Ask the Author: Matt Mason
Answered Questions (2)
Matt Mason
Oh, I just write. For me, "writer's block" is my ego or my own doubts telling me I don't have a good poem in me that day. Fortunately, I have a deadline to adhere to, I make myself start at least one new poem every week (by midnight on Mondays). So what I've found is that even when that doubtful voice is the loudest, I sometimes end up writing a really good poem when I sit down to meet my deadline.
Sometimes, of course, I write a terrible poem. But I just don't show those to anyone, so there's no harm in it. But the good thing about writing a bad poem, of course, is that I still learn something by writing it, I still get writing practice in.
And maybe, just maybe, all Writer's Block is is that there's a bad poem in the pipes of your head and the only way to get to the good poems trapped further back in that piping is to write the bad poem and clear it out of your system so that the good stuff can flow freely.
Sometimes, of course, I write a terrible poem. But I just don't show those to anyone, so there's no harm in it. But the good thing about writing a bad poem, of course, is that I still learn something by writing it, I still get writing practice in.
And maybe, just maybe, all Writer's Block is is that there's a bad poem in the pipes of your head and the only way to get to the good poems trapped further back in that piping is to write the bad poem and clear it out of your system so that the good stuff can flow freely.
Matt Mason
At the Corner of Fantasy and Main: Disneyland, Midlife and Churros came about due to a weird happening where I basically woke up one day thinking about Disneyland and started compulsively researching Disneyland history, Walt, and more. I resisted writing about it until, after a couple months of reading books, articles, listening to podcasts, watching YouTube videos, etc., my wife (also a writer) basically said: you're a writer, you're doing the research, so write.
And by writing these poems, I eventually figured out what was going on, that this wasn't a frivolous project about a vacation spot, it was an important project about the connections we make in our lives and how they root inside us. I really love this book.
And by writing these poems, I eventually figured out what was going on, that this wasn't a frivolous project about a vacation spot, it was an important project about the connections we make in our lives and how they root inside us. I really love this book.
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