Member Spotlight: Wendy Hinman

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Stories have served an important role in my life. I’ve been an avid reader my whole life. Writing stories helps me make sense of the world and share my discoveries. I love the idea of brightening someone’s day or offering them another way of looking at the world and they problems they face through my stories.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? My cure for writer’s block is to transcribe notes I’ve taken about books I’ve been reading to jump-start my brain with language, character traits, and themes. Then I open my tracking document, which I use to track my ideas and progress. I use an excel spreadsheet with multiple pages to tally my page count and capture various details about story plot and timeline, characters, scenes, language, descriptions and editing progress.

What is your favorite time to write? I find the best results when I begin writing first thing in the morning for as long as I can sustain before pausing to check email and take care of other pending things. It helps if I keep a regular schedule. Scheduling weekly meetings with my writing group reminds me of my writing goals and offers a regular milestone to measure my progress.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Study books you love and books you don’t and notice what works and what doesn’t. Being an avid reader instills a deep understanding of stories and characters that can guide your gut when you’re writing your own. Being a supporter of books, authors, libraries, and booksellers will pay unexpected dividends, so join the community of fellow book lovers.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? Being able to reach readers and fellow authors so easily and share our mutual love of books and stories.

Wendy Hinman’s Sea Trials: Around the World with Duct Tape and Bailing Wire is out now with Salsa Press.