Member Spotlight: Clare Frank

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing is in my blood. I learned to read from children’s books written and illustrated by my mom. But writing is also in my soul. It’s how I communicate best. There’s something both current and old-worldly about the medium that transcends trends and generations. We find comfort in the smell of book pages and portability in a story that comes in a compact package, ready for use and wireless.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Writer’s block isn’t really a thing for me. Maybe it’s because I naturally gravitate to working on the part of writing that feels like what my body and mind can do that day. If I’m not feeling that words are going to flow out, I work on editing what I already have, or structure, or character arcs, or setting refinements, or, or, or.

What is your favorite time to write? After coffee, before wine. Or, anytime I have the house to myself.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Enjoy whatever phase you are in! From idea, to first draft, to editing, to the whole publishing scene–embrace where you are.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? For me, it has more to do with being excited about writing at my age. It’s not that I think of myself as old, but I have lived long enough to become comfortable in my own skin, which translates to authenticity in my writing. I’m not at all worried about AI-writing.

Clare Frank’s Burnt: A Memoir of Fighting Fire is out May 23 with Abrams Press.