1: Contrary to the nature of this list, one of my least favourite subjects is me. I'd rather talk about you, and listen to you talking.
Matt Wilven
2: However, before we talk about you, I should warn you; I'm often a terrible listener. I want to listen to you. I value your perspective. But my mind wanders. The tiniest little word in your sentence will burrow into my mind and tunnel and create new thoughts and tangents. I'm still listening with my eyes but the specifics are lost, my ears are seeing other worlds…
3: About that; daydreaming. I'm a window watcher. I love in between times; being on journeys. Movement makes meditation easy. I don't really say much whilst I'm travelling and I feel pretty put out if I can't have the window seat. Let's just talk when we get there. Is that okay?
4: Is that okay? A perfect question for a procrastinator. Never make a decision if you can ask a question. Why write the next sentence of your novel when you can just make sure the sun sets in the west and then find yourself pondering the mysteries of fusion ten googles later?
5: And yet, decisions are always easy when I'm buying vinyl. Too easy. My vinyl habit runs in direct opposition to logic and finance. The poorer I am, the more vinyl I buy. No food in the cupboard and £12 in the bank? Isn't it funny that I don't own Harvest by Neil Young on vinyl? Yes I have it on MP3 and CD but I really better buy it. It suddenly seems essential.
6: Essential things to me? My partner, Saskia - the only other Wilven in the world. Writing in black ink on thick white paper. Reading while a record plays. Staring at my paperweight with an unblown dandelion in it.
7: Writing seems deeper than essential sometimes. I can't stop thinking about it. Left to my own devices, I achieve almost nothing socially, or actively. I stay in, picking at sentences, threading ideas together. It's awful really. I can dig myself into a hole. All of my friends are more outgoing than I am and I'm grateful for that. I need people to remind me to get out and about and have fun.
8: Going back to writing, as I do, I find it harder writing men than writing women. Women come more naturally to me; the rhythms of their voices, the cadence of their thoughts. They're generally more complicated and therefore more interesting to me. I'm particularly drawn to strong female characters. Male characters, on other hand, often seem eerily empty when I conceive of them - I can't figure out what's going on inside their heads. I scratch and pick at their more curious traits and get there in the end but the female characters are always the first ones to become fully formed.
9: I watch far too much TV. I'm addicted to stories. All those shows you watch? Yes, I've seen them. And the new one that just came out last week? I've seen the entire series. People don't know where I find the time - because I read a lot too. But I'm a classic binge watcher, cramming them in. Lots of my evenings end like this; "One more?" "No, Matt. Three episodes is enough."
10: And nine things you should know about me is probably enough too. I told you, I'd rather talk about you.
