Writing with Cattitude by Cat Lavoie

It only takes a quick glance at my Instagram feed to know I’m not kidding around when I call myself a crazy cat lady.

In my latest novel, Messing with Matilda, leading lady Matilda Hart is not a cat person. But things get a bit interesting when she’s forced to share her childhood bedroom with a territorial feline. Will she change her mind about cats and grow to love her furry roommate? (No spoilers—but I think she might.)

Unlike Matilda, I’ve loved cats my entire life. Growing up, I don’t remember a time when we didn’t a have a cat roaming around the house. So, it’s not surprising that one of the first things I did after moving into my first “grown-up” apartment was head to the local rescue shelter to adopt a cat of my own. That was over fifteen years ago. Abbie—my first furry writing buddy—passed away in January and I’ve since adopted two rambunctious kitties named Paddington and Molly.

It can be hard to meet your daily word count when you have energetic kittens who are obsessed with sitting on your keyboard or prefer sleeping on your computer chair rather than use their fancy cat bed. But despite the numerous distractions, my cats are an essential part of my process and I always try to inject a little bit of their cattitude into my writing life.

Having fun is the top priority.

It’s so easy to get overwhelmed by the business side of writing and forget why I started making up stories in the first place—it’s my favorite thing in the world to do and the thrill I get from coming up with an awesome bit of dialogue or a brilliant plot twist is (I assume) akin to chasing a squeaky toy mouse down a long hallway. Finding joy in the journey is such an important part of writing a book. Because if it isn’t fun, what’s the point?

Know when to take a break.

My cats never hesitate to take time out of their busy schedule of knocking various objects off my desk to nap or stare out the window for an hour. While I can’t afford to stare at a squirrel for no reason, I like to follow their example by slowing it down once in a while to recharge those batteries. A break can be a few hours, a few days, a few months—or even more. Stepping away from something doesn’t mean giving up. On that note…

Never give up.

I once watched Paddington try to dislodge his catnip-filled ball from under the couch for close to an hour before finally retrieving it. Now that’s the kind of determination I’d like to channel when it feels like my story is going nowhere and I’ll never reach “the end.” There are days where everything will seem impossible and you’re convinced your work-in-progress just took two steps back instead of progressing. But you need to keep reaching for that thing you want—and sooner or later you’ll be rewarded with catnip. (Or, you know, a completed chapter or book.)

It’s all about me.

I’d love to have that independent feline attitude when (in moments of insecurity) I inevitably compare myself to other authors and feel like my writing isn’t good enough. It’s something I struggle with on a daily basis. Cats are only interested in making sure their own journey is filled with treats and comfy blankets and obedient humans. Who cares what’s going on with the other cat down the street?

Be curious.

Even though my cats have investigated every nook and cranny of my house more than once, they are always on the hunt for something new. It’s a great reminder to keep learning and exploring and totally justifies spending an entire day curled up with a book and an adorable cat in your lap. Cats know how to live the good life!

I can’t imagine my life without cats. But they do more than provide Instagram-worthy moments and purr-filled snuggles—I truly believe they make me a better writer by making me see the world through their eyes. I want to write books—and live my life—with an endless supply of cattitude.

* An earlier version of this post was published in April 2018 on WeHeartWriting.

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MESSING WITH MATILDA

As a professional organizer in New York City, Matilda Hart wages war against chaos and clutter on a daily basis for her clients—and she vows to never let it invade her own well-ordered world.

But when her boyfriend decides to deviate from the path she’s been planning for them, Matilda’s perfectly structured life begins to crumble. She reluctantly finds herself back in the tiny hometown she fled a lifetime ago—determined to lay low and avoid running into anyone she used to know. So why is she reconnecting with her former best friend and putting up with the bridezilla antics of Amber, her high school nemesis?

When Matilda is tasked with keeping the bride-to-be’s heartbroken ex away from the ceremony, she discovers she has history with the man who’s trying to sabotage the wedding. Matilda quickly realizes that teaming up with cute and quirky—but hopelessly devoted—Silas Flynn could be mutually beneficial. He needs help wooing the woman he considers the love of his life and Matilda can’t pass up the chance to finally get back at the meanest of the mean girls by assisting Silas in his attempts to disrupt her wedding.

Will everything go according to plan for this mismatched pair? Or will working so closely together make uptight Matilda and laid-back Silas lose sight of their common goal?

One thing’s for sure—things are about to get messy.

AUTHOR BIO

Cat Lavoie is a chick lit writer from Montreal, Canada.

She loves writing fun and quirky romantic comedies and is the author of BREAKING THE RULES, ZOEY & THE MOMENT OF ZEN, PERI IN PROGRESS and MESSING WITH MATILDA.

A fan of all things feline, Cat loves cats and hopes to someday have a house full of them in order to officially become a crazy cat lady. (But one or two cats will do for now.)

If she isn’t reading or writing, Cat enjoys listening to podcasts (mostly comedy and true crime) and watching way too much TV. She fell in love with London many years ago and hopes to go back one day. Cat is currently at work on her next novel. 

To connect with Cat and find out more about her books, visit CatLavoie.com and follow @CatLavoieBooks on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.  

 

 

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing