Member Spotlight: Renée Ebert

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing helps us to understand who we are, answers the questions we never knew we had; seeing ourselves through the Looking Glass. I am always surprised when I read a piece after a long time, and find myself thinking, “I didn’t know I felt that.” Although unintentional, writing informs and can have the lasting, never going away power for others to consider a new way of seeing things. It can influence in a positive way.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Reading authors of the best of American literature. Ideally those stories least like my own somehow stir the creative pot and I come back to my work renewed. Outlining thoughts and action of my characters on my computer with the CAP lock on to encourage a “flow” of works, uninterrupted.

What is your favorite time to write? Early morning, late afternoon.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Two things: Don’t edit, just write. There’s always plenty of time to go back much later to edit. Don’t stop the flow. and, Mark Twain’s admonition: “If you want to write, get a cat.”

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? In a world that isolates, writing really says you’re not alone; there’s an entire world of people you’ve joined in this one thing.

Renée Ebert’s Dead Eyes in Late Summer is out now.