Member Spotlight: Tom Shachtman

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing is as essential to me as breathing, eating, sleeping, and enjoying life. When I am writing, even when the going is tough, I am engaged with the best in me — and with the world. In an increasingly complicated and dangerous world, our society more than ever needs writers to interpret, celebrate, imagine possibilities, and help us get through.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Write parts of what you’re looking for, and do it in a way you don’t normally do – in pencil if you’re used to typing; or with your left hand, or while not yet dry from the shower, or while half-awake. Also useful: starting with a part you’ve already written and try to make it considerably longer — invariably, you’ll find ways to keep going after that.

What is your favorite time to write? Mornings. With or without coffee.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? ‘Don’t believe your bad reviews and don’t believe your good reviews. Write for yourself.’ From an entertainment lawyer for many successful writers.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? The vast variety of media in which (and for which) to create.

Tom Shachtman’s Echoes or, the Insistence of Memory is out August 15 with Madville Publishing.