Matt Dunn

Matt Dunn is the author of five romantic comedy novels: Best Man, The Ex-Boyfriend’s Handbook, From Here to Paternity, Ex-Girlfriends United and The Good Bride Guide. Novel Kicks caught up with Matt to see what inspired him and what advice he had for new writers….

What’s your inspiration?

Life, really – I just tend to write about the kind of issues that I or my friends have had. Let’s face it, ‘relationships’ is a pretty big subject, and it’s the one thing in common that we all pursue – with varying degrees of success – for most of our lives. Which gives me a lot of material.

What was your route to publication?

I wrote my first novel, Best Man, while taking a break from my job as an IT Recruitment Consultant, then went through the usual depressing cycle of rejections from agents and publishers, but for every nine ‘thanks, but no thanks’ replies, there was one that gave me a hint or tip about how I might improve the book. I tried to incorporate their advice, re-wrote, kept on submitting, and eventually found an agent prepared to take me on. He in turn found a great editor who liked it, and offered me a two-book deal. Which rather shocked me, because I didn’t realise I’d have to write another one.

Describe your typical writing day?

I get to my desk at 9am, look at my mortgage statement, and start typing! Seriously, my plan is always to try and do a thousand words a day, which can sometimes take as little as an hour, but usually takes a lot longer. I reserve the right to take the rest of the day off once I’ve finished, but this year I’ve been writing two books simultaneously, so half-days have happened rarely. I will often go to a cafe to do my second ‘stint’, though, as I find the change of scenery helps with the fact that I’m writing two different things.

You’re involved with the ‘New Romantics,’ tell us about it.

It’s a group of contemporary romantic fiction authors – Kate Harrison, Jojo Moyes, Milly Johnson, Sarah Duncan, Veronica Henry, Sue Diamond, and myself. We all write about the ups and downs of love, from romantic comedies to historical romances, and have banded together to spread the word! You can check us out at http://www.thenewromantics.org

Who are your ideal dinner guests?

Halle Berry and… No. Just her, actually.

Is there a book by another author that you wished you’d written?

Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity. It’s just about perfect. Every time I read it, it makes me want to go and re-train as an accountant or something.

Had you always wanted to be a writer?

Yes. Well, ever since I was about fourteen. I wrote a piece that I read out at school assembly and got a few laughs, which I thought was fantastic. It took me another twenty years before I wrote a word of my novel, though.

What’s your top five tips for new writers?

Write every day. If you can manage a thousand words a day, then you’ll have written your first draft in three months.

Carry a notebook, or at least learn how to use the ‘voice recorder’ function on your phone. Every day you’ll overhear snippets of conversations or see things that’ll be good material – or sometimes the basis for a whole book. Don’t be afraid to shamelessly steal them.

Edit, edit, edit. I’m a firm believer in the phrase ‘you never finish writing a book, you just decide to stop working on it’. Every draft you do can make it better.

Read everything you can in your genre. See how they achieve that page-turning quality. Then every time you write something, ask yourself, ‘how does it move the story forward?’, and if it doesn’t, get rid of it.

Persevere. You’ll probably get loads of rejections (I think I had thirty-one), so it’s not a process for the thin-skinned.

Find out more about Matt at his website at http://www.mattdunn.co.uk

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Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.