Member Spotlight: Elaine Spooner

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? When I retired, I decided I wanted to document my career experiences and, more importantly to spotlight the amazing creators I met and worked with along the way. We participated in the digital revolution in Hollywood and helped advance it in different ways.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? It’s important for me to focus on writing and make time to let my inspiration become words on a screen. To do that, I am lucky that I can write when it feels best. I enjoy the process immensely once there’s a topic that inspires me. Again, I’m lucky I have multiple topics in mind these days!

What is your favorite time to write? That varies. The best time to write is when I first wake up. When I’ve decided what to write, I can be disciplined about writing once a day. The time doesn’t matter as much as the focus and return to writing as often as I can.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? The best advice came to me in a presentation at a creative conference. A TV writer I admired said the best advice she had was “put you butt in the seat and write.” In other words, don’t second guess the inspiration and don’t let other things get in the way of writing what you want to write.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? I found self-publishing to have a significant learning curve, but the capabilities available are flexible and freeing to a writer who wants to publish.

Elaine Spooner’s Outside The Spotlights: Conversations With Unsung Creators Behind the Screens in Hollywood is out now.