Write On!

I first met science fiction/fantasy author Matt at the 2006 Santa Barbara Writers Conference, where we both taught workshops. I felt instantly at ease with his comfortable style, quick smile, and hilarious stories about attending sci-fi conventions. Critics rave that his writing is "a triumphant blending of creative imagination and deep scholarly research" (Charles Champlin). Along with being a great friend and writing mentor, Matt is also an award-winning author and writing teacher. Indeed, he is busy this fall traveling and teaching writing workshops. But he was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions via e-mail about his writing life and writing journey. So here it is, the inside scoop on Matt Pallamary:

Check out Matt's website at: http://landwithoutevil.blogspot.com.

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Write On: How do you find inspiration and ideas for your books and stories?

Matt Pallamary: I'll be dead before I write everything I want to write. The world is a crazy, confused, complex, fascinating, and magical place. Just waking up in the morning is a miracle. A good book or story idea has to make me feel passionate enough for me to carry it through from its conception to birth, otherwise it's not powerful enough to spend the time on.

W.O.: How and when did you first start writing? Did you always want to be a writer?

M.P.: I always wrote some and I have always been an obsessive reader. I won a spelling bee in the 6th grade and competed in a citywide match, just missing third place and some money. I didn't think about being an author until taking a creative writing course in college and realizing that I had a knack for the written word; then I started writing and publishing nonfiction. After a friend died suddenly, I was inspired to write fiction and then the bug really got me.

W.O.: Describe your writing routine. How do you make time to write? Where and when do you usually write?

M.P.: I write whenever I can make writing my number-one priority. I often write at different coffee shops with my laptop to keep from getting disturbed. I can write on demand at all hours, although sometimes it is easier than others. When I have a long project, I make myself a groove and show up at the same time every day to get a rhythm going. That's the way to really produce.

W.O.: What do you love about the genres of science fiction and fantasy? Are there downsides, too?

M.P.: You can be pigeonholed and labeled as a sci-fi fantasy writer. In truth, my writing defies genre. I am an award-winning horror writer, and I am also an award-winning historical fiction writer. I teach sci-fi and fantasy because a lot of writers don't understand the genres and their conventions. I am primarily a fiction writer, but I can deal effectively with fantastic situations, settings, or altered states of consciousness. Not all writers can do that, so it has created an interesting niche.

W.O.: How do you deal with setbacks like writer's block and rejection?

M.P.: I have been writing for too long to have writer's block. Getting out for a walk, sleeping on it, and doing something different for a while are all ways of keeping it fresh. What can you do about rejection? You have to keep going for it. If you don't, then you are not in the mix, and if you are not in the mix it will never happen.

W.O.: What inspires you? Which authors do you admire?

M.P.: It may sounds corny, but life inspires me. Like I mentioned above, things that make me feel passionate get my creative juicies flowing.

I admire Tolstoy, Ray Bradbury, Barnaby Conrad, some of Stephen King, some of Anne Rice, Ian Fleming, Tolkien, Poe, Pete Dexter, and many others.

W.O.: You have a wonderfully unique writing voice. How did you find your voice? Is writing a struggle, or do the words flow naturally?

M.P.: Thank you! :) I did a lot of experimenting with voice and I have a distinct memory of when it snapped into place many years ago. Now I consciously shift the voice to match and carry the story that it is telling in the most powerful and dramatic way. It takes practice and study. Writing is always a struggle. Sometimes the words flow faster than I can type them and other times they creep onto the page slowly and laboriously. It is in the editing and the polishing where the refinement comes that makes it all flow as seamlessly as possible.

W.O.: What is your advice for other young writers reaching for their dreams?

M.P.: Work hard, study your craft, never give up, and write for the love of it above all.

W.O.: What are your goals and dreams for the future? What's next?

M.P.: I am working on a screenplay from my historical novel, Land Without Evil, which is about the first contact between shamans and missionaries in Paraguay around 250 years ago. It is a story told from the Indian's point of view, something you don't see in "history."

W.O.: Anything else you would like to add?

M.P.: If you're not writing for the love of it, you're going to drive yourself nuts and find great disappointment. Write for love and, above all, write the truth! To find out more about me, visit: http://landwithoutevil.blogspot.com.

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