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Member Spotlights

Member Spotlight: Hamish Graham Todd

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? I have been compelled to write since I was a child. I founded readings, prose and poetry, I started the Seattle Writers Guild, and made many friends who also wrote. We supported one another’s dreams. We all thought, at least for a moment, that we would change the world.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Read. In my case, I went back to school, after successfully starting a newspaper and operating it for 8 years, I found writing on deadline the best medicine, school provides me with that. I’m 55 now and studying for a masters in Creative Writing.

What is your favorite time to write? Afternoons and evenings, I suppose. I am not a morning person.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? Everyone says, “write every day,” but that only works for a committed few. For me, “go with the flow.” You can always come back to it and revise. “Get out of the way,” is the same thing, don’t think too hard, if you get stuck, say on a word or a name, forget it and move on. Maybe leave a space, it’ll come back later, when you least expect it.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? I get excited that Amazon controls so much of the market place and that so many bookstores have closed. I miss their cats. So, I get excited, but not in a positive way. However, having said that, there are more opportunities for self-publishing and the big 5 or 3 are taking more chances than ever. Blogs are neat. And if you are hungry, and you write well, you will find a way to get it before reader’s eyes.

Hamish Todd’s I’ve Got a Bone That Digs Things Fine is out now with Wordman Publishing.