Member Spotlight: Catherine O. Sweeting

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing opens up new worlds and perspectives and helps us understand those who are different from us. We can learn about the past, be entertained in the present, and imagine the future.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I give myself deadlines and push through until I have the needed word count, or pages, written. I might write something different, not the novel I’m working on, to get the writing juices flowing.

What is your favorite time to write? I like to write in the afternoon–and I like to write in many different places–the backyard, Starbucks, a friend’s quiet house.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? All writing is rewriting. The first draft is just that – a draft. I tell my composition students the first draft is like vomit! We want to avoid it all costs and it certainly isn’t worth submitting or publishing. The hard work is in revision and editing.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? There are so many great books coming out every day, but we have the opportunity to share our books with the world in a way that wasn’t possible 20 years ago.

Katie Sweeting’s Remnant is out tomorrow with Resource Publications.