Member Spotlight: Paula Priamos

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Language is our best defense against things that are wrong in the world. It is our best way to challenge orthodoxy and garner strength. It is how we use our individual voices and make connections with others. Over the years I’ve had readers come up to me and either give me a hug or tell me how my story is their story. It is gratifying and makes the whole process from beginning to completion worth it. Even with fiction, a strong protagonist can reach out to a reading audience and express human truths. I also love the entertainment of it all–writing in first person and, for a little, seeing the world through someone else’s eyes.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I live in a beautiful community in the mountains of Southern California, so I may walk my dogs to clear my head. I always write with a spiral notebook and pen. My view is to hurry up and fail. Write the first draft of a scene and then I have something to work with. That line of thinking has never failed me.

What is your favorite time to write? Hands down, I love writing in the early morning when the house is quiet and I’m just starting to fully wake up. For a few hours I have the kind of razor sharp focus that dulls throughout a busy day.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? This advice is geared for novel writing. If you begin with a conflict and a character, you will not be afraid of the middle of your book. Many writers may stall out at the midway point, but they have to ask the tough question as to why? Usually it’s because their foundation isn’t strong enough. I’ve taken that advice to heart and have sailed through the midway point of my novels. The story, for me, feels like it gains momentum and it’s a movie reel playing out in my head. I just have to write it down.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? The rules of yesteryear don’t apply anymore. Writers can reach a wider audience by all sorts of technological means – social media and the rest. In many ways, it’s still uncharted territory for writers. That part intrigues me. I’m still navigating, finding my way.

Paula Priamos’s Appraise Her is out now with Power Punch Publishing.