Member Spotlight: Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? I have conducted research on the topic of job stress, occupational depression, and burnout for more than a decade. I know a great deal about the subject matter. I thought it was time to publish a book because members of the public ordinarily don’t read articles published in scientific journals. However, I strove to write the book in such a way as to attract both specialists such as researchers and health professionals and the general reading public. I added two sections and footnotes for nonspecialists that specialists can skip.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I sit down to write. I succeed for a while. I take a break, especially when faced with a piece of writing that is especially challenging (e.g., translating something very technical into text the general public will understand). On the break I may watch TV for 15 minutes or switch to another task (such as using Duolingo to teach myself Brazilian Portuguese). Then I return to my writing desk refreshed and ready for the challenge.

What is your favorite time to write? I have had most success writing into the night, sometimes into 2 and 3 AM. I have had breakthroughs at night but I pay a toll staying up so late. I am trying to write more during the day and making progress.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? I want readers to remember what I have to recommend. I therefore limit myself to two pieces of advice that I perhaps didn’t receive but that I arrived at on my own. First, find some reliable people who would be good enough to read what you write and truthfully critique your writing. The worst thing such readers can do is be dishonest and not report what is wrong with your writing. I am fortunate to have a coauthor on many of my research papers. I also belong to a four-person writing group. The writing group has suggested apt edits for I recently published book. What I have told my students when I have read their writing is the following: “I can’t help you unless I am frank.” Second, be persistent. I have published more than 200 scientific papers, book chapters, and commentaries. I have persisted through reviewers’ (sometimes rough) comments. I published four short stories and three books. I am looking to publish a memoir about growing up in a Brooklyn housing project (persistence, right!).

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? Of course, like almost every other writer I enjoy seeing my name in print. I also enjoy being recognized by my peers. But more importantly, my most recent book is a heterodox work, challenging received “wisdom” in the field of psychology. I would like to see my ideas gain currency and be regarded as enlightening.

Irvin Sam Schonfeld’s Breaking Point: Job Stress, Occupational Depression, and the Myth of Burnout, co-written with Renzo Bianchi, is out now with Wiley.