Member Spotlight: Stacey Alexander

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? I have been inhaling books for more than half a century; desiring to be a writer since I was a tiny child, but becoming a psychologist instead. I feel these professions are very closely aligned and often marvel at the in-depth understanding of human behaviour demonstrated by skilled novelists. Developmental psychologists have found reading to aid the development of empathy, which seems as vital as ever in today’s world.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I just get up and write anyway! In writing this book I often went to my computer with the same nerves I get for public speaking. I found it very strange to feel this way with no one in the room but the dog and I. Performance anxiety can be a powerfully unpleasant feeling but ultimately, it makes for a better performance. Embrace the gnarly beast–or at least accept they’re part of the show–and plough on together!

What is your favorite time to write? In the morning, so I feel like I’ve achieved something by lunchtime.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Go the hard miles in editing. When you think it’s fabulous, wait a few days, then read it again like someone else wrote it. Aagh! Edit. Rinse. Repeat.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? The opportunity to share my research in an accessible, fun way to connect people with practical ways of supporting secure parent-child relationships to form.

Stacey Alexander’s Attachment-Focused Early Childhood Intervention is out now with Brookes, Paul H. Publishing Company.