Member Spotlight: Christy Sauro Jr

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing is important because it is timeless, unlike the spoken word that will last for only as long as someone remembers it. Writing is also important because it is a way to tell others about those things that are too hard to talk about, which are important to know about.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? When I experience writer’s block, I turn on instrumental music. Hearing music playing softly in the background is very helpful in dealing with writer’s block. Music by Kitaro was among my favorites. When that did not work, and all else failed, I would pray for help. That worked the best. I remember one time when I needed to reduce a part of my manuscript by about 150 words. Nothing I could come up with seemed to work to reduce the word count, because the back story was massive. So, I prayed for help and then what came to mind was these two sentences, which was all that was needed, “From time to time, things happen that are most unlikely. Real-life events occur in strange ways, filled with odd twists and improbabilities that turn the seemingly impossible into a reality.”

What is your favorite time to write? For me there was no favorite time to write. I would write whenever I could. The writing of the story was an obsession.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? I took an English composition class in college as an elective. The instructor was an elderly lady, who had not retired because she loved teaching. She told the class to never be rushed or pressured to complete your writing before you have made it the best it can be. She said something along these lines, “There will always be a market for good writing.” I took that to heart.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? What excites me the most is that there are over 2 million new books being published each year, just in the just United States alone. With such an overwhelming number of books to choose from, it would seem unlikely that one’s book could ever get out from under the pile and show up when people are searching for a book to buy in one’s genre. To calm my fears, I think of the saying “Where there is a will there is a way.” I think that mind set coupled with prayer will increase the chances of getting one’s book into the hands of the right reader.

Christy Sauro Jr.’s The Legacy of the Twins Platoon: The True-Life Stories of Marines Who Went to War in Vietnam is out now.