We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nevin Allen. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nevin below.

Nevin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

As a writer, an important part of my job is creating meaning in creative work while also making it commercially viable, so every project I contribute to has a special place in my heart. The most meaningful to me, though, is my recent poetry book, Ten Thousand Ventures.

I started writing it in high school with no real direction in mind and shaped it over the course of about five years. It represents both the longest timeline I’ve worked on and the most drafts I’ve ever written of a single thing. I also self-published the book without prior print experience, making the one project I made almost entirely on my own also one I can physically hand to other people instead of sending them a link. That’s a really good feeling.

Nevin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Nevin Allen and I’m a Pennsylvania-born writer. I do all kinds of writing, but lately I’ve been focused on screenwriting and poetry. I study Dramatic Writing at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where I’ve worked on all kinds of narrative projects in various positions, from writer to producer to actor. I’m a journalist and an entrepreneur as well— I like to keep busy. Last but not least, I recently published a poetry book called Ten Thousand Ventures, which is available now.

My main goal for my career is to teach. I don’t think that means necessarily injecting my writing with preachy morals or making edu-tainment, but I approach every project with the question in mind of, “what can someone take away from this that’s going to help them right now?” I myself have been enormously helped by certain works of art, so paying it forward feels natural.

It also works in reverse. Everything I make, I’m thinking, “what am I learning about myself by making this? What am I learning about others?” It’s a line of questioning that’s helped me to stay well-balanced and humble. My parents are both teachers; the value of education is never lost on me.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

One resource that’s helped me immensely is a website called Chill Subs. They aggregate submission information for literary magazines, contests, and publications so writers can stay up to date. It was through them that I found Vocivia, which was the first ever magazine to publish my poetry. They’re also big on making sure writers get paid, which is essential.

Aside from that, I’ve found public libraries and university resources to be enormously helpful. If you’re a college student like me, chances are you’re paying for a lot of services you don’t use. Taking advantage of those things while you have access to them can give you a great head start. Even if you’re not a student, public libraries, churches, and other community centers have all kinds of programs that can serve as education or even just inspiration. All you have to do is look around.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

This one sounds pretty counterintuitive to say in an article about myself, and that’s part of why it took me so long to unlearn: nobody is watching me. I don’t mean that in a cynical way or as a complaint— it’s very freeing, actually. The second I realized my art wasn’t being constantly scrutinized by anyone except myself was the second I started making art I was happy with.

As someone near the beginning of my creative career, I have the luxury of holding onto projects until they’re ready for everyone to see, and I’m trying to take advantage of that luxury to plant the seeds of a good future. Lately, I’ve been getting more recognition than I’m used to (Thank you CanvasRebel!), and instead of being anxious like I might have been earlier on, I’m just grateful. I feel prepared to deal with attention because I found the time to make art I believe in.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/nevinallen
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nevinallenwrites/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nevin-allen-aa4340234/
• Other: https://www.lulu.com/shop/nevin-allen/ten-thousand-ventures/paperback/product-kv9m2y8.html?q=ten+thousand+ventures&page=1&pageSize=4

Image Credits

Credited by File Name: “NevinAllen-1” – Grace Ann Leadbeater , “NevinAllen-2” and “TEN_THOUSAND_VENTURES_MOCK_2” – Spencer Stephens , “NevinAllen-3” – Michelle Chwala , “NevinAllen-4” , “NevinAllen-5” , and “NevinAllen-6” – Lena Faeskorn , “NevinAllen-7” – Gus Carvell