We were lucky to catch up with Meagan Myhren-Bennett recently and have shared our conversation below.
Meagan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
I’ve always loved putting word to paper, but sharing it was always a scary prospect. I applied to a dedicated writing program when I was 16. I didn’t tell anyone I was doing this. I never shared my dream of writing.; it seemed too personal. And once the secret was out, there was no going back.
I was accepted into the program, but telling my parents was really a challenge. Eventually, thanks to snoopy little sisters, my parents did find out. But even then, I didn’t talk about my writing. It took years before anyone outside of my immediate family knew that I wrote.
What finally pushed me to let others know was that a member of a Facebook Group I was in shared about a writing challenge in another group. So, I bit the proverbial bullet and joined this Facebook Group that was formed solely for the purpose of issuing short story challenges. I wrote The Luminous Tales: Tears of the Dragon. I was more than pleased when the story was accepted as part of the anthology Fantasy and Fairytales: Short Story Anthology.
The risk was in facing my fear of rejection, which had happened in the past with story submissions. Since then, I have had many short stories published, as well as a collection of poetry. And just recently, I joined with two other authors in writing a blog column – Lady M’s Fabulous and Frugal Fashion Tips.
Facing my fear and taking a risk opened up a world I had only ever dreamed of peeking at.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I started out writing for my classes. These assignments allowed me to learn my own strengths and weaknesses. One can never get too comfortable, as there is always room for improvement. For part of my learning experience, I needed to review and critique the work of others. This one assignment grew into becoming a book reviewer.
As I became more known in the reviewer world, I was asked to take part in book launches. For those unfamiliar with the process of being a book launcher, one agrees to share about a book before it is published. This process can include reading early copies of the book that may need one more pass-through editing. I also create graphics for said book. I have to admit I love staging books -finding that perfect background, the perfect knick-knack that hints at what is to come once the reader delves into the pages.
My reviewing also led some authors to seek me out as a Beta Reader. In these cases, I read the book before it had undergone any professional editing. I need to catch anything that could detract from the reader’s enjoyment. For example, in chapter 2, our main character (mc) has green eyes, but in chapter 8, the mc’s eyes are a deep chocolate brown. A reader might not catch it, but there is something that makes the book feel off when they read it, and they just don’t know what it is.
This, in turn, has allowed me to hone my own skills as a writer. As I was told when I was at the start of my journey – read, then read some more, and whenever you have spare time, read again. We learn from what we experience and from mistakes. Everything comes together to make us who we are, and it shouldn’t be forgotten.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is it allows me to release something that I would otherwise keep bottled up inside. This, in turn, allows me to flourish in other areas of my life. Creativity breeds creativity, and I believe it has allowed me to grow as a person and from more than one viewpoint. I feel being able to see something from different angles has in turn grown the creative aspects of my life.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
I think the biggest issue non-creatives struggle to understand is the drive to create. I can’t help it, but sometimes in the middle of a conversation, I’m struck by a thought. If I don’t jot down my thoughts, then my mind starts conjuring up scenes or conversations between two characters that only exist in my head. I’m not ignoring you or dismissing what we’ve got going on between us. Rather by pulling out the pad of paper that I keep in my purse, I’m giving my mind permission to release what is distracting me from you so that I can then fully focus on what you are saying or doing.
It might sound scary but I can have a couple of conversations taking place in my head while we are talking about something totally unrelated. And to be honest I’ve always had this as a part of who I am. I may not have been able to express it when I was younger but it has always been a part of who I am. Fortunately, it has also allowed me to multitask.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BloomingWithBooks.blogspot.com www.StorytimewithDoreenandDuncan.blogspot.com https://booksbymeagan.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloomingwbooks/ https://www.instagram.com/storytimewithdoreenandduncan/
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Blooming-with-Books-book-reviews/ https://www.facebook.com/StorytimeWithDoreenandDuncan
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Bloomingwbooks
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BloomingWithBooks
- Other: https://mewe.com/meaganmyhren_ben https://www.pinterest.com/bloomingwbooks/
Image Credits
Meagan Myhren-Bennett