Member Spotlight: Gail Post

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? It is a wonderful creative outlet and has provided an opportunity to share what I hope is useful and supportive guidance for a broad target audience (rather than merely offering individualized care in my clinical psychology practice).

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Reminding myself of my goals is helpful. However, when inertia strikes, I find it useful to review what I have recently written and edit and fine-tune the text. This propels me forward with my writing.

What is your favorite time to write? In the mornings, in a comfortable chair, next to a sunny window.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? An old one: “too many cooks spoil the broth!” Counter to conventional advice that it is essential to find readers to review the manuscript prior to sending it to the publisher, a highly respected colleague and author encouraged me to trust my instincts and avoid too much input from others’ opinions. In other words, get the manuscript done and then seek out more fine-tuned editing advice. While this suggestion will not fit for many authors, it helped me remain confident and focused without distraction from too many different opinions.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? The freedom to share our wisdom, whether our goal is to entertain, amuse, educate, offer support, or touch on a sense of shared humanity. The varied options for publication now make publishing more about “what you do” than “who you know.”

Gail Post’s The Gifted Parenting Journey: A Guide to Self-Discovery and Support for Families of Gifted Children is out now with Gifted Unlimited.