Hi there — I'm Rida Tariq.
I've loved writing for as long as I can remember. I was four when I started keeping little routines and stories in notebooks, long before I understood what "being a writer" even meant. My first real story happened almost by accident, in a free period during 6th grade — I wrote it by hand instead of doing whatever I was supposed to be doing that day, and I never really stopped after that.
I've always written the traditional way: pen in hand, notebook open, no shortcuts. For years, that writing stayed mine. I didn't have anyone to tell me what "ready" looked like, so I never felt confident enough to put it out into the world.
That changed in 2024, when I finally published my work online — teaching myself promotion, formatting, and everything in between, one mistake at a time. Since then I've published three books: Haru, Forgotten Man of My Dreams, and Claire and Diana. I write poetry too, and somewhere along the way it turned out to be contagious — Fizza and Abeel on the team write it as well.
Draftline Studio exists because of that gap. I built the studio I wish I'd had back then — a place where a new writer can hand over a rough draft and get honest, careful guidance back, not silence and not a template.
If your story is still sitting in a notebook somewhere, I understand exactly why. Send it over when you're ready. — Rida