Member Spotlight: Felicia M. Clark

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing isn’t just something I do—it’s the truest version of who I am. I’ve enjoyed many things in this life, but nothing has ever moved me the same way as writing. It’s where I feel most seen, most certain, most creative, most joyful, most alive. Storytelling is one of the most intimate ways we connect to others without needing to be physically present, and that in itself is its own little miracle. We live invisible somewhere between devoured words. Stories have the power to lift us out of grief, to ignite imagination, to reshape heartbreak into hope. There’s magic in the touch of a page, in the rush of a sentence arriving. Whether it’s the scratch of a pen on paper or the scroll of glowing words on a screen, writing is a form of electricity in my veins. I write what I’ve lived, but also what I long to understand. Every poem, memoir, fictional story—every line, is a fragment stitched together in a snippet of imagination and personal experience. That in itself is its own miracle. In a world where so many are grappling with unseen battles, my book AWAKE: Poetry for the Healing offers validation and hope to those who need a reminder that, even in their darkest moments, they can find light and emerge stronger on their path.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, a 12-week course to ignite creativity and confidence. It worked so well, I published my first book. I have recently started the writer’s edition called “Write for Life.” I highly recommend it to creatives of all kinds because the tasks are tried and true, and I still follow them today to continue my career as an author and writer
1. Daily morning pages (3 handwritten pages) before I get out of bed
2. Daily mindfulness walks without my phone, pets or other distractions
3. Weekly artist dates that fill my creative cup (e.g., hiking, painting, dancing, drawing, coffee shop, etc.)
4. Write for 20 minutes straight and/or 2 solid pages a day
5. Positive affirmations spoken aloud and written down about what you’re manifesting for your art
6. Reminding myself that I am willing to be of service to the world through my creativity

There were so many more lessons I took from this, but I will leave it there for others to take their own journey if they choose to open the door like I did.

What is your favorite time to write? Ah, the hours. The beautiful hours. I’ve always been a night owl—drawn to the stillness after dark, waiting to notice the slightest shifts in my imagination in the quiet. These days, my rhythm has changed. Now, I tire earlier and the moonlit hours I once cherished have softened into my blankets. I find myself writing in scattered moments—between a full-time corporate grind, a full-time author career, and a full-time nomad adventuring on the road. Still, I’ve learned to savor the morning hush—a good morning to the moon and her sunny best friend. A steaming cup of tea or cocoa in hand, I am wrapped in bed with my furbabies, trying their best to allow me to journal by the sun’s first rays. I allow the downward of my dogs and upwards of my cat to inspire me to my own yoga session or a walk through nature to stir my imagination loose. These quiet rituals have become my favorite way to coax creativity to the surface and gently call the next book into being.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? The most powerful advice I’ve ever been given about writing (and art in general)—is a mixture from Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic and Julia Cameron’s The Artists Way, which essentially says: Ideas are living things that come to us with an intention whispered from a higher power (the Universe, God, Source—whatever label you prefer, if any). An idea is always seeking and choosing a willing co-creator. You’re simply invited at first. If you say yes and commit to activating it, you become a vessel for its creation. As a creative, you serve the artistic force. If you turn your back on the idea or delay too long, the idea will leave and simply find someone else who’s ready to say yes. That’s the true task of the artist: to be ready and willing to recognize and accept the gift when it arrives. Whether it’s a painting that keeps appearing in your vision or a character that won’t leave you alone, your job is to show up, to serve, and to bring it to life. Creativity isn’t just self-expression; it’s collaboration with the divine. This concept blew my mind when I first learned it, and I truly feel that it was the driving force that led me to complete my graphical book of poetry. I said “yes,” and the idea became an attachment of my soul. There was this overwhelming sense of genuine relief when it was released to the public—to my hungry readers.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? What excites me most about being an author in today’s world (so heavy with division, pain, and injustice) is that storytelling is a sacred act of remembering and securing our realities. Writing is resistance, revising, and reviving. Words are our mirrors to the hurt we’re still trying to heal. The processing of our aches to awakes. With every passage, may we wake every reader:
to truth.
to empathy.
to strength.
to possibility.
to education.
to the light within.

We need this awakening more than ever to remember where we are and how far we’ve come. We need stories that heal. Stories that disrupt. Stories that speak to souls. Stories that soothe, spark, and stretch us. This is a time that demands art. I believe writers—especially the bravest of us—will be the architects of this better future.

Felicia Clark’s AWAKE: Poetry for the Healing is out now with Measure Life In Bookmarks.