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# Write Now with Alex Sanchez
- URL: https://justincox.com/blog/2026/09/write-now-with-alex-sanchez/
- Published: 2026-09-30T15:00:50.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-30T15:00:50.000Z
- Description: Today's Write Now interview features Alex Sanchez, author of RAINBOW BOYS.
- Author: Justin Cox
- Tags: Interview, #alex-sanchez

## Who are you?

I’m Alex Sanchez, an author of books for young people, living in gorgeous upstate New York.

## What do you write?

Like a lot of writers for young people, I write the stories I wish I could’ve read when I was growing up. Stories that would’ve shown me: “See? You’re not so weird. There are other people like you.” For me, a big part of feeling different and lonely was being a boy wanting to love and be loved by another boy. At the time there were no books about a kid like that. The greatest reward of my writing has been hearing from readers how my books have helped them know they’re alone.

## Where do you write?

My favorite place to write is at a quiet well-lit table at my local library. I pull out some paper and a mechanical pencil, put on my headphones, listen to whale songs, and step into imaginary worlds. From inside my mind’s creative bubble I look out at fellow humans immersed in their own reading and writing worlds while my imagination spins and soars.

## When do you write?

I don’t have a set schedule. On any given day I give myself short, limited bursts of time—15 minutes here, an hour there—limiting my time by setting a timer or by scheduling a commitment I need to get to when I finish. These deadlines trick me into getting the work done rather than fiddle-faddling around. A lot of my first drafts are jotted down on index cards or post-it notes in between my daily doings.

![](https://justincox.com/content/images/2026/03/Rainbow-Boys---Cover.jpg)

Photo courtesy of Alex Sanchez

## Why do you write?

Writing is how I sort myself out—what I think and feel and who I am. It brings me a degree of psychological, spiritual, and emotional peace. If I don’t write, I can be a swirling mess of confusion. I write fiction and memoir in particular because I love stories—hearing other people’s stories and telling my own. Stories motivate and inspire me.

## How do you overcome writer's block?

My biggest writing block is the bully inside my head telling me nobody wants to hear what I have to say, that I’m setting myself up for rejection and hurt, and I’m an idiot for opening myself up. The way I stand up to the loudmouth bully is by getting him out of my head and onto the page. I write down all his disheartening, defeating jabs until he runs out of things to say. Once I’ve let him say his piece, I can get to work and let my other characters speak.

## Bonus: What do you enjoy doing when not writing?

I love swimming, hanging with friends, watching foreign films, listening to audiobooks, and eating not-too-spicy Thai food.

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*My thanks to Alex Sanchez for today's interview.*