KNOW: The Author
By Matthew L. Hart
Humor Writer/Comedian
Just a few questions to get to know me better.
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| "Speak softly and carry a big fish." Matthew L. Hart |
This has been a fun journey!
Thank you to all who have supported me.
I hope you enjoy my book.
This is my first book
Now...
On with the interview!
How did publishing your first book change your writing process?
Once the decision was made to write and publish the book in a month, there was a hard deadline and daily writing quotas.
The idea actually started with my friend, his name is also, Matt.
He encouraged me to write a book in a month. And, my Wife, Andrea, encouraged me to take the time off to focus on it.
That's what it took for me. Direction, time and dicipline.
At first, I found writing a book in a month overwhelming. But, Matt helped me reframe my mind for what a book actually was.
In my head I had always pictured a book as being this huge, 300 page work that should take years to write.
The reality is, a book is anything 20 pages or more that gets bound and published.
We looked at other books in the humor genre and 40-60 pages was just about average. Originally, I was only shooting for 40 pages, but a funny thing happens when you start writing.
You keep going!
After producing this first book, I've learned, for myself anyway, that you must hit your daily quota when you're powering towards a deadline.
It's way too easy to get behind.
My daily quota was only 2 pages but I would always run out of steam at a page and a half. I put more energy into that last half page than the first whole one.
I was easy on myself the first two weeks and found the third week very stressful.
There were a couple days at the end where I was required to produce 6 and even 8 pages. Those were long days, but having the book out now...
It was so worth it!
Having gone through that book in a month experience, it's now a lot easier reaching that 2 page daily writing quota.
It's easy to start a project, but it only counts when it's finished.
I dedicated the book to my wife because she allowed me to take the time off work, which I really needed.
That was huge!
There's a real monetary investment with something like that. Not everyone is that lucky.
I could probably do it again around a full-time job, now.
But, to get the first one done...
Having the time off to focus on it was so important and appreciated.
But, I owe my friend, Matt, a HUGE THANK YOU, for the support.
Together, we tore down the goal, talked over the project daily, and he even scouted out Amazon's KDP program before I went to publish.
Matt gets the next dedication for sure!
Did you put yourself into your book?
There was a lot of confusion about this when the book came out.
I think because the character's name was Matty. Obviously, my own name.
But, the answer, of course, is no.
When I first began comedy writing and standup, I used to base my work on my own life.
I quickly ran out of stuff to explore.
There's only so much that happens to a person, you know.
Honestly, as your work progresses, it's a lot more fun and exciting to create characters with unique points of view and explore the world through their eyes.
This is what I did with Uncle Matty.
The comic character, Uncle Matty, is a cynical Millennial.
If anything, he could be the photo negative of myself.
Even that's a bit of a stretch.
The joke about Uncle Matty, is that he is the embodiment of all these characteristics people try to put on that generation.
Uncle Matty is what people say the Millennial generation is like.
I suppose it was a social study experiment I did through comedy.
We'll see what people think about that when the reviews come in!
I think because the character's name was Matty. Obviously, my own name.
But, the answer, of course, is no.
When I first began comedy writing and standup, I used to base my work on my own life.
I quickly ran out of stuff to explore.
There's only so much that happens to a person, you know.
Honestly, as your work progresses, it's a lot more fun and exciting to create characters with unique points of view and explore the world through their eyes.
This is what I did with Uncle Matty.
The comic character, Uncle Matty, is a cynical Millennial.
If anything, he could be the photo negative of myself.
Even that's a bit of a stretch.
The joke about Uncle Matty, is that he is the embodiment of all these characteristics people try to put on that generation.
Uncle Matty is what people say the Millennial generation is like.
I suppose it was a social study experiment I did through comedy.
We'll see what people think about that when the reviews come in!
If you were to change genres, which one would you choose?
I really like sci-fi/action/adventure.
Most everything from Michael Crichton, Clive Cussler, and Tom Clancy.
Sphere by Michael Crichton was the first adult novel I read, and the movie, Jurassic Park, was a large influence that inspired me into studying film.
There's a tug-of-war inside me that can't seem to settle on drama or comedy.
My first screenplay was a comedy.
Unfortunately, there was a lot of pressure in the University environment to pursue "serious" filmmaking.
So, I spent the daytime studying drama in class, and the night time studying comedy.
I stayed up all night transcribing TV sitcoms, I practiced with the local improve groups, and did stand up comedy at open mic nights around Las Vegas and on campus.
I stayed up all night transcribing TV sitcoms, I practiced with the local improve groups, and did stand up comedy at open mic nights around Las Vegas and on campus.
But, for sure, there's a few dramatic sci-fi/adventure stories in me.
Is it true that anyone can become a humor writer?
Absolutely true!
We're all born into this world cold, naked and needy. Most of us will grow out of that to become idiots.
But, over time, we bump into things and learn what hurts.
Comedy is just that moment between bumping our head and deciding to cry.
Comedy writing is just putting down on paper, what's going on through your head right after the moment of impact.
Anyone can do that!
And, most of the time it's followed by tears. You just hope they're from the laughter.
The only real difference between a good comedy writer and a great one is how frequently they bang their head against the desk.
You can tell a great comedy writer by counting the bumps on their forehead.
I have one bump, but it's like, really big.
We're all born into this world cold, naked and needy. Most of us will grow out of that to become idiots.
But, over time, we bump into things and learn what hurts.
Comedy is just that moment between bumping our head and deciding to cry.
Comedy writing is just putting down on paper, what's going on through your head right after the moment of impact.
Anyone can do that!
And, most of the time it's followed by tears. You just hope they're from the laughter.
The only real difference between a good comedy writer and a great one is how frequently they bang their head against the desk.
You can tell a great comedy writer by counting the bumps on their forehead.
I have one bump, but it's like, really big.
What is your favorite book that has been turned into a movie?
The book is a great read. It's one of my favorite travel companions.
Read it on a plane, train, or parade float.
The book came out in 2011 and the plot follows three birders during a competitive birding event called, The Big Year.
The Big Year starts on January 1st and the objective is to see as many birds as possible in North America in 365 days.
Birding is one of my favorite activities because I enjoy nature, birds especially, and the event really pulls you to some amazing places.
Birding is Pokemon Go with binoculars.
I thought the movie, The Big Year, (2011) was perfectly cast.
The screenplay was adapted by Howard Franklin.
Known for The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997) and AntiTRUST (2001).
The movie was directed by David Frankel.
Known for Band of Brothers (2001) and The Devil Wears Prada (2006).
And leading stars include:
John Cleese as the Narrator
Jack Black as Brad Harris
Owen Wilson as Kenny Bostick
Steve Martin as Stu Preissler
I could watch this movie every year. The characters are three-dimensional, the stakes are great and the adventure is a great representation of what birding is all about.
If you could go back, what advice would you give to your younger self?
This one made me laugh!
It's so tempting to want to change the past, but...
Without things going down the way they did, I never would have gotten to where I'm at.
Honestly, I've got no complaints.
I might go back and tell my younger self that great grades in school are not all they're chalked up to be.
Especially in high school.
I think, the most important thing I ever learned in high school was social skills.
I was a percussionist in the marching band.
We had just over 100 members from all types of cliques. That made it really easy for me to get along and understand all types of people.
I mostly had two groups of friends.
The first group was all about enlisting into the Marine Corps and the second group were all in the Honor Society.
I did neither.
What was really fun for me was making these two different groups of people laugh.
Part of that laughter was my willingness to commit to the joke, which means I was sent to the Principal's Office my entire K-12 school experience.
At High School graduation, my strangest moment was when they called all the Honor Students up, and a girl behind me asked, "Aren't you in the Honor Society?" I had to say, "No."
I guess you really are known by the company you keep.
So, when I reflect, I guess I would tell my younger self, "Don't worry so much. You're only as smart as people think you are."
"Faking it till you make it" is kind of a motto in this business.
And, the irony is that you might never know when you actually made it.
It's so tempting to want to change the past, but...
Without things going down the way they did, I never would have gotten to where I'm at.
Honestly, I've got no complaints.
I might go back and tell my younger self that great grades in school are not all they're chalked up to be.
Especially in high school.
I think, the most important thing I ever learned in high school was social skills.
I was a percussionist in the marching band.
We had just over 100 members from all types of cliques. That made it really easy for me to get along and understand all types of people.
I mostly had two groups of friends.
The first group was all about enlisting into the Marine Corps and the second group were all in the Honor Society.
I did neither.
What was really fun for me was making these two different groups of people laugh.
Part of that laughter was my willingness to commit to the joke, which means I was sent to the Principal's Office my entire K-12 school experience.
At High School graduation, my strangest moment was when they called all the Honor Students up, and a girl behind me asked, "Aren't you in the Honor Society?" I had to say, "No."
I guess you really are known by the company you keep.
So, when I reflect, I guess I would tell my younger self, "Don't worry so much. You're only as smart as people think you are."
"Faking it till you make it" is kind of a motto in this business.
And, the irony is that you might never know when you actually made it.
Have something else you would like to ask me?
Post your questions in the comments
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