Member Spotlight: Jeff Tanner

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? I love telling stories, learning about new things and places, and the process of creating something. Reading allows us to try on different personas, investigate solutions to challenges, and understand humanity and our place in this world.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I always have so many projects going that when I block on one, I can turn to another and another … I also find driving for long periods forces me to think through the storyline or whatever the challenge is, and then I can write again.

What is your favorite time to write? I’m at my creative best from 5:30 am to about 9:00 am.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? I got this from my high school English teacher, Mrs. Tinnin: “Cliches exist for two reasons: they describe something accurately, and we’re lazy. So take the meaning, but don’t be lazy; write it differently – that’s your opportunity to say something profound.”

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? All of the different ways we have to get our ideas out there and find our audience.

Jeff Tanner’s The King’s Collar is out June 30 with Koehler Books.