Balancing Novels, Screenplays, and Indie Rock
Richard Turgeon discusses his novel Please Advise, his journey as a screenwriter and musician, the creative process, and offers valuable advice on navigating the music and publishing industries with passion and perseverance.
Richard Turgeon is a storyteller in every sense of the word. A novelist, screenwriter, and musician, he has built a career on crafting compelling narratives that resonate across different mediums. His latest novel, Please Advise, blends humour and heartache in a sharp, insightful exploration of grief, love, and the absurdity of office life.
Beyond literature, Turgeon has made his mark in the film industry, with his screenplays earning recognition on Coverfly, and in the music world, where his indie rock albums have garnered critical acclaim and airplay on major platforms. Balancing these creative pursuits while maintaining a professional career, he exemplifies the dedication and passion required to thrive in the arts.
In this exclusive interview, he discusses the inspiration behind Please Advise, the intersection of his artistic disciplines, and his best advice for aspiring musicians and writers navigating today’s creative landscape.,
What inspired you to write Please Advise, and how much of your personal experiences influenced the story?
The original inspiration came from a bulletin board in my college’s library. I noticed it was full of index cards giving advice to people who tacked questions to the board. I wondered who the advice giver was, and what his or her life was like. I filed the idea away for some 20 years before deciding it was the right time to turn it into a novel. By then I had enough life experience to turn it into a really good story. The bulletin board was just a device or an interesting concept to pursue, as I’ve always been interested in psychology and people’s secret lives.
The novel isn’t autobiographical per se, but certain situations and characters are loosely based on my experiences as a professional writer working in a marketing department (in this case a pro audio company). In that respect, it’s a very personal story but written in such a way that it should appeal to anyone. It’s basically an office romance with pathos and humor, similar to the tone of The Office or Josh Ferris’s Then We Came to and End.
Your book Indie Rock 101 provides practical advice for musicians—what do you think is the most overlooked aspect of running a successful band?
Working with the right people. You can spend your entire musical life exploring new gear, practicing, recording and mixing, promotion, and all the other things the book covers. But if you’re going to be in a band for fun, let alone a successful one, I think it’s really important to work with people who are professional, easygoing, creative and talented, and team players.
Of course finding this all in three or more others isn’t as easy as it seems, which is why so many bands don’t last very long. The bulk of this book is about music production, but I think some of the advice in there about often overlooked things like graphic design and working with the right people are some of its best advice.
How do you balance your work as a novelist, screenwriter, musician, and do you find that these creative disciplines influence each other?
The balancing act can be tricky. Generally, I can work on music more intermittently, a few hours here and there, and get a song a month done when I’m more focused on music. A novel or screenplay is a bigger time commitment with longer timeframes. Balancing them isn’t easy, especially since I’m not (yet) a full-time writer or musician. So I have to carve out time to do these things outside and around my professional and personal obligations.
For me, yes, writing novels, screenplays and music are very related and feed into each other. I tend to think of telling stories in musical terms, like beats and pacing. I write some songs as stories with “scenes” and beginnings, middles and ends. I learn things about my craft as a screenwriter that informs my prose, and my life as a musician has inspired my fiction like Please Advise, which is about a copywriter by day, musician by night. It’s all related and just a reflection of my life and what inspires me as an artist and person.
Your music has been featured on several notable platforms—what do you think has been the key to your success in reaching a wider audience?
When I put out my “solo” album In Between the Spaces in 2017, I really did not do much to promote it. I emailed a few press outlets, but that was about it. I didn’t expect the response to be as strong as it was. It also followed a period of musical inactivity that lasted the six years I worked on Please Advise (I know that is a long time to work on a novel, but I also wrote a few screenplays in that time as well).
I think what helped my music get recognized beyond my friends and family were honestly very positive reviews from independent bloggers, which are featured on my website. They’ve been really loyal over the years and I count many of them as friends, at least virtually. I am humbled and grateful for their insights and exposure they’ve given my work. Beyond that, I think YouTube and making videos here and there has also helped a good deal.
Can you share any insights into your creative process when working on an album versus writing a novel?
They follow a very different process, but again, they are related in some respects. They both require discipline, patience, and of course skill and talent. But the biggest thing is just carving out the time in a routine and consistent way, if you’re serious about your craft and getting better, let alone getting projects done. It also helps to set reasonable goals and timeframes.
For a novel or screenplay, I always start with an idea or concept of course, then an outline, then just make progress with each writing session, whether it’s about 500 words an hour for a novel, or a few pages in 2-3 hours for a screenplay. For albums, I build them song by song, usually around a song every month or two. Since I write the songs and play almost all of the parts, it’s not practical for me to try to record an album batch-style.
What advice would you give to aspiring artists who are trying to navigate both the music and publishing industries today?
Work hard and believe in yourself. Be persistent. Don’t worry about how old or young you are, but know that time is precious and slips away fast. Get to work, every day if possible. Grow and learn from every project. Never stop developing your craft.
Everyone has to follow their own path to fulfillment and success, and those can mean different things to different people. I keep creating because I have to. For some people, art is a hobby, but for me, it’s who I am.
My best advice is to create if that inner voice is telling you to, if you have something to say. Fight for the time and energy to do it if it’s important to you. Be happy with the process and enjoy the rewards as they come, and in whatever form. If you are creating with the hopes of being rich and famous, you probably are not cut out for the creative life. Most of us languish in obscurity and a few of us get a lucky break. No one gets the latter without putting in the work and being persistent.
