Meet Mathieu Cailler

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mathieu Cailler a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Mathieu, appreciate you sitting with us today. Maybe we can start with a topic that we care deeply about because it’s something we’ve found really sets folks apart and can make all the difference in whether someone reaches their goals. Self discipline seems to have an outsized impact on how someone’s life plays out and so we’d love to hear about how you developed yours?
I think from two main sources, really: watching others and believing in my work.

My mother and father have tremendous resolve and dedication to their professions and their day-to-day life. I remember my dad quit smoking one day–just like that. People told him it was hard, and he just said, “I’ll do it. I’ll never smoke again.” And he did. He has a powerful mind, and I think–I hope–that I was able to get some of those genes. My mother, too, excelled at her craft. She set goals and marks for herself and accomplished them. I observed all of this–whether I thought about it or not–and it played a part in my dedication to writing.

I also see others working all the time that truly inspire me and whose plights are far more arduous than writing. Those people get up and go to work. They have to. I adopt some of this philosophy. Some days, I don’t want to work at all. I would rather surf or walk or read the newspaper and so on, but I say, “Okay, this is what you wanted. You have it. Go get it.” Also, I believe this profoundly: setting small markers of triumph is essential. Don’t say, “Today, I am going to write my novel.” Instead, say, “Today, I’m going to write that one scene. I’m going to write 1000 words.”

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Right now, I have a handful of projects keeping me busy. I suppose the pandemic was good for staying inside and writing, so I have completed a screenplay that is with a producer, a couple of children’s books, a new short story collection, and a new volume of poetry. I am hard at work on a new novel–this one of the YA variety. As of today, I’m about halfway through. I think I should have a rough draft in early April.

I love switching genres and feel extremely alive when doing so. Whenever I finish a fiction project, I am just exhausted by plotting, and writing poems allows me to fall in love with language on the micro level once again. I find it freeing. It’s always the place I come back to. There was a physical place like this near the cliffs of my hometown that I would turn to when tired or dreary, and the waves and sun and high grass would recharge me. Poetry is the artistic version of that location.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think in general people are looking for the green light to begin something. I say don’t. Just go. Begin now. An MFA, a class here or there, speaking or having coffee with a particular person may help, but really none of it will matter if you don’t believe in your characters or stories or put it down on paper. Most goals are conquered with self-belief and small, daily/weekly goals.

Also, a lot of people will disparage or discourage you. Don’t allow it. Smile, nod, and move forward. Think of those who stoke your fire–and protect your flames best you can.

What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
I am trying to get better with resting.

I am married to a therapist, and she tells me that people need rest or they risk burnout. This is something I never really considered before, so now, I will give myself some time off when I feel I need it.

Walking has been my release. I love leaving my phone behind and taking to a trail. I don’t really try to think on the walk either. I read a book on meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh about how to “block” thoughts, which was interesting. Basically, you occupy that space by breathing and focusing only on your breath. You say, “Inhale, inhale, inhale” and “exhale, exhale, exhale.” It helps, of course, to say it in your mind, so you don’t frighten other hikers (laughs). It’s been helping in shutting off my mind. and focusing on the natural elements I let the sun soak my face and the wind pass over my cheeks. There is something so restorative about an hour spent like this.

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