Another tea addicted writer on the loose!

It’s probably not entirely unusual for a writer to be able to create characters with detailed backstories within creative worlds, but somehow on the topic of themselves they freeze. The mind draws a complete blank despite knowing oneself better than anyone else could. It’s like you forget how to socialize and use words. Much is the case in this. Here I am, stepping out into a little space on the internet again to sort of re-emerge and re-introduce myself as a writer as I prepare to share a lot more of my literacy journey and work with.

So how best did I feel it would work to re-introduce myself? By answering tag questions of course! Initially I thought about doing the Author Newbie Tag as there are some solid questions on that one, but I am not set up to make videos for my YouTube channel quite yet and I’d have to re-work it for the blogosphere.

After some google searching tags for writers I landed on Vivien Ries’ “Author Tag” video on her YouTube channel from 2016.

Question 1: Where is your favorite place to write?
I love to write from the comforts of my own desk. Though I do enjoy taking a laptop outdoors on a warm day or off to a coffee shop, it’s really in my own zone that I find the most inspiration.

Question 2: Coffee or tea?
This is kind of a hard one as I do love both, but ultimately I’m going to have to roll with tea.

Question 3: Favorite book of all time?
I have several favorites from over the years. If I pick one book though, I’m rolling with Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. Mostly as it holds cherished memories of my mom reading the book to us as kids and nailing it with the voices. Her goose was my personal favorite.

Question 4: NaNoWriMo: Yes or No?
This is a huge yes for me, despite my lack of participation these past 5 years. I did NaNoWriMo (and hit the goal) in 2016, 2017, and 2018. I admittedly was on board to try my hand again in 2019, but due to some life circumstances I did not. I plan to return to all the NaNoWriMo fun in 2024.

Question 5: Genre you would write if you had no restrictions?
I don’t really believe in restrictions when it comes to the creative flow of writing. Plus overall, horror really is my favorite genre and there is so much flexible creativity one can incorporate into it. 

Question 6: If you had a superpower, what would it be?
Teleportation, especially if I can take others with me. There’s so many places I want to see and this ability would make that a lot easier to accomplish. 

Question 7: Favorite author?
There are so many authors who I admire and whose works I absolutely love, but I think I’m going to give this one to R.L. Stine. Mostly as he was the first author I truly became harcore fan of. I loved the Goosebump and Fear Street books when I was younger… and okay, fine, I confess I read some of his newer Fear Street books recently and actually enjoyed them.

Question 8: What kind of music do you listen to when you write?
So this really depends on what I am writing and more so, where in the writing process I am at. I would say I mostly might listen to music while brain dumping ideas out or sometimes even if I am doing a light outline on something. When I go to write the actual story though, I usually do it in silence. Not to say I can’t have any noise or never listen to music when I am drafting. Now the type of music, as I mentioned already, really depends. I admit I have an array of genres I quite enjoy. It’s definitely a much shorter list to tell you the genres I don’t listen to, then the ones I do.

Question 9: If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
There’s not really one specific place I want to live, but like a few places. I would keep a home in Michigan. I also wouldn’t mind a home in one or two other States and maybe even another Country. 

Question 10: What do you do when you get writer’s block?
One of my favorite things to do is challenge myself with a writing exercise. I find doing some can definitely help open the mind and get the writing brain going strong again. 

Well that’s it! Those are the questions and my answers as of today. Maybe I’ll revisit some of these questions down the line just to see if I’m answering the same way as I evolve as a person and a writer.

-Jane Ridgewood