Member Spotlight: Jordan Isabella LaHaye Fontenot

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing is one of mankind’s most impactful, and lasting, ways of having a voice in the world. It is a way to leave a mark that will outlast oneself, documenting, “I was here, and this is what I saw, this is what I felt, this is what I imagined.” As someone who has always struggled to make my literal voice heard in our fast-paced, loud world, writing is also a way for me to speak to myself, to understand my own mind and the world around me. It has been such a valuable tool!

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I find that when I’m struggling to get things down, the best way to kind of crack open my mind is to absorb other people’s art—whether that be by reading a book that I admire or poetry, or attending a performing arts event or concert. When I am inspired, I am motivated, and can often start to see a new way through.

What is your favorite time to write? I have never quite figured this one out. I’ve gone through phases of morning pages, then shifted into the evenings, and then found myself writing into the dead center of the night. I’ve never mastered the routine, but am still working on it!

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Recently, someone told me right before my book was going to be published: “Be prepared to be misunderstood.” That has been an incredibly helpful mantra—you can’t write for everyone, and not everyone will “get” what you were trying to do. And that’s okay.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? Today’s age is so turbulent. There is just so much to respond to. It can be incredibly overwhelming, but it also makes everything feel more important. And remarkable voices are emerging every day with profound insights into the current state of our world. It’s an honor to be even on the periphery of that, to be inspired by it.

Jordan LaHaye Fontenot’s Home of the Happy is out now with Mariner Books.