Ask the Author: Marcus Turner
Answered Questions (8)
Marcus Turner
I know I'm answering this question three years late (sorry!), however, since this is my first release in almost that time, it's relevant:
Bright Skies, Long Shadows was inspired by my battle with bipolar, and started in earnest in large part due to some turbulent life changes that happened in the past 2 years.
Many of the poems were written in that time, informed by those recent events... but quite a few were older poems that unwittingly captured how significant and insignificant events sluicing through the filter of then-undiagnosed bipolar disorder.
This recurring theme, along with each individual poem's theme, felt like a unique voice, the expression of life that isn't as commonly seen. It felt important to share it because in the act of writing and sharing, I learned so much about myself, and felt a greater sense of community than I ever have before, respectively.
Bright Skies, Long Shadows was inspired by my battle with bipolar, and started in earnest in large part due to some turbulent life changes that happened in the past 2 years.
Many of the poems were written in that time, informed by those recent events... but quite a few were older poems that unwittingly captured how significant and insignificant events sluicing through the filter of then-undiagnosed bipolar disorder.
This recurring theme, along with each individual poem's theme, felt like a unique voice, the expression of life that isn't as commonly seen. It felt important to share it because in the act of writing and sharing, I learned so much about myself, and felt a greater sense of community than I ever have before, respectively.
Marcus Turner
The world in Jay Kristoff's Nevernight series is so freaking cool, so unbelievably metal - like a city made from the bones of some long dead cyclopean creature they don't even have a proper myth for? Absolutely brutal world, but still, there would be some sights to see!
Marcus Turner
By Summer 2023-2024 (sorry i'm getting to your question VERY late), the books at the top of my list are:
Wayward - Chuck Wendig
An Unquiet Mind - Kay Redfield Jamison
The King In Yellow - Robert W Chambers
Malorie - Josh Malerman
My Heart Is A Chainsaw - Stephen Graham Jones
The Ritual - Adam Nevill (the Netflix film was great!)
Wayward - Chuck Wendig
An Unquiet Mind - Kay Redfield Jamison
The King In Yellow - Robert W Chambers
Malorie - Josh Malerman
My Heart Is A Chainsaw - Stephen Graham Jones
The Ritual - Adam Nevill (the Netflix film was great!)
Marcus Turner
I think about the things I'm afraid of, the things I'm afraid to lose, the ways in which the world - and its social order, constructs, priorities - seem unheimlich, somehow wrong... and that often informs how I come up with my stories.
Marcus Turner
I'm drafting a cyberpunk story that is actually partly for a university assignment, but I play to expand it. I've also got a supernatural horror story in the planning stage as well.
Marcus Turner
Don't ever give up, push hard, be hungry - but don't let the fire consume you. Know when to put the pen down, when to take a break. Writing will always be there - self-care must always come first.
Marcus Turner
Creating new worlds and throwing characters into the fire and watching how they react. It's the weird megalomaniac godlike feeling and completely sadistic, but it's an amazing and wonderful power, the act of creation.
Marcus Turner
Take a break. Go do something else - if you don't have a hobby, find a new one. Absorb yourself in something new, learn something new. Not writing isn't the end of the world, and when you do come back, you'll be fresh, clear and may also have learned something new that you can actually use in a story too! (Which just doubles the positive effect of taking a break)
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