Casey McQuiston Is A Method Writer — In A “Non-Douchebaggy Way”

Casey McQuiston has come a long way from the self-doubt that plagued them during the publication process of their debut novel, Red, White & Royal Blue — back then, they were so certain they’d never make a living off their writing that McQuiston started applying for jobs as a bar trivia emcee. Now, with a New York Times bestselling book, an Emmy-nominated movie, and three more hit novels under their belt, McQuiston has learned to trust the process. Especially since they’ve gotten their writing routine down to a science — perfected the method, you might say.

“I’m a method writer, like how actors will just never break character, but in a non-douchebaggy way,” McQuiston tells Bustle. Don’t worry, they’re not out here sending rats to their collaborators or eating raw bison. “I just really like to stay in the world of what I'm writing as much as I can in my normal life.”

Happily, the world of The Pairing is a deliciously dishy escape. The novel takes place on a European food and wine tour, which reunites unwitting exes Kit (a pastry chef) and Theo (an aspiring sommelier). But instead of pouting over their forced proximity, Kit and Theo decide to compete their way through it, racing to see who can hook up with the most people.

McQuiston’s immersion into the book’s highly gourmet journey through Spain, Italy, and France started in small ways. “When I was writing Kit, I tried to bake something at least once a week to just feel his energy and to understand specific things I was describing, like the sound of cold butter landing,” they say. “I also have 20 bottles of wine in my apartment that I’m still working through for all of the [Theo] research I was doing.”

But eventually, they decided to embark on a food tour all their own. “I had a basic outline, but wanted to give myself room to come up with stuff as I was traveling,” they recall. Although they didn’t have a hookup competition (remember, theirs is a “non-douchebaggy” method), they did find inspiration for Kit and Theo’s while traveling. “One night, I was walking through the Gothic quarter in Barcelona and was very inspired by a balcony to write a very load-bearing sex scene of the book.” Sex on a balcony? Now that’s a method we can respect.

Below, McQuiston reflects on Moonstruck, their Elvish keyboard, and buying expensive lotions in tiny jars.

On the audiobook narrator they’d follow anywhere:

An audiobook at 1.2 speed and a crochet project is like taking a Xanax to me. It really chills me out. I’ve also found audiobook narrators that I really love, like Moira Quirk, who does all of the books in the Locked Tomb series. She's so f*cking talented [and does] 30 voices with all slightly different regional English accents. Then I was playing a video game called Dragon’s Dogma a couple of weeks ago, and I was like, “Damn, that character sounds just like Gideon from Gideon the Ninth!” So I looked it up — and it was Moira Quirk!

On the importance of revisiting old movies:

Consuming really good art gets me out of a rut. So sometimes I'm like, “Today, for work, I will watch a classic rom-com on TV.” Moonstruck is always a reference for me. Notting Hill. One of my favorite rom-coms of all time, and it really only hits at certain times of year, is While You Were Sleeping. The feeling of a really well-executed rom-com gets me inspired to be like, “I want to create this.”

On making their office the “obnoxious” room:

My office has [all the things] in my house that are a little too kitschy, silly, bright, or obnoxious to fit in my adult living room aesthetic. There’s my Garfield phone, a planter shaped like a giant ice cream cone, and my little flag that just says “baby.” My partner also gave me an Elvish keyboard for finishing my third book. So if anybody’s curious, [The Pairing] was written entirely on an Elvish keyboard.

On the pleasures of Taco Bell:

I’ll treat myself to a really big, delicious dinner [after a good day of writing]. Sometimes that means going out for a steak, and sometimes that means ordering $50 of Taco Bell. I also think little-treat culture is so important for writers. So sometimes I’m like, “If I hit this goal that I have today then I am allowed to order myself one little fancy lotion.”

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.