Member Spotlight: Janet Levine

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing is important to me. It’s part of the fabric of who I am. Without writing I’d lose the threads of my psyche. I have a lifelong innate desire to express myself in written words. An important medium for the world because it exists and has done so for at least five thousand years

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Switch off the device, leave the room, wait for another day. Whether it’s the next day or two, a week, or longer. Never force your writing. Let the creative juices marinate subconsciously until they are ready.

What is your favorite time to write? Nine to twelve in the morning.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Write something every day. Let writing be part of you, not something you do with conscious effort. Even if you scribble five sentences in your journal, write every day. Even if you have writers block, turn to some other writing. While you are waiting for the urge to work again, read and read and read.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? A computer, an iPad or other tablet, much more efficient than the old days of pecking on a type writer and using white out. Especially in the revision stage, electronic devices make the process smoother—not easier—smoother. The Internet excites me. Huge potential for international PR and publicizing your work.

Janet Levine’s Reading Matters: How Literature Influences Life is out July 20 with Armin Lear Press.