Ask the Author: Leigh Matthews
Answered Questions (4)
Leigh Matthews
I'm a bit of a workhorse when it comes to writing projects, but I do have some strategies for when the words aren't flowing and I'm wrangling with some knotty plotting issue in a novel.
I've found it helpful, for instance, to go to a floathouse for some serious sensory deprivation in a flotation tank! Letting all the daily minutiae fall away over 90 minutes in the tank let's my brain relax and unravel plot tangles. I almost always come out of the tank with an answer to whatever was stalling my writing.
If I'm stuck with a completely blank page and just can't get started, perhaps after a hiatus from writing, I like to play around with poetry mash-ups: taking two seemingly very different poets and picking a single poem from each, then picking adjectives and verbs from one, nouns and adverbs from another, and mashing these together in a whole new poem. This can create some amazing metaphors or just odd phrasing that I might never have come up with otherwise. It's also just a good reminder to take inspiration from other writers and get the juices flowing, so to speak.
I've found it helpful, for instance, to go to a floathouse for some serious sensory deprivation in a flotation tank! Letting all the daily minutiae fall away over 90 minutes in the tank let's my brain relax and unravel plot tangles. I almost always come out of the tank with an answer to whatever was stalling my writing.
If I'm stuck with a completely blank page and just can't get started, perhaps after a hiatus from writing, I like to play around with poetry mash-ups: taking two seemingly very different poets and picking a single poem from each, then picking adjectives and verbs from one, nouns and adverbs from another, and mashing these together in a whole new poem. This can create some amazing metaphors or just odd phrasing that I might never have come up with otherwise. It's also just a good reminder to take inspiration from other writers and get the juices flowing, so to speak.
Leigh Matthews
Long walks with my dog, just soaking in the sights and sounds of the city and letting thoughts just percolate until I hit on one all-encompassing phrase or word that makes me rush home to scribble down a poem or opening paragraph or even just a title for a novel that will emerge years later.
I also love taking transit and letting the burble of conversation wash over me. This is a great way to prepare for writing realistic dialogue (especially of characters outside your own demographic/peer group), without seeming like you're super creepily listening in on people's private conversations!
I also love taking transit and letting the burble of conversation wash over me. This is a great way to prepare for writing realistic dialogue (especially of characters outside your own demographic/peer group), without seeming like you're super creepily listening in on people's private conversations!
Leigh Matthews
The highly anticipated sequel to Don't Bang the Barista!
Go Deep will be released in April, 2016, as a little birthday present to myself.
Currently in editing stages, which means I'm spending my days sitting in coffee shops and bars giggling as I reread dialogue and try to find the perfect wording for some [SPOILER ALERT]....
[SPOILER ALERT]
[SPOILER ALERT]
[SPOILER ALERT]
...Wedding vows!
Go Deep will be released in April, 2016, as a little birthday present to myself.
Currently in editing stages, which means I'm spending my days sitting in coffee shops and bars giggling as I reread dialogue and try to find the perfect wording for some [SPOILER ALERT]....
[SPOILER ALERT]
[SPOILER ALERT]
[SPOILER ALERT]
...Wedding vows!
Leigh Matthews
From readers' feedback about Don't Bang the Barista!, it seems I had no choice but to write a sequel!
And, as always, the Vancouver queer scene never fails to give me some fantastic material to fire my imagination.
Specifically, I know some readers found it hard to fathom the budding romance between Cass and Kate in Don't Bang the Barista!, and so I wanted to help add depth to that relationship, while adding in some entertaining new characters.
Rest assured there's some serious cuteness in the sequel, Go Deep, which is slated for release in April, 2016.
And, as always, the Vancouver queer scene never fails to give me some fantastic material to fire my imagination.
Specifically, I know some readers found it hard to fathom the budding romance between Cass and Kate in Don't Bang the Barista!, and so I wanted to help add depth to that relationship, while adding in some entertaining new characters.
Rest assured there's some serious cuteness in the sequel, Go Deep, which is slated for release in April, 2016.
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