Check out the March 2014 BRoP interview with Matthew Cox, and don’t miss the rest of what’s new with Matt at the following sites:
Terri — Part 2
PART 3: THE CREATIVE PROCESS
How have 
your answers to any of the following questions changed since you last visited us:
- Where do you get your story ideas? They more or less hit me out of thin air. Everything I see (movies, books, people in conversation, idiotic things corporations do, the news… etc) it all goes into the blend-o-matic that is my brain and comes back out as something else.
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- Do you have a specific writing style? I suppose I do, but I couldn’t tell you what it is.
- How do you deal with writer’s block? So far, I still haven’t had a bout of this beyond the usual hour-long delay to decide on the first line.
- How do you develop your plots and characters? Do you use any set formula? Formula? No. I come up with the overall story concept first (like one or two lines) then, I work on constructing the characters, then I’ll think of specific scenes I need to convey the story. Bit by bit, this turns into a chapter outline. Once I have the chapter outline done, I’ll transfer it to word and start typing.
- Are you a “plotter” or a “pantser” (do you plan/outline the story ahead of time or write “by the seat of your pants”)? plotter. Years ago, when I first tried to write something, I attempted pantsing. I never could finish anything. One day, I got the idea of writing down an outline as a skeleton for the story to hang on. That worked. Especially for a story as complex as Virtual Immortality.
- Do you use critique partners or beta readers? Why or why not? Yes. Few things are as valuable as a new set of eyes. Having honest feedback from people that are both knowledgeable about writing and those who are just readers can catch things that seem to make sense to me, but baffle someone who isn’t as familiar with the world.
- How much time do you spend on research? What type of research do you do? so far I’ve been staying in custom worlds, so there hasn’t been a lot of research necessary. Though, for some of the short stories and Caller 107 I did some poking about on the net.
- Is there anything you find particularly challenging to write? Anything where I have to talk about myself 🙂
Was writing the second book easier, harder, or the same as writing the first one? Easier, I’d say.
In what ways, if any, was having experience under your belt a help the second time around? In what ways, if any, was it a hindrance? It was nice not having the cluelessness of what happens next rattling around. So far I am quite happy with Curiosity Quills, and knowing that I could send them a MS for review without having to worry about the soul-crushing search for a lit agent was a burden off my mind.
In what ways has your writing grown or changed since you first started writing? I’ve picked up on a lot of little mechanical things since I first started. Filler text was the hardest for me to spot at first, now it leaps right out at me. Passive voice was another issue that I learned early on, but had no clue about when I started. Dialogue mechanics as well I have learned about since I started. I’ve always loathed adverbs as the tools of a lazy writer, though I’m softening (a little bit) away from my “all adverbs must die” stance to using them when they are the only possible elegant solution.
What’s something you haven’t yet tried as an author, but really want to? I’ve got a faint idea for a more “literary” project, but I’m not sure when the time will come for me to attempt it.
Is your book in print, ebook or both? Both
What do you do to recharge the creative batteries? Spend time with friends or play video games. Sometimes a movie.
How do you protect your writing time? Land mines, electrified barbed wire, and trained attack goats at the door.
Please let us know where your readers can stalk you:
- Blog: http://www.matthewcoxbooks.com/wordpress/
- Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MatthewSCoxAuthor
- Goodreads author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7712730.Matthew_S_Cox
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/mscox_fiction
CALLER 107: When thirteen-year-old Natalie Rausch said she would die to meet DJ Crazy Todd, she did not mean to be literal.
Two years is a long time to be stuck between two people who want nothing more than to destroy each other. A tween crush on the larger-than-life jock from a local radio station is the only trace of a once-happy life ruined by warring parents.
Whenever WROK 107 ran a contest, she would dive for the phone, getting busy signals and dead air every time. She never expected to get through, but at least with her best friend at her side, it used to be fun.
Before her parents ruined that too.
Her last desperate attempt to get their attention, falling in with a dangerous group of older teens, goes as wrong as possible. With no one left to blame for her mess of a life but herself, karma comes full circle and gives her just a few hours to make up for two years’ worth of mistakes–or be forever lost.
CALLER 107 is available at:
DIVISION ZERO: When thirteen-year-old Natalie Rausch said she would die to meet DJ Crazy Todd, she did not mean to be literal. Two years is a long time to be stuck between two people who want nothing more than to destroy each other. A tween crush on the larger-than-life jock from a local radio station is the only trace of a once-happy life ruined by warring parents. Whenever WROK 107 ran a contest, she would dive for the phone, getting busy signals and dead air every time. She never expected to get through, but at least with her best friend at her side, it used to be fun. Before her parents ruined that too. Her last desperate attempt to get their attention, falling in with a dangerous group of older teens, goes as wrong as possible. With no one left to blame for her mess of a life but herself, karma comes full circle and gives her just a few hours to make up for two years’ worth of mistakes–or be forever lost.
