Matthew's Blog
Nerves
I started a new, significant writing project on Oct 1st. And now? I have “nerves.” Not quite the first day of medical school nerves—and not the first day of a 24/hour shift as an intern in a Level I Trauma Center nerves—but nerves all the same. Why? Because I know the...
A Podcast Jewel and a Novel as a Quilt
In the recent write-minded podcast episode Craft-minded series: Craft as Shaper of Story, featuring Morgan Talty the cohost, Grant Faulkner, made the following insightful comment: A quilt is a good metaphor for a collection of linked stories…Grant Faulkner Indeed he...
My Favorite Blog Post from September
My favorite post I wrote in September 2022 was Nietzsche’s 12 Qualities of a Scholar. Nietzsche was a master observer of the human condition, and I think he understood the scholars of his time better than they did themselves. Not only that, I think his list applies...
My Idea for a 2023 Podcast
At the beginning of 2023, I plan to start a podcast, and I finally have a topic in mind: physician-writers. I like this topic because it covers a broad range of interests of mine but within the context of a narrow focus. I see myself talking about writing, creativity,...
Pinning Down a Pen Name
I’ve finally pinned down pen name for myself for my fiction writing: Wyeth Quinn. Selecting a pen name is no easy task. It needs to be unique, relatively easy to spell, and have both domain name and Twitter handle availability. It also needs to “feel” right. I...
Amplifying Excellence Via Twitter
I like to amplify excellence using Twitter. I recently attended a writing conference where two of the speakers, working together, were excellent. They were able to interactively share extensive and complex legal information to a room of over 100 people over 2 1/2...
Creative Walks
I go out for a walk each day from variety of reasons. First and foremost, it’s for the physical exercise (for me, at this time in my life, walking and health are intimately related). I also use my walks as mental exercise. I always have a podcast ready to go, and I...
Being Late
There's only one reason for being late to a meeting: poor planning. That's why I see it as a sign of disrespect towards the person (or persons) I committed to meeting: they weren't worth the effort to plan for carefully. Simply put, I see being late as a deep personal...
My Default Answer is No
I have a well defined mission in my life, so when acquaintances ask me to do something, my default answer is generally no (unlikely when my wife asks me to do something, where my defat answer is yes). Unfortunately, when some people are persistent enough, a yes...