Member Spotlight: Delorys Welch-Tyson

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? I have been writing since I was eight years old. I enjoyed reading and re-writing the authors’ books to fit my personal experiences, as limited as they were, as a young girl. Writing and reading enhanced my abilities to observe, analyze, and experience the world around me. Writing and reading are two of the many avenues of communication. Without communication, we are nothing.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Travelling, for me, is definitely a remedy for writer’s block. If I am unable to travel, like during this present plague, I binge on Netflix.

What is your favorite time to write? I write late in the evening…after midnight…and edit the following afternoon.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? 1) If you are looking for commercial success, study the books on the bestseller lists. 2) If you are a creative writer, write what you want and study the craft. 3) Before publication, study martial arts, because there will be all kinds of folks out there waiting to beat you up in dark alleys

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? It’s quite challenging being a writer today. As a writer of primarily, contemporary fiction, it’s difficult because of the confusion in today’s world. The Presidential election of 2020 is a prime example of this, plus the ramifications of the Covid 19 epidemic. I’m sure we’ll be reading all sorts of dystopian tales of these times for years to come. Nevertheless, what is truly exciting is the easy access to self-publishing, which enables the writer to test the marketplace, on their own.

Delorys Welch-Tyson’s Kaleidoscopes and Binoculars from A Broad: Illustrated Essays is out now.