Matt B. Perkins

There are countless articles, books, guides, manifestos, podcasts, videos, and other resources that all dig into the element of writing. Many dig deep into the writing life, others focus more on content and format and grammar, others look at structure and plot. For a long time I’ve devoured many writing books, thinking that at some point I’d come across the definitive guide, the Holy Grail of a book on writing.

But there is none. While there are countless incredible books and guides and insights on the act of writing (whether fiction or nonfiction), not to mention countless bad ones, there is no single go-to book that will cover all the bases of everything a writer needs or wants or should keep in mind.

Why?

Because every writer is different. Every writer has different needs, different desires for what they want to create, different inspirations and personal cracks in their souls. These all lead us in various directions, though many of them parallel to one another.

[Read more…] about The Invisible Simplicity of Writing

See this photo above? That’s me in the fall of 1985.

I was 2.

Now? Now it’s the fall of 2017. And I’m 34. Just crossed that 3-4 line this week (not today, though, on this oh-so-very-fun Friday the 13th in October). And I have to say, just the mere thought of this age puts things into perspective, through quite a clear lens.

I remember the shed in this picture well. Seated and tucked neatly into the backwoods of my suburban youth home, I remember its rusted hinges and weathered doors, its interior spider webs and aromatic must, its imaginary creatures I feared lurked within (namely those bastard spiders). It was the very essence of Autumn New England, the very essence of cool and dry October dusk.

That shed is long gone. And, quite honestly, so is that version of me. The core of him, that thing that makes each of us, well, us, yes that’s still there. The soul never goes away, it remains, but it changes, of course, and in human form becomes weathered, like the shed itself. Though, unlike that shed, I don’t believe my hinges are rusted and I sure as hell don’t feel filled with webs and alien spiders.

My point in all this is that in the 32 years since this photo was taken, I’ve been fortunate enough to experience one hell of a roller coaster ride. Plenty of ups and downs, lots of experience with grief and death, but also, thankfully, with love and birth. Time is a strange myriad thing. I have three kids now, two of whom are older than I am in this photo, which gives me pause and puts the lens into even greater focus.

[Read more…] about When the Lens Becomes Clear

Photo via Pexels / Pixabay

There’s something about October that I find humbling, and nourishing to the mind, which, after a hot and dry summer, can feel parched, slowed, stagnant.

October, and Autumn in general, welcomes with it glints of dusk-light, a sunset hue, cooler temps, and . . . yes, memorable-as-hell stories.

Books, short stories, poems — there’s plenty of this to go around during the Fall. It’s a great season to read. Well, okay scratch that — every season is a perfect time to read. But there are some incredible books and stories that capture the essence of Fall and, for writers, can spike the inspiration a little higher on the muse-o-meter (that’s a thing, right? Yes, that’s a thing.)

Okay enough rambling, here are five of what I consider to be incredible things to read this October, and/or this Autumn in general.

[Read more…] about Five Things You Need to Read this October

Fall.

Autumn.

The season of change.

And it has arrived. IT’S HERE!

I get oddly excited about this time of year. I was born in October, and have always had an unspoken connection to this season, which for me has always marked a time of anticipatory joy and transition, leading up to the dim-lit joyous holidays and birth of a new year (and snow . . . I like snow).

As a quick side, I should note that some of the best stories I’ve read in my life perfectly capture the essence of Autumn: namely Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle, and, certainly more notably, Ray Bradbury’s The October Country. Bradbury spoke my language when it came to October and the Autumn season, let alone being among my favorite authors of all time. The poetry in his prose has a universal element to it. It’s simple, mosaic, hard-hitting.

But I’m getting ahead of myself and certainly off track here. Let’s get back to September, the fall equinox, and the essence of change.

[Read more…] about The Equinox of Change

Over the past few months I’ve referenced something I call “the deep-down hum” quite a bit. I’ve explained in passing what it is I’m talking about here, so I thought the time was right to actually dig a bit deeper and clarify what this all means.

There are times in one’s life when doubt is completely absent. When fear is not even a cloud of a thought, let alone at the forefront of one’s mind. When the inner-river of the soul is moving fluidly, smoothly, naturally. It’s not a sense of contentment. It’s a sense of living. These are times when you’re so incredibly sure about something that you can’t understand or explain such a level of certainty.

What’s actually happening here is you are responding to the call of your soul. That inner guide that many refer to as gut-instinct, revealing in its own way your true purpose in this life.

Photo via dima_goroziya.

I call this “the deep-down hum” because for me, I’ve always experienced this call as quite literally a faint but deep-thrumming song far down within myself. When I pay attention to that call, I hear it as a low humming that begins to elevate from octave to octave as I respond to it. Conversely, as I avoid this call, it begins to quiet again and drifts to a whisper.

But it never leaves; it’s always there.

[Read more…] about What is The Deep-Down Hum?