Member Spotlight: Rachel King

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing fiction and poetry allows me to use my imagination and intuition to create something beautiful that I can share with others. I couldn’t imagine my life without it. The author Anne Enright says that writing regularly over many years “makes you more free.” I’m not sure exactly why it would—maybe because you learn to play? because you learn to be honest?—but I agree. I’ve become more free by being a writer. Writing is an important medium for the world because many people, like myself and others, communicate best through writing. I also think it important because the barrier to entry is low compared with many other artistic pursuits, such as painting, cinematography, or even playing a musical instrument. If you know how to read and have a pen and paper, you can write, and experience your imagination and a kind of freedom.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? To cure minor writer’s block, I simply wander into the wider world. I go on a walk, a drive, a bike ride, to a festival, a bar, a concert. To cure more serious writer’s block, I slowly work through The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. She says, “In order to work freely on a project, an artist must be at least functionally free of resentment (anger) and resistance (fear)”—and over several months, the writer learns how to do that through writing morning pages and going on artist dates.

What is your favorite time to write? Mornings. Right now, since I have a full-time job, I aim to write mornings to early afternoons on Saturdays and Sundays.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? The painter Andrew Wyeth said, “One’s art goes as far and as deep as one’s love goes.” If you can access what you love deeply and write about it well, then I think you’ll have something people will want to read.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? I’m excited that literature in translation is becoming more widespread and available in the United States. There are so many international writers I want to explore.

Rachel King’s People Along the Sand is out now with Parafine Press.