories that speak to you, then come back and tell me what makes them so good.” It completely changed my relationship with writing. To this day, I keep my copies of The New Yorker and pass them onto my students with the same advice.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? To be honest, it’s getting to hang out with other writers! There are so many wonderful communities coming together around the act of writing. Beyond professional societies and conferences, I enjoy talking with writers about craft in local bookstores, going to readings at the public library, working in critiques groups with students and colleagues at the university, working with young writers in my local public schools. When the world around me feels chaotic, hanging out with writers (in person and on line) brings joy and hope for the future. Writing doesn’t just reflect who we are. It helps us decide who we want to be.

Anna Harwell Celenza’s On the Record: Music that Changed America is out now with W. W. Norton & Company.