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A 2001 chat transcript -- Chris Crutcher for KidReach Reading Center. KidReach Reading Center Adult Published Read an Excerpt For a look at the full transcript, click on the "Read an Excerpt" link. Excerpt KidReach/iUniverse.com Special Event Presenting Chris Crutcher, Award Winning Young Adult Author & Therapist Monday, April 23, 2001 @ 11:00 am ET After six years and dozens of national awards like the American Library Association's Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award, young adult novelist Chris Crutcher has released a new novel, Whale Talk . Kirkus calls it, "a compulsively readable story that rings true with genuine feeling." Publisher's Weekly says it's "...an unusual yet resonant mixture of black comedy and tragedy." Thanks to the KidReach Reading Center Crutcher took a break from his nationwide book tour to chat Monday morning, April 23 at 11:30 am. As you can see from the transcript, he covered all the bases. KellyMilnerH: Welcome EVERYONE, 8 here, 45 on the Internet side to our special chat with Chris Crutcher. Chris Crutcher: 45 on the 'Net, number one in your hearts. KellyMilnerH: Chris Crutcher is one of the best and most critically acclaimed YA authors in the business. Chris Crutcher: Faster than a speeding bullet KellyMilnerH: And we're lucky to have him here from THE ROAD. Chris Crutcher: More powerful than a locomotive. KellyMilnerH: LOL. From you, that's all true. Welcome Chris. And how does it feel to be selling Whale Talk to the masses? Chris Crutcher: It feels good to be selling ANYTHING to the masses. KellyMilnerH: Chris, where are you today, do you remember? Chris Crutcher: I'm high atop the Radisson Hotel in beautiful downtown St. Paul, MN, in an executive suite, so eat your hearts out. KellyMilnerH: Great, now all your stalkers can find you, good. We are having this chat today thanks in part to the folks in Kennesaw, KidReach Reading Center. Thank you KidReach. Chris Crutcher: That would be Kennesaw, Georgia. KellyMilnerH: Right, in Georgia. Let's get going on the questions. Stephanie asks, "What made him choose to write the kind of novels he does?" Chris Crutcher: I write what I know, and because I've been a child and family therapist, working mostly with child abuse and neglect for the past twenty or so years, those stories are the kind that pop up. KellyMilnerH: Sinead, our host, says:"Someone asked earlier how much involvement he had in writing the screenplay for Angus ?" Chris Crutcher: I had no involvement in the screenplay of Angus . KellyMilnerH: Angela asks, "How old were you when you started writing?" Chris Crutcher: Well I started making those little "e's" with the Palmer Method when I was about five or six. But I started writing novels when I was thirty-five. KellyMilnerH: LOL...Palmer e's...Hello wonders if you had a favorite book? Which one was the best to write? Chris Crutcher: I don't really have a favorite of my books... most of them did what I wanted them to do and you can't ask much more than that. Ironman was a lot of fun to write because Bo had my temper. Whale Talk was very much fun once I finally got on track with it. KellyMilnerH: What inspired you to write Whale Talk? That question also from the 'Net. Chris Crutcher: I had written a novel about a school shooting that went into the toilet with Columbine. I still wanted to write about outsiders, but not focus on something quite so topical. I had the character from the earlier novel and I had the urge to portray where the outsiders really come from. I also had a bad feeling about ADULT understanding of outsiders and bullies and the whole adolescent experience. I guess those things combined to inspire me. Though probably the biggest thing was my editors saying, "ARE YOU EVER GOING TO WRITE ANOTHER BOOK?" KellyMilnerH: Libster asks, "What was the background for Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes?" Chris Crutcher: A desire to write about true friendship... tested friendship; a knowledge of an incident that really happened, very similar to Sarah Byrnes burning; the challenge to see whether or not I could tell it; a desire to talk about all those "issues" in a humorous way that gave them some dignity. And a desire to put a really scary bad guy into a good book. KellyMilnerH: DLubar, "As much as I enjoy rereading Athletic Shorts, I'd love to see another collection. Anything looming?" Chris Crutcher: Actually there is something looming... that seems to be coming out of all this travelling. I'm starting to put one together that covers the pre and post lives of the characters in Whale Talk. There is so much not known about those kids... Jackie Craig, etc. So there could be one. I'm still fresh with the characters...and I can go anywhere I want to with them. KellyMilnerH: Kluzwriter asks, "Did you contact KidReach by submitting your book along with a lesson plan for teachers?" Chris Crutcher: No, I wouldn't even know how to do that. Editor's Note: KidReach's website has a great collection of materials about Chris and his work. But Chris has nothing to do with that. That they did out of their own talents and wisdom. KellyMilnerH: RoxyanneY says, " I should think a Chris Crutcher novel on a school shooting would be extremely well received. I live in San Diego, where we've had two shootings recently." Chris Crutcher: It might be...but right on the heels of Columbine -- and it was RIGHT on the heels of it -- I didn't think there was any possibility my intent would shine through. There was too much craziness; too much backlash... and the Columbine shooting reduced the even in my book to a footnote; kind of changed the national consciousness. I've put a short story in Don Gallo's new book that was the heart of that other book. KellyMilnerH: On the Fringe is the name of that one, great collection. hottstuff wonders, "Was Stotan! based on your true life or what?" Chris Crutcher: Yeah, there was a lot of Stotan! that was based on my life. I went through Stotan Week in college. Many of the characters were based on guys I swam with. The racial stuff came from the north Idaho Aryan Nations fort. The death was just death.... every good story has it in some way or at least loss. KellyMilnerH: stephanie asks, "What made you decide to write about teen problems and situations?" Chris Crutcher: Most of my writing hasn't been about decisions made. When I started writing I didn't even know there was such a thing as YA literature. I have a good memory for my own teenage years and I think adolescence is diminished in this culture by adults and that we would all be more healthy if we didn't do that. Once I got something of a "name" for doing that... it was easier to do. But I have adult novels in me that will get written. KellyMilnerH: karen asks, "Did you write about things that happened in your life at all?" Is fiction like fact reshaped? Chris Crutcher: Fiction for me IS like fact reshaped... fact run through my imagination. But that doesn't mean the stories are about my life. They are about my life to some degree, more about my perspective. They are about a lot of lives that I have been invited into for one reason or another... either as a therapist or a friend or an observer. KellyMilnerH: JCKoz452 says, "I just wanted to congratulate you and your web team on your excellent new website, and ask if you're enjoying having a web presence?" Chris Crutcher: There are times when I feel a little egotistical having a website; I grew up being told to not get too big for my britches. As soon as the hype part of Whale Talk goes down, I think I'll use it to talk about the things that move me to write the stories I write, and to give Charleton Heston and George W. Bush hell. KellyMilnerH: Keelia asks, "Since you write about teen problems, did you expirence them when you were a child, and how was your childhood?" Chris Crutcher: I didn't experience most of them...certainly there were times I felt on the outside, but I was from a small town and I was okay in the jock culture.... it was many years later when I realized how we treated some of the people who weren't and what a nightmare high school may have been for some of them. I always had an affinity for the outsiders... and I got in trouble for that a few times. My mother was an alcoholic - a pretty functional one - so I had some of the residue from that, but she performed her job fairly well in spite of it and the scars weren't all that deep. I think my childhood falls about in the middle. I was raised by people who loved me and did their best and sometimes their best was magnificent and sometimes it was a C. KellyMilnerH: Mitchell asks "Why did you write about the ironman?" I assume he means the athletic event. Chris Crutcher: I've done some triathlons so I knew the territory, and I thought, and think, the athletic metaphors there worked. KellyMilnerH: sinead asks, "When you write, do you map out the plot first (in outline form?) or do the characters just live in your head and surprise you with the story?" Chris Crutcher: I jump right in and start writing. No outline for me. I'll get a character or a plot and then start fleshing it out asking myself "What if... what if... what if... and letting the answer to that question take me in the direction it takes me. KellyMilnerH: JCKoz452 asks, "Does all the traveling that you do effect the way you write?" Chris Crutcher: It does in that I get a lot of feedback on the road both from kids and adults. I can't tell you the number of people who have come up to me with a book and just burst into tears... and I know it touched them... and those touching parts get my imagination going... so in that regard I think it probably does. I can write in the hotel as well as I can write at home so in that regard it doesn't, though it slows me down some. KellyMilnerH: Nelly asks, "Where do you get your style of writing like in Chinese Handcuffs where he has notes to his brother?" Chris Crutcher: I did that in both Chinese Handcuffs and Ironman. It's just a ploy to let me tell part of the story in third person, and the other part in first. It gives me some of the advantages of both. KellyMilnerH: Sloth asks, " Did you enjoy writing Whale Talk?" Maybe tell us about how you feel about being a writer? Chris Crutcher: I did enjoy it... there are lots of heartbreaking things there and lots of humorous things, and to me the balance of those comedy and tragedy make a good story. The characters were ones that allowed me to tell the story the way I wanted to so in general I had a pretty good time. KellyMilnerH: susan259 asks, "What other YA authors do you read?" I just finished one you endorsed, Fighting Ruben Wolfe. Chris Crutcher: God, I LOVED Fighting Ruben Wolfe . I read Terry Davis and Will Weaver and Terry Trueman... (I know those guys so I have to read them - they're also very good). I read Christopher Curtis, John H. Ritter. I just lost the name of one I read (female author) that I thought was magnificent.... hope I get the name before this is over. I just read a biography called Of Beetles and Angels by Mawi Asgedom, which is wonderous. KellyMilnerH: Malarie asks, "Did he always want to be a write or did it just kind of happen one day?" Chris Crutcher: I didn't always want to be a writer, but I knew I was good with words...and I knew I liked to express myself. Actually I wanted to be a stand-up comic, but didn't know how to go about that. As I got older it just became clear that I wanted to tell stories. KellyMilnerH: Sloth asks, "What is the title of the book that you never had published because it was too much like Columbine?" Chris Crutcher: Whale Talk. I stole the title and a few characters before flushing it down. By the way, this Whale Talk is a much better book. KellyMilnerH: karebear asks, "How was his life growing up?" What was an average day like for 16 year old Chris Crutcher? Chris Crutcher: I worked in my father's service station from the age of nine so I always had plenty of money. I was pretty funny; or at least I thought so, so I had a lot of friends. Not enough girls were in love with me which was really a pain, given my hurricane hormones. I think things were pretty "normal" for a sixteen-year-old. KellyMilnerH: nelson asks, "How much time do you alot for writing and who proofs your writing before you send it in?" Chris Crutcher: No one proofs it; I read it out loud for response...I allow different amounts of time on different days depending on what else there is for me to do... I keep my hand in the therapy and child protection business, so each day is different for me. KellyMilnerH: susan259 asks, "What are you working on now?" Chris Crutcher: I'm working on three things. One will float to the top, I think. One is the short stories; one is a novel about a teenager who has about a year to live, and has to make more out of high school than he planned. One is an unauthorized autobiography called Bawl Baby, which will give me a chance to talk about my life a little, and the lives of others who have had some kind of influence on me a LOT. KellyMilnerH: Alex asks, "What advice would he give to young adult writers getting started?" Chris Crutcher: Read a lot of the kind of stuff you like to write... . Write as often as possible; think in terms of "story." Be patient... enough to tell the whole story. Understand that getting there is as important as being there and never let anyone tell you you can't do it. KellyMilnerH: Chris, we're getting a lot of questions about how therapy influences your writing work. Can you talk a little about your work as a family therapist? Chris Crutcher: Sure... I've worked in child abuse and neglect for about twenty years, mostly as a therapist, trying to help put dysfunctional (I'll promise to use that word only once) back together. Because of that I have been allowed a view of people's lives that most people don't get. I have come to love things I used to hate; have been pushed to back up and back up and back up and not judge... to look at any given thing from a different perspective than I used to look at it. My life as a therapist has had a tremendous influence on my writing. People don't know how scary it can be for people in hard times to trust someone enough to tell their stories. I've been lucky to be in a spot to make that happen. KellyMilnerH: So what are the odds you'll write a NONFICTION book? Sounds like you have some great things to teach about teens? Chris Crutcher: I don't know whether or not I have things to TEACH about teens, but I have some things that might be worth bringing up and looking at. Sometime there will probably be that... but it might just come in the unauthorized autobiography. KellyMilnerH: Do you need to get going Chris, the hour is up, or can you hang out for a COUPLE more minutes? Chris Crutcher: I'm fine... KellyMilnerH: Hotstuff wonders why you use Stotan717 for your screen name? Chris Crutcher: Stotan! is my second book... and harbors a strong memory from my swimming years, and 7-17 is my birthday. Send expensive gifts. 7-17-46. KellyMilnerH: sinead says, "I find that your characters remain with me after I finish reading. They pop back into my head quite some time after I've read the novel. I know that you used some of this to write Athletic Shorts, but do you think we'll ever see these characters again--Sarah Byrnes or Moby for example?" Chris Crutcher: It's possible, probably in short stories rather than novels, though I bring someone back if he or she can help me tell a story. It is a generous compliment that the characters have staying power. KellyMilnerH: Tara asks, "What made you decide to write for young adults?" And it's been asked before. So maybe she's wondering, why not write for adults? Mainstream? Chris Crutcher: Like I said, I didn't decide. It's just where I went for my first stories and they were successful... and they kept bringing up others. KellyMilnerH: You have written one adult novel, The Deep End . Any more on deck? Chris Crutcher: Actually, I do have another adult one on deck. and it COULD be the one that floats up next or next to next. KellyMilnerH: Keelia wonders how you handle the feelings you must get when you do therapy. Is it tough? Chris Crutcher: Not really, and that isn't to say that sometimes I don't think I'm going to have a broken heart... but I'm tremendously curious about the human condition, and I have trained myself to accept the world the way it is; and the world contains some pretty tough stories. I used a sort of throw-away line with a minor character in Ironman; "When you want to see how something works, look at it broken" which is what I get to do hearing these stories. Look at broken lives. Pat Conroy said in The Prince of Tides "You can't fix a broken childhood, but you can make the sucker float" which I think is true... and helping people make their lives float seems like part of what I'm supposed to do when it comes to giving back. KellyMilnerH: Nelson wonders how hard it was to break into the business, to get your first novel published? Chris Crutcher: For me it was WAY easier than it should have been. Terry Davis already had an agent, and he pushed my story to her. She liked it and agreed to represent it... she was a very well established agent and sold it within a couple of months. I have heard from far better writers than I, that it wasn't so easy because they had such a hard time getting their material into the hands of someone who appreciated it. So it can be hard. There is a lot of competition... but it's not by any stretch of the imagination, impossible. KellyMilnerH: And I guess we'll call that a wrap. Chris, THANKS. As always you were great. Good luck with Whale Talk, it's a great read. Anything else you'd like to say? Before we say goodbye? Chris Crutcher: No, except you should see the view from this executive suite. I think I may have arrived. he he KellyMilnerH: LOL...you're the man. Thanks to KidReach Reading Center for making this possible. Sinead: Chris, KidReach would like to thank you for all of the time that you have given us today, and for all of the things that you have done and still do in the name of helping kids. Chris Crutcher: You're welcome. KellyMilnerH: Sinead really did the hard part on all this. She deserves a pat on the back too. Chris Crutcher: And a pat she gets, right on the back. KellyMilnerH: Whale Talk ...read it. Chris, good luck on the book tour. And thanks to all of you for coming. Chris Crutcher: Thanks. Outta here. |
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