Member Spotlight: Sara Hosey

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Although I primarily write fiction, I find it incredibly therapeutic. Both writing and reading provide me with opportunities to work through issues that are on my mind and heart.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I am a runner, so getting my sneakers on and getting outside is my number one strategy to get the blood flowing to my brain and the ideas flowing in my imagination. Alternately, I will nap if necessary; though I’m not an avid napper, I have found that a well-timed snooze can be very beneficial for creativity!

What is your favorite time to write? I am a morning writer. My ideal day would start with a jog and a few hours of writing.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Write it through to the end. That is, I find it hard to resist dropping a project halfway through in order to pursue something else. In order to talk myself out of doing this, I insist to write the story through to the end. If, when a first draft is complete, I don’t like it, I can walk away. What I’ve found, though, is that persisting with a project can really pay off and that, when I’ve made it past some of the tricky/difficult spots, I realize that I was tempted to hide from the hard work that is so crucial.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? I love all the resources available to us–especially online. I don’t know that I would have been able to join or be active in the Authors Guild, for example, ten or fifteen years ago. I’ve also made wonderful connections to other writers through social media groups and communities. And I look forward to whatever is next!

Sara Hosey’s Imagining Elsewhere is out now with CamCat Books.