Member Spotlight: Kaitlyn Serafin Jean

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? The written word is a magical thing. It conveys as much or as little as the author intended often with room for reader interpretation. The reader can be informed, entertained, or challenged by any work. History has taught us that whenever written language flourishes society evolves.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I write every day and view every sort of communication as important practice to improve my craft. Notes for my second novel. A social media post. An email to a relative. A text message to a friend. Audience, topic, word choice. There is no writer’s block if you’re always writing something and learning from it.

What is your favorite time to write? I find that I work best during morning hours before the responsibilities of the day begin to weigh on me and, eventually, lure me away from my desk entirely. Like most people, I’m never short of interruptions, distractions, and pressing matters to attend to. Anyone who can remain seated at their desk for two hours running deserves a medal.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Write what you know is a useful cliche because it’s mostly true. Most people know a lot. They know places, personalities, technology, adolescence, scuffed knees, comfort foods, heartbreak, horror, regret, love, longing, etc. You know the things you’ve personally experienced. Insert some of that into your sci-fi fantasy paranormal vampire thriller and it’ll all ring true to the reader.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? Nowadays, we have a multitude of recognizable sub-genres for readers to enjoy. Meaning, writers can let their imaginations soar in ways they might not have years ago. Novels can be made more complex, more compelling, by pulling in these different elements not merely as asides, but as integral parts of the overall story.

KJ Serafin’s No Need to Apologize is out now.