Member Spotlight: Joanne Brouard

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Words are still one of the most effective ways to convey a message. If someone takes the time to read your book, he/she welcomes your message and makes it his/her own. In a world where communication between people is slowly disappearing, books become an irreplaceable intermediary.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I never force it. I stop writing, or write something else, or another section of the book. I let my subconscious work on the problematic section and “harvest” the solution when I least expect it (during a walk, a shower, while driving, etc.).

What is your favorite time to write? Very early in the morning, when all is quiet and peaceful.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? We often hear that we must write what we know. I have to admit that it’s especially true when it comes to emotions. If you’ve never felt betrayed, for example, it might be difficult to describe it in detail.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? I am proud to pursue a method of communication that was supposedly “doomed”. Nothing is ever doomed. There are technological fads, but the written word has been in existence longer than any technology. Humans’ need to communicate and to pass along knowledge has always been and will never cease.

Joanne Brouard’s Give Me a Solid: Rediscovering Food and Joy When Chewing or Swallowing Proves Difficult is out now.