Member Spotlight: Brittni Nelson

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? I am a middle school teacher, and I see fewer and fewer kids who read for pleasure. I wanted to write a book that was engaging for young readers to help encourage a love for reading.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I don’t start writing until I have a clear outline planned. I build my story in my head, little by little, and once I have a solid idea I write notes for the book. Then, when I sit down to write, I have everything ready! Of course, things change and evolve, but by the time I am at my computer I already know my characters and story line inside and out.

What is your favorite time to write? I like to write when the ideas are fresh in my head. I love to write at a local coffee shop, sitting my favorite iced latte.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Just start writing! Don’t wait for the perfect time or the perfect place. If you have an idea, put it on paper. Also, write what you know. My middle grade mystery is set in a house much like my own, with stories from my family’s adventures renovating a 100 year old farmhouse. When we were replacing our floor, we found full spread newspapers from 1887 under the old hardwood! I incorporating this story, but modified it to include clues about the mystery in my book.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? I hope I can make an impact on children’s literature. If even one young person picks up my book and discovers a love for reading, I will have succeeded.

Brittni Nelson’s The House on Hemlock Hill is out now with Freshwater Press.