Member Spotlight: Deborah L Staunton

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? There are many reasons that writing is important. It moves, enlightens, and brings joy to readers. It often helps people feel less alone when they see themselves and their life experiences on the page. It is important to me because I want to help lift the stigma from the topics I write about and in doing so, help others who are struggling to live in a world with more grace and understanding.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Taking writing workshops, either in person or on Zoom, always helps me with writer’s block. Being in community with other writers and using prompts to get the ink flowing prevents the overwhelming feeling of facing an empty page alone.

What is your favorite time to write? I work and have two special needs kids so I write whenever I can but I find that later in the day is always better for me. I am not a morning person and find it difficult and sometimes impossible to write in the early hours of the day.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Be open to constructive feedback from people you trust and admire, weigh it out and give it consideration but ultimately, it is your writing so take what is helpful and leave the rest. Also, everybody gets rejections. Don’t ever let them stop you from making your art.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? There are so many avenues for writers now. I love that I can take workshops via Zoom from home and get just as much out of them as I do from in person events. I also love that there are so many markets out there that no matter how many rejections you get, there is almost always another venue to try.

Deborah L Staunton’s Owls Can’t Sing, illustrated by Akikuzzaman Utshoo, is out now with Little Sister Books.