Member Spotlight: Kevin F McCarthy

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing keeps me grounded and in touch with the world. Bringing new characters to life and telling their stories is something I’ve always done because it’s just a part of who I am. I would do it even if I were the only one to read those stories but, it’s also very gratifying when others enjoy them too.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I just step away for a time and stop thinking about my current project. Eventually ideas just seem to begin popping into my head and that gets me going again. The time this takes can vary from a few days to as long as a month or two.

What is your favorite time to write? Late at night, I’m a night owl, have been since college.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? It’s very cliché but; just write. Even if it’s something that you have no intention of anyone else ever seeing just write and then write some more. When I was first starting out I would write fan fiction based on some of my favorite TV shows as practice. No one’s ever read any of it (and no one ever will!) but it was good practice.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? The ability to self-publish your work and that option becoming more accepted as time goes on. Traditional publishing is incredibly subjective these days not to mention user-unfriendly so I think having another avenue for your work to be seen is very important. If not for self-publishing a lot of great voices would never be heard.

Kevin F. McCarthy’s The Color of Oceans is out now.