Meet Joanna Emerson

We recently connected with Joanna Emerson and have shared our conversation below.

Joanna, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?

We all are creative in various ways. Some of us paint. Some of us have green thumbs. Some of us do carpentry. I love to write and world-build–that is my preferred creative outlet. When people go too long without doing something creative, they wither. People are like C.S. Lewis’s wardrobe. We look at the surface and there doesn’t seem to be much that’s impressive. And then we open the door and find that it’s an awfully big wardrobe. That’s the potential that people have, and we can spur that in one another. We can spur that in ourselves by allowing ourselves to daydream, and to take the steps that turn daydreams into vision that we plot out and then turn that into actionable steps that we walk out.
Within each of us is a well of creativity. This well is watered by our experiences and the other art and stories that we encounter. When I sit to write, I draw from this well.
Here are a few practical things I do every day to fuel my creativity: I connect with other creatives; I read poetry; I read books from various genres. I try to read books from genres that I write in as well as books that are vastly different from what I write. Broadening my reading selection broadens the well of creativity so that I have more words to pour on the page when I sit to write.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I write steampunk, historical romance, biographical novels, screenplays, fantasy, and modern romance. I’m super excited about the romantic comedy that I’ll be releasing on March 11, 2025! It’s a modern romance about a father who enters the dating scene. It’s called 50 Shades of Dadbod. This is my first foray into comedy, and I hope it won’t be my last. It really stretched me creatively to write comedy. It sounds so easy, but it’s the hardest writing I have done to date.

I hope to shop around some of my screenplays this year. I have a historical romance that will be coming out this summer as well,

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

One quality that has helped me in my author career has been tenacity. The get-rich-quick authors are few and far between, and most of these are already rich to begin with. The rest of us keep getting back up again over and over, rejection after rejection.
One skill I have is to be able to tell a unique story. I have heard from readers that they have read other stories in steampunk or historical romance genres, and mine stand out as original and fresh. Readers are able to immerse themselves in these unique story worlds and meet characters that don’t fit any molds. As for areas of knowledge, I’m currently pursuing a degree in peace and conflict studies. Since stories revolve around conflict, the study of conflict, both in theory and in practicum, have helped me to see some of the motives behind conflict that others might miss. For those who are new to the journey, my advice would be this: don’t just write what you know, write what you need to know.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I would love to collaborate with others who want to make films. I have written three screenplays and I would like to write many more. Filmmaking requires a team, and I would love to be part of a team working with other creatives who get inspired whenever someone says that something is impossible. Like Alice, from Alice in Wonderland, I try to do six impossible things before breakfast. Who’s with me?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://joannaemerson.com
• Facebook: Author Joanna Emerson
• Twitter: @joannaemerson82

Image Credits

Samantha Fury
Hannah Mae Linder