Member Spotlight: Jennifer Worrell

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? I’m a terrible conversationalist, I have yet to understand humans, and I tend to be inarticulate, especially when talking about things I’m most passionate about. Writing allows me to express myself in a way that makes sense. It’s cathartic. Readers are allowed that same thing: they can savor a passage, mull it over, many times. Where conversation is fast-paced and fleeting, books allow you to spend time with your thoughts and see things from a new perspective.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Write something completely different from your work-in-progress, or go on hiatus all together. I sometimes think block is caused by not giving myself enough time to think plot or character through, or I’ve pushed myself too far into the writing cave that I forget how the world works. So I get out and experience life and I get inspired again. Also, read others’ books. Eventually the urge to re-join the club is too hard to ignore.

What is your favorite time to write? I envy those who wake up at dawn and immediately get cracking, but my brain doesn’t seem to be at full capacity until around 2pm. Then I don’t want to stop for silly things like dinner or sleep.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Don’t quit. Maybe it’s taking longer to master something than you planned, but you’ll never reach your goals if you give up. As they say, “it’s a marathon, not a sprint.” I’d also like to say “don’t compare yourself to others” but then I’d have to take my own advice.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? The exciting part is also the scariest part: with technology advancing at lightning speed and politics devolving just as fast (quit bogarting all the crazy dystopian ideas, people!), it’s a fun challenge to write something completely innovative, or imagine a twist that hasn’t been done before.

Jennifer Worrell’s Edge of Sundown is out now with darkstroke.