Ask the Author: Craig Pittman
Answered Questions (10)
Craig Pittman
"What do you mean my story deadline is in two minutes?" the shackled writer asked. The editor just laughed and revved the chainsaw.
Craig Pittman
I think it might be interesting to travel to the version of 2016 presented at the start of "All Our Wrong Todays" by Elan Mastai. That world has an unlimited supply of energy, no wars and hover cars. I would DEFINITELY want to try out the hover cars and some of the other innovations. But I'd want to come back to our world pretty soon, since nobody reads books there, considering them an old-fashioned form of storytelling supplanted by immersive VR technology. I would really miss books.
Craig Pittman
I just finished the third volume of Simon Callow's entertaining bio of Orson Welles, "One Man Band," which covers the making of the movies "The Third Man" and "Touch of Evil," among other things. Now I'm reading "Naked At Lunch" by Mark Haskell Smith, a cleverly titled (and written) survey of nudism and nudists. On the fiction front, I'm really looking forward to reading "No Middle Name," Lee Child's collection of Jack Reacher short stories.
Craig Pittman
Every four years, the rest of the nation gives Florida the side-eye, wondering how we're going to screw up another election. I figured 2016 was a good year to tell the country there's more to Florida than just being the Punchline State. Yes, weird things happen here (and yes we sometimes screw up elections), but Florida and Floridians are also responsible for a lot of things that have influenced the rest of the country, often without anyone realizing it.
Craig Pittman
I look at my bank balance.
Craig Pittman
It's indoor work and no heavy lifting.
Craig Pittman
Make an outline so you'll know where you're going, but don't feel like it's carved in stone. If you need to diverge from your roadmap, do it. But don't throw out the outline. When you go back to revise your manuscript -- which is really the most important part of the writing process -- check to see if what you added or changed is really as important as it seemed when you did it, or if you should go back to the outline. In my experience, about half the time the stuff I changed turned out to be extraneous after all. I just had to get it out of my system, that's all.
Craig Pittman
I'm revising a draft of my first novel. I've always been a non-fiction guy so it was fun to try my hand at fiction for a change. My goal was to write the Ultimate Florida Crime Novel so yes, it has exotic wildlife, an environmental disaster, kinky sex and a machete-vs-samurai sword battle.
Craig Pittman
I think about my mortgage payment. And then I do a load of laundry. And then I remember Harry Crews' mantra for writers: "Get your ass in the chair." And I get back to work.
Craig Pittman
Years after we bought our house, we discovered that the prior occupant had been a suspect in a triple homicide. He didn't do it, of course -- the cops later caught the real killer and he's already been tried and executed. I covered the trial and later interviewed him on Death Row. He sent me several letters from prison in which he dotted his i's with smiley faces. But it occurred to me that if the prior resident HAD been the killer, what a nifty set-up for a mystery that would be.
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