Christy Matte

Why do you think someone who loves to write would pursue a degree in electrical engineering? Yeah, I don’t know, either.

I just finished watching ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway. It’s a documentary that follows four Broadway shows (”Wicked,” “Avenue Q,” “Taboo” and “Caroline, or Change”) through development and opening night. As much as I enjoyed seeing clips from the shows and hearing from the actors, my favorite part was the announcement of the Tony Award Nominations. It was so much fun to see the writers surrounded by family learning that all their work had paid off with a nomination. I particularly enjoyed watching the folks from “Avenue Q,” who are just kind of quirkily normal. It was the sort of moment that makes you think, Hey, maybe I could write a musical. Reality quickly sank in that I am unlikely to ever write a musical, but it was still a cool thought.

I do have to wonder, though, why I never thought about writing a musical. I love musicals. Of course, I can’t sing very well and never had the patience to learn an instrument properly (besides being devilishly uncoordinated). I guess there’s still time left…

My favorite quote is from the father of one of the Avenue Q guys, “My kid’s a genius, what more can I say!”

I am a bit of a perfectionist. It causes me to procrastinate rather than actually writing. Blogging every day is forcing me to let go of being perfect and just write. I know – this is one of the very basic methods for getting rid of writer’s block. And, as it turns out, it works! The only problem is my work blog, which still feels like it needs to be perfect. I still have to figure out how to stay ahead of the curve on that one and let go a bit. I’m not going to start posting total garbage, of course, but I just need to stop trying to find the perfect topic. I think that if I can do that, it will just sort of come to me.

I might as well put it out there that I am a reality TV addict. And, no, I’m not the slightest bit embarrassed by it. I’m intrigued by human behavior, even when it’s showcased at it’s worst. It probably gives me a warped sense of the world, but it’s not much worse than the crime shows I watch with my husband.

One of my absolute favorite shows is the Food Challenge on the Food Network Channel. Of course, I only really like the challenges that have to do with desserts. I’m just not interested enough in chicken or BBQ unless I’m eating dinner! In any case, the most recent episode paired up two pastry chefs who had no professional relationship to one another. They were challenged to design a cake based on a famous nursery rhyme. Then, they were split up and allowed to work on the cake individually in one and a half hour shifts with no communication between members of the team. Only during the last hour and a half could they work together to finalize the vision. As in any team project, there was typically one chef who pushed their vision through and walked all over the other chef. I was actually surprised at just how unprofessional some of their behavior was. It would certainly make me think twice about going to that person for a cake…

This particular challenge reminded me of the round robin writing exercises we used to do in school. One person starts a story and then passes it off to the next person, who adds their own little bit. This goes around until everyone in the group has contributed. I always enjoyed seeing what other people had to add, but there was always a boy (yes, I said it – a boy) who felt the need to insert murder or mayhem into the tale. Sometimes it was a clever twist, but usually it was just kind of a gory cliche’.

Blood and guts aside, I think it would be fun to do a blogging round robin, fiction or non-fiction. Maybe we just won’t invite any boys to participate (just kidding, guys – after all, Stephen King is racking in the money!)

I have been a writer for as long as I can remember. I kept a diary (lock and all), then a journal. I wrote angsty teen poetry and a middle-school novella, lovingly titled “Murder!” I have written short stories, grant proposals, curriculum and computer programs (hmmm… does that count?). I’ve even been blogging for at least the past 7 years.

So, now I find myself writing for the web. It’s different from anything that I’ve done before – somewhere between a non-fiction article and an essay. I dispense advice to parents as the Family Computing Guide at About.com, write general web content and take on various projects as they arise. I love the diversity of it and the challenge of lending passion to subjects that tend toward the mundane. Still, writing for the web lacks some of the soul of my previous writing activities.

All of that brings me here, to this blog. The site is, overall, intended to act as my professional portfolio. But I hope that the blog gives me a place where I can share a bit more of who I am and what makes me tick. We’ll see how that goes. Either way, thanks for joining me on the journey!