Member Spotlight: Susan Erikson

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Written words change the world. When I read good work, I am changed. And so I write to pursue social justice. I write because writing is a change agent. There is power in writing, not all writing, but definitely in good writing, so I strive to be a good writer, one that communicates complexities in ways that most people understand.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? For me, there is no other way than to show up every day, butt in seat. Forgiveness is key, because some days are nothing days, and some days are slogging days, and only a few days are flying days. So I forgive myself for the unproductive days, and trust that as long as I show up in my seat, I will get bored enough, and if I let myself write “down the bones” and produce “shitty drafts”, I will be okay, just as long as I stop trying too hard or earnestly. I like looking in the mirror and saying out loud, “I forgive you” and then get back to my chair.

What is your favorite time to write? Bless those first morning hours, after dreamings have sorted things out.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Good writing is really hard. Do it anyway, again and again and again. It’s gonna hurt.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? Writing is discovery; I don’t know what I think until I write, so there’s the excitement of figuring that out. Fussing with words brings meaning and order. There’s so much for us writers to burn on about at the moment. I love that I can seem grounded and reasonable in my writing, when my head and body are ready to implode. I love that writing calms me, inside and out, and lowers my blood pressure, despite new world orders crushing in all around me.

Susan Erikson’s Investable!: When Pandemic Risk Meets Speculative Finance is out now with MIT Press.