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Megan Turner

~ Fiction Writer

Megan Turner

Category Archives: Travel

Trains, Planes, and Writer Deadlines

27 Monday Oct 2014

Posted by meganrturner in Publishing, Travel, Writing Practices

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Deadlines, Train travel, Writing and Editing

This weekend, I once again found myself writing on a train. My first blog entry on train travel described the cathartic process of writing in response to travel. This entry discussed the space one can create by getting out of town and clearing one’s mind. This weekend, however, the process was an altogether different one, as I was writing under deadline in preparation for the latest issue of AMRI.

Part of me believes that the traveling process will always spark new ideas. Yet, under deadline, one often fails to have this same transformative experience. As I write this blog entry, I am now looking out the train window for first time on my trip. I see the leaves have begun to change. The sun is shining onto my computer screen, yet I am squinting, managing to write still.

I suppose I am discussing the process of production here—and how it might interfere with the need for reflection. Sometimes one requires travel in order to write well, and sometimes one just needs to write. On this trip, I found myself slightly stressed, attempting to finish my work in time for my visit to Amherst, Massachusetts. More than that, I worried my work would not be perfect. Each time I write a review, article, or blog entry, I read it out loud afterwards. Then, I save and close my document, set it aside, and review it a few days later. If it’s a novel or longer piece, I might even set the work aside for a few weeks or a month. This was clearly not an option this weekend. I found myself having to turn in work that had not been given the proper resting time.

In a way this dilemma gets to the very question of writing for art versus writing for commercial value. I used to believe that writing every day would ruin my process. I believed that I needed time to reflect on what I was writing. While I still believe this to be true (the mind certainly needs a break at times), I also believe a writer needs to be capable of producing under strict deadline. If a writer cannot do this, she cannot fully consider herself a professional.

As I am pulling into another station on the Northeast Regional line from Amherst to New York, I wonder how my experience would have been different this weekend had I not been writing under deadline. Would I have enjoyed the ride more? Would I have been in less of a rush to produce a thoughtful review? Perhaps . . . but on the other hand, I can reassure myself with one simple thought: Sometimes a writer just needs to get it done.

There are moments to enjoy the view and moments to "get it done."

There are moments to enjoy the view. Other times, one just needs to write.

 

The Introvert and the “Ideal” Writer

25 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by meganrturner in Fiction Writing, Introversion, Publishing, Travel

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Extraversion and introversion, Publishing

In the past few years, I have read two books on introverts, The Introvert Advantage by Marti Olsen Laney and, more recently, Quiet by Susan Cain. Both books focus on the strength of introverts—their quiet reflectiveness and wisdom—qualities which are often ignored in a more extroverted society such as the United States.

I have spent much time thinking about these books and have been grateful to both authors for providing insight into my own and other introverted people’s lives. As an introvert, I have often felt overlooked or misunderstood. On interviews, I have sometimes felt misjudged as “unfit,” coming across as quiet, reserved, and not the sort of “go-getter” that interviewers suggest is ideal.

When I was in college, I once interned at a local newspaper. My articles included features of war veterans and local public figures. Some of my work even won a local journalism award. When it was time for me to leave the newspaper, the editor in chief brought me into his office. He said, “You have been a really great reporter, but when I first hired you, I thought you would be terrible.”

He went on to explain that he had only hired me because a friend had recommended my work. He believed I needed to improve my self-promotion skills, showcasing my strengths on interviews. At the time I thought he was right (and I did practice these skills), but now I wonder if maybe this editor should have also worked on his own interviewing skills, developing a solution for signaling out talent (he also hired a very bad reporter that year and had somehow failed to weed her out).

Similarly, in class I often found myself with teachers who penalized me for not participating, or they highlighted my quiet temperament in front of others. Some wondered how I succeeded both in and outside of school. For example, one professor was shocked to learn that I had spent a year teaching in Korea. He seemed to suggest that my introverted qualities would have prevented me from traveling at all. While I admit I am often a cautious person, I also enjoy new challenges. I was likewise surprised that this same seemingly extroverted professor was afraid to travel without his wife.

Although situations such as these have often proved frustrating, having read the above-mentioned books—I have begun to feel at ease with my own quiet nature, noting its benefits. I can think deeply on topics that many people may not consider. I am able to empathize with others when most might not understand them at all. As a journalist, I believe I succeeded because I was quiet and, therefore, listened to what the interviewee said. I took careful notes, researched and checked facts, and organized my paperwork before writing. I also learned how to write succinctly and edit my own pieces. I believe skills such as these are actually essential and should be sought after in both the journalism and other professional worlds.

As I have come to feel at ease with my own nature and recognize that sometimes interviews and other situations such as these will be difficult, I have also felt frustrated as a writer—believing publishers, editors, and agents have begun looking for extroverted writers with “personality,” good looks, and the ability to self-promote. As I have previously mentioned, I do believe it is important for writers to promote their own work and submit furiously, but I do not believe the ideal writer will ever be an extroverted one.

While there are certainly extroverted writers out there, most are introverted—as are many artists. Writers need time to reflect and hone their skills. In fact, I once read that the most common Myers-Briggs personality type for a writer is an INFP (introverted, intuitive, feeling, perceiving).

It is a mistake to expect writers to create masterpieces and also be outgoing, talkative types with strong personalities. While I believe most of the world understands this, others do not recognize the importance of giving these writers the space and time they need to create. Marketing and promoting their books is essential, but this can only be done after a period of solitude and reflection.

Sources:

Cain, Susan. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. New York: Random House, 2012.

Laney, Marti Olsen. The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World. New York: Workman Publishing Company, 2002.

Train Travel and Writing

22 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by meganrturner in Travel

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Korea, Train, Travel

I spent the weekend traveling to and from Baltimore on the train, and, as it often does, the trip sparked my imagination. The images I saw outside my window—of buildings,  trees, lakes, homes—made me think about my relationship to the world and my place inside of it.

A train is a capsule, able to move across space and yet exist outside of it. In some ways this is what I hope from my writing. As a writer, I enter a space, visualize a setting and create a world based on what I see. I am allowed to enter this space, unobserved for just that moment.

Unlike a moving train, however, I do hope my work will have a larger impact. While I move through towns, in and out for only a moment, I still expect the images I see to impact me. If I see a condemned home, I might create a story for it. I might use the home to represent a town’s economic state or the loss of a character’s self within a community. For the owner of that home though, the condemned house is personal. Perhaps it represents an old life or family he/she has left behind.

While all travel can be conducive to writing, it is train travel, specifically, that seems to generate these thoughts. Train travel involves letting go. The train rolls through the hills and its passengers roll with it. They have little control over the train’s course.

I also believe destination impacts writing, but the impact is not always as immediate. For example, I once lived in Korea for a year. While this experience impacted me greatly, it was many years before I was able to capture this experience and what it meant to me on paper. On the other hand, train travel seems to have an immediate effect. Even when I do not expect it, trains appear in my stories. A man stands on a platform, watching a train pass him by. A couple takes a short trip by train, and it changes their relationship to each other.

I don’t know that travel affects others in quite the same way. I often think, however, that other writers could alleviate writer’s block with just a short trip. Perhaps after taking this trip, writers will return home renewed. They may find the movement in their life has created space within their work.

Train travel can create a good environment for writing.

Train travel can create a good environment for writing.

Recent Posts

  • Interview with Bird’s Thumb
  • Reading at Corkscrew Wine Bar
  • Trains, Planes, and Writer Deadlines
  • How I Wrote This Story: “Backyard Dogs”
  • Writing About Our Pets: Giving Voice to “A Man’s Best Friend”

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