Ask the Author: Megan Rich
Answered Questions (10)
Megan Rich
Great question! I would travel to Julia Child's Paris and join her at the cooking school she attended. I realize this isn't fictional, but time travel is!
Megan Rich
I have a ton on my list because I am trying to read as much as I possibly can in regards to my current novel project. A few highlights are: Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener, Brotopia by Emily Chang, Severance by Ling Ma, and Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo.
Megan Rich
This is a tough question, Xiao Yu. In some sense, I am ready to start a new project every single day. Don't you feel this way? That when you wake up each morning, there's some new discovery? I do journal quite a lot, but I wouldn't say that I'm systematic about my inspiration. I am usually driven, at first, by a desire to to write about some very specific topic or experience -- it isn't until much later that I actually decide, THIS is what I will write about or THAT is my project. The decision requires much more discipline, and oftentimes, I find myself enjoying the lack of discipline so much that I neglect deciding. That said, once I do make a decision, I am usually quite committed and see it through.
Megan Rich
This is a great question, Claire. I will be honest and say that it always kills me a little to leave a place too quickly, and I often pine to live in any place I travel to now. At the same time, I know that these are two totally different experiences -- traveling abroad is meant to give us a new perspective on the life we are living elsewhere, where living abroad gives us new perspective on what life, and home, really are to us. I think when I'm able to see this distinction, I'm a better traveler and liver of life.
Megan Rich
For me, it is the chance that someday, maybe years after my death, someone will read my words and feel the kind of inspiration I do from the writers I love most. It's amazing to put something down on paper and see where it ends up, whom it affects and how.
Megan Rich
I work on other things related to the project -- perhaps something creative like illustrations or even the more mundane like editing for parallel structures. Usually by indirectly working on the project, my passion gets reignited. I also spend a tremendous amount of time looking out my window and noticing what's passing by. For some reason, the mere act of noticing helps me to refocus; it is a type of meditation and one that is essential to good writing.
Megan Rich
I am inspired by so many things. Firstly, the books I read and the other writers I know; secondly, nature and the wonder I feel at the simplicity of the stars or the perfection of a rock-face; and most importantly, the people I meet, their stories and whatever my soul tells me when I am with them.
Megan Rich
I think the most over-looked writer skill is compassionate noticing. Spend time not just writing and reading, but actively noticing what is around you. In my creative writing classes, my first unit of study is in this skill. It's amazing how we all have holes in our noticing (for example, some people are fantastic at noticing the emotions of those around them, but miss many physical details). I always work with students on identifying their strengths and weaknesses as 'noticers' and moving from there.
Megan Rich
Since Six Years just came out in June 2014, I am currently in full-time promoting mode. This, however, includes all kinds of fun writing, such as my blog (www.sixyearsofafloatinglife.com/the-blog), promotional materials, and even a Guide to Living and Moving Abroad which will hopefully come out the first week of September. I have been delighted to find that all of this writing is almost as fun as the book itself!
Megan Rich
This book was written with a sense of urgency. I realized, at the brink of moving back to my home country, that the six years I'd spent abroad needed to be recorded. I knew that in returning home, these memories would serve me well. The idea came naturally out of this need.
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