Member Spotlight: Courtney Ramm

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing (and reading) are forms of artistic expression that everyone can relate to. I am also a professional dancer and musician, so writing was a relatively new medium for me, however I believe that writing is an intimate act of connecting that allows your deepest thoughts to be expressed.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? My best cure for writer’s block is to jump on a mini-trampoline (also known as a rebounder)! I find that moving my body allows my thoughts to reorganize and my thoughts flow differently after doing a few minutes of exercise.

What is your favorite time to write? I love to write in the mid-afternoon. I’m not sure why, but that’s when my thoughts seem to flow on to paper easiest, when the sun is at it’s peak.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? “It doesn’t need to be good, it just needs to be done.” Being a perfectionist, I found it very hard to start writing until I heard this advice, knowing I could go back later and edit my work. This phrase also helped me overcome writers block.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? I think it’s exciting that books can be available across many formats, such as paperback, ebook, and audiobook–so that people who don’t usually consider themselves to be “readers” are still able to hear your story. That in turn allows you to connect to even more people.

Courtney Ramm’s Eris Rising: A Memoir of Finding the Warrior Within is out now with Acorn Publishing.