Member Spotlight: Linda K. Sienkiewicz

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Fiction allows us to witness lives from the inside out. It gives shape and language to experiences that often remain invisible, even to those closest to us. In my newest novel, I wanted to portray anxiety in a way that might offer recognition and relief, along with the reassurance that our thoughts and fears are neither incomprehensible nor shameful. For readers who haven’t experienced anxiety themselves, I hope the story fosters understanding where there was once confusion or distance.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Whenever I struggle with my writing, I read. It takes the pressure off and shifts my focus from producing to consuming. Reading reminds me why I fell in love with words in the first place. And it’s not passive; it’s immersive. I let the language, pacing, narrative, and characters sink in until something stirs and my own creative instincts begin to wake up. It works every time.

What is your favorite time to write? I’m a morning writer, once I’ve had breakfast. I also get a second wind later in the day after I’ve walked Cowboy, my corgi. Fresh air, a dog walk, and I’m ready to get back to it. You could say my writing schedule comes with a corgi break.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Don’t be afraid to let your readers get angry or upset with your characters. Give them opinions. Let them screw up. Then they can redeem themselves. But first you have to make them real. When working on my first novel, I wondered if I’d alienate readers when my main character has an affair at the lowest point in her life. My editor said “So what? It’s all right for your reader to get angry with your character.”

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? What excites me most is the ability to connect with readers in ways that weren’t possible when I first started writing in the 90s. Through blogs, social media, and online communities, I can share my work, meet other writers, and find readers who connect with my characters and stories. Writing can be a solitary business, but it doesn’t have to be a lonely one. I’m also excited that I can keep reinventing myself as a writer. I went back to school for my MFA at 55, and here I am at 71, publishing another novel. The one thing that excites me most hasn’t changed: the possibility of creating a character who gets under someone’s skin, makes them see something a little differently, or makes them laugh. There’s always another story to tell, and I find that exciting.

Linda K. Sienkiewicz’s Love and Other Incurable Ailments is out now with Regal House Publishing.