Member Spotlight: Jann Alexander

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing is how I express myself, and it’s how I make sense of life’s complexities and challenges. A world without writing is impossible to imagine: the written word has educated and entertained humans for centuries, and it has the power to make us think and understand one another.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I’ve never experienced writer’s block, but I have experienced a lack of energy for writing. When I have been overloaded emotionally or even physically, and I can’t bear to sit at my Mac, I take time away to read, rest, or reconnect as needed. It usually takes just a day of tending to myself and I am reinvigorated to write and create.

What is your favorite time to write? I prefer to workout or tend to marketing and admin tasks in the mornings, have a nutritious lunch, and settle in for the early afternoon until evening to write.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? I can’t beat Elmore Leonard’s sage advice to leave out the boring parts. Of course, the tricky thing about that is being a good judge of what’s boring to readers, since it may not be boring to me. In that case, I employ my editor’s wisdom: Write to find answers to your questions.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? We have so many ways to share our work and our genuine selves, and we have so many avenues for discovery. The fun is in trying them out!

Jann Alexander’s Vacancy is out this Thursday with Black Rose Writing.