Member Spotlight: Sarah Landenwich

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? I’m not a quick thinker or a fast talker. I like to reflect on what I’m going to say and then choose my words intentionally. For this reason, writing is the way I express myself most truly. Without it, I think I’d feel muted. It’s for this same reason that I think writing is important to the world at large. Writing, especially long-form writing, is the most immersive of the creative arts in the sense that it allows the reader a sustained visit into another person’s experience. The world needs that now more than ever.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Am I cursing myself if I admit I’ve never had writer’s block?

What is your favorite time to write? My favorite time to write is mid-morning, when the teapot is still hot and the day is full of promise. Most often, however, I write when life allows. Sometimes that means scribbling out 500 words in the half hour before school pickup.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Most of my writing teachers stressed the importance of a regular writing habit. This advice lacks the glamour of an insider’s tip, yet, like most good habits, it’s the true “secret” to writing health. You can’t wait for a lightning bolt. Instead, you spark a little electricity at your desk every day and help it begin to glow.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? I write dual-timeline novels, so I have a tendency to romanticize the past. Part of me wonders if it would be easier to write and sell books in a time before the internet. However, those dual-timeline novels require a load of research, and tools like image searches, Google Maps, and foreign language translation sites make historical research infinitely easier than it would have been even a decade ago.

Sarah Landenwich’s The Fire Concerto is out now with Union Square & Co.