If it’s fun, keep going.

Pinar Tarhan always wanted to be a writer, Today she is a novelist, screenwriter, freelance writer, and blogger. Her work has been featured on CNN, The Washington Post, The Billfold, and WOW! Women on Writing among others. She thought it’d be wise to get an economy-proof (or at least less risky) degree. She is from Istanbul, and from a young age students are conditioned to work hard to get into good schools, including middle and high school. After graduating from a highly-coveted high school, Pinar got a full scholarship to a good university where she double-majored in Business and Advertising; areas that sort of aligned with her creative interests.

But after graduating in 2008, the job market was such a disappointment. Neither the job perks/salary nor the jobs themselves were a satisfactory match to Pinar’s experience. (At this point, she had 3 good and varied internships, educational and vacation trips abroad and a damn good educational background.) Pinar eventually took a job at an educational consultancy firm that sent students abroad. She thought at least it’d be fun as she got used to office life. But no. The job was disappointing, and she got sick very often. But at every free moment, she learned about blogging and freelance writing. 8 months later, Pinar quit, knowing office life wasn’t for her. Like most entrepreneurs she was looking for flexibility. “Doing what I want where, when and how I want to do it.”

Health Challenges

Covid adversely affected Pinar’s mental and physical health, and it severely reduced her productivity and creativity. She had to kill her travel blog, though she saved every post and is working on a relaunch. “I couldn’t get many writing assignments because I didn’t have anything to write about. Most of the activities I loved to do were out of reach: going dancing, seeing friends often, traveling abroad, testing out different coffee shops…” Meanwhile Pinar focused on here own fiction writing, and continued to work on her marketing. She also holds a CELTA (Cambridge certificate in English language teaching to adults) so she taught English online a lot. In fact, she loved teaching online so much that Pinar kept going with it after Covid. “Getting results usually takes time. And you’ve to take care of yourself because if you get sick or stuck, your whole operation is put on pause.”

AI in a Writer’s World

AI is a hot topic these days. With ChatGPT and other tools able to crank out full articles and books with the press of a button. Many writers are concerned at the possibilities. Pinar tends to be optimistic on the subject. “I think it will help, at least in the short run. Novelists are funny creatures. We love creating huge bodies of work, but ask us to write a synopsis, tagline, blurb… And we will flinch. AI can help us make our marketing copy better. But I don’t think it can replace writers.”

Pinar already has two novels under her belt and is working on a third. It’s called – A Change Would Do You Better. “It’s a short, fun, romcom with an ensemble cast that even men enjoy. (I asked.:)) It’s a sequel to A Change Would Do You Good and largely follows the same characters.” Like most writers she worries about rejection and popularity, but knows she needs to be patient and have a thick skin.

Like most writers, Pinar is also an avid reader. She’s a huge fan of personal development: Psychology, productivity, freelancing… from the likes of Tim Ferriss, Richard Wiseman, Seth Godin, Michael Heppell, Gretchen Rubin and Gary Vaynerchuck. She also is a fan of fellow writers Sophie Lizard, Jon Morrow, and Nick Stephenson.

Focusing on Marketing

Like many creative people, Pinar wants to create rather than focus on the business side of her craft. “I have a bunch of chronic health problems that can reduce productivity, and as a creative person, I would write rather than market. Which is funny because I do have degrees in Business and Advertising. It’s not because I think marketing is bad. I’m not introverted either. It’s just that my brain is averse to analytics and testing. I’m trying to change that.”

If you are looking for a writer or want to follow Pinar’s writing adventures click the link below.

*Primary URL: https://writing.pinartarhan.com/