How Morgan Matson Sits Down & Writes
'Take Me Home Tonight' is the perfect adventure through New York City—all while sitting at home.
Two girls. One night. Zero phones.
Kat and Stevie—best friends, theater kids, polar opposites—have snuck away from the suburbs to spend a night in New York City. They have it all planned out. They’ll see a play, eat at the city’s hottest restaurant, and have the best. Night. Ever. What could go wrong?
Well. Kind of a lot?
They’re barely off the train before they’re dealing with destroyed phones, family drama, and unexpected Pomeranians. Over the next few hours, they’ll have to grapple with old flames, terrible theater, and unhelpful cab drivers. But there are also cute boys to kiss, parties to crash, dry cleaning to deliver (don’t ask), and the world’s best museum to explore.
Over the course of a wild night in the city that never sleeps, both Kat and Stevie will get a wake-up call about their friendship, their choices…and finally discover what they really want for their future.
That is, assuming they can make it to Grand Central before the clock strikes midnight.
Take Me Home Tonight is perfect for fans of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
We talked with Morgan about finding story inspiration everywhere, being mostly a pantser, and about learning what your writing process is.
Q: Where do you like to write the most?
I like to write in my office at home – I’ve converted my garage into an office, and on nice days (which are plentiful in LA!) I can leave the door open and my dog can wander in and out, go look at squirrels, etc. I also like being physically separate from my house – I feel like there’s a nice barrier between my house and my workspace – makes it harder to suddenly put in a load of laundry or go to the kitchen or whatever.
Q: When do you like to write the most?
I like to get started by 10 at the latest – I find I need to get some momentum going in the morning. Sometimes I’ll even wake up and jot down some thoughts first thing. But if I’m getting started in the afternoon or later afternoon, I’m going to have a harder time. This is a change – I used to be a real night writer and am so not anymore!
Q: When it comes to drafting, do you prefer writing on a computer or freehand?
Computer for sure! However, I will sometimes write a scrawl version of a scene freehand on a legal pad, and then it’s like I have a messy road map for what I’m going to write that day.
Q: Are you more of a plotter or pantser?
I’m a pantser who likes to have a little bit of a road map but room for detours! I like to know the broader outlines of a story but still have a lot of places to deviate and surprise myself.
Q: Stephen King has a great line in On Writing that says “the scariest moment is always right before you start. After that, things can only get better.” That scary pre-start moment often inspires procrastination in writers. Suddenly, you have to clean your entire house, do the laundry and play Candy Crush for an hour before you can actually start writing. Is there anything you need to do before you can actually sit down and work?
I feel like I always need to read the scene just before it – or sometimes more of the whole draft, depending on where I am in it – to make sure I’m in the same frame of mine. Then I’m happiest with a beverage or three and a stretch of time in front of me.
Q: Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what music? Is your choice of music inspired by the project you’re working on?
I go back and forth with this! I always have playlists for every book, but sometimes they’re more about finding the vibe of the story than listening to a soundtrack. A lot of times I’ll make a playlist only to pause it bc I need quiet. But sometimes, if I find the right song, I’ll just loop it over and over again, until it becomes almost like background noise.
Q: Some writers believe you have to write every single day. Is that true of your process?
It’s not! I think you need to take breaks, fill up the tank, watch movies, travel, hang out. Don’t get burnout! But if I’m actively drafting, I like to write 5 or 6 days a week just so the story stays fresh in my mind.
Q: How often do you write/how long for each session?
It depends! I usually like to write from around 10-5, with breaks for lunch and walking my dog – but that also includes catching up on email, doing admin work, etc. Four hours of solid writing time is my ideal.
Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d give an aspiring author?
Learning what your writing process is is part of the…well, process! Lol. It’s just a matter of finding what works best for you, and it’s 100% fine if it doesn’t look like anyone else’s. I know one writer who writes in the bathtub, one who writes in a pool – there’s a million different ways to do it! Find something that fits you.
Q: Where do you normally find story inspiration?
So many places! The Unexpected Everything came from being on tour in the D.C. suburbs and getting the idea about the daughter of a politician while I was in a chili restaurant. Save the Date came from a Twitter conversation I was having with two writers I really admire. And the kernel of Take Me Home Tonight came from one shot of a bus crossing from NJ into NYC while I was watching the movie Big.
Q: New York is such an important character in Take Me Home Tonight - how did you go about writing about the city and making it so vivid and real on the page?
I love New York! I was born and spent the first half of my childhood there – but was in the city a lot even after we moved to the Connecticut suburbs. And then I lived there myself for 4 years in my early 20s. It was so fun to write a love letter to the city, and all its possibilities and promises.
Q: You fit so many themes into Take Me Home Tonight, romance, family relationships, self-awareness and growing up, and even kidnapping and diamond heists. What was the writing process like for carrying all these threads?
It was definitely a challenge! I started writing it straight through, but at some point, I started splitting it up into the three girls’ sections and then layering them once they were done – which is a way I never worked before! So it was an interesting challenge for sure.
The missing masterpiece thread was also really intriguing. What made you want to weave that part in?
I’m a huge art lover and so I feel like it popped up kind of organically. I’d established in a previous book that there was this museum in Stanwich, so it seemed like a logical conclusion to expand that. I also feel like I was working with a lot of ideas of serendipity and chance, so that was fun to weave in.
Q: Take Me Home Tonight includes the story of being phoneless in a big city. Do you feel like being unplugged is required for a great adventure?
I don’t think it is! But I wanted to take these girls way way out of their comfort zone – and also to have them realize they’d been in a bit of a bubble, never having to have been without phones before. It seemed like the story might have ended too soon if they could have just called an Uber or gotten directions – it was more fun to throw them into the deep end and let them find their way out.
Q: The cast of characters in Take Me Home Tonight is so lovely and fully rounded. Besides Kat and Stevie, who was your favorite character to write and why?
I actually really loved writing both Matty and Cary – they were really fun to get to explore. I feel like I almost could have written this whole book from Cary’s perspective – he kind of showed up fully formed on the page.
Q: What is the last book that you read that you couldn't put down?
I read Anna Carey’s This Is Not the Jess Show and was absolutely hooked. I didn’t move for two hours until I finished it!
Pick up your copy of Take Me Home Tonight at Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, or Bookshop.org. Happy reading!
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