Member Spotlight: Roberta Isleib

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Oh my gosh, writing takes me out of my own world and into the world of the characters I’m exploring. Reading does the same–it expands my universe, entertains and teaches me, enriches my life. I would be lost without a stack of books to look forward to!

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Set a timer or make a small goal such as I’ll write for an hour, or I’ll write 500 words. Talk to a writing buddy. Go for a walk. Read a good book and try to figure out how they made the story work. Leave the writing at an exciting point when I know exactly what’s coming next.

What is your favorite time to write? My brain is freshest in the morning so that’s when I write.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Hold your nose and write. Anything can be fixed except a blank page. (courtesy of my pal Hallie Ephron.)

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? This has been a terribly difficult couple of years, and I know that reading helped me survive it. I am thrilled when readers tell me that my books have done the same for them.

Roberta Isleib’s A Scone of Contention, written under her pen name Lucy Burdette, is out today with Crooked Lane Books.