“Community is the best investment in writing.”
-Emily Moskal
A new member of the Writers’ League, Emily lives in Austin.
Scribe: In what genre(s) do you write?
Emily Moskal: I write in outdoors, nature, and science writing and nonprofit management, with an unpublished interest in mythic writing.
Scribe: What authors would you like to have coffee or a beer with and which beverage?
EM: I would like to have something strong on the rocks with Clarissa Pinkola Estés so she’d sip slowly and reveal some of the most haunting, yet poignant stories of the ancient yet modern human condition.
Scribe: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what book would you want to have with you to keep you sane?
EM: If I were stranded on a deserted island, I’m tempted to say I’d bring a survival book, but in reality, I’d feed my spirit with the longest fantasy novel to dream myself out of loneliness. Or War and Peace so I wouldn’t go crazy from repetition.
Scribe: What have you learned from your association with the Writers’ League?
EM: I have learned from my association with the Writers’ League that community is the best investment in writing. There will always be times when I’m paralyzed by doubt, unsure of my course, or stagnant. Problems of logistics are easy to solve, but the enlivened will to keep writing what’s going on in your head makes a good writer.
Scribe: Where do you see your writing taking you (or you taking it) in the future?
EM: In the future, I see my writing turning from matter of fact and technical to heart-warming, creative, and memorable. I hope my pay will come less from nonprofit grant writing, and more from inspiring inner lives.
Scribe: Here at the Writers’ League, we love sharing book recommendations. What’s one Texas-related book that has come out within the past year that you couldn’t put down?
EM: I’m embarrassed to admit, but I’ve read Texas-related books, but not one released this year! There’s so much backreading to do in used book stores. This year, I read the classic Texas by James Michener to freshen up my Texas history. If anyone hasn’t read this or doesn’t know about Texas history, this is a must. Extremely well researched and captures the culture of Texas, down to the modern A&M and UT rivalry and the perception of the drag on campus.
Scribe: Is there anything else about you that you would like to share with the world? An opportunity for blatant self-promotion!
EM: I irregularly post on petroform.wordpress.com. I am a grant writer and nonprofit consultant on the side with a specialty in environmental nonprofits, if anyone needs a hand. More relevantly to Writers’ League, I freelance edit science writing, as a past science researcher, and I am an editorial assistant at Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine. Follow me on LinkedIn.
