Ask the Author: Craig Lancaster
Answered Questions (16)
Craig Lancaster
Hi, Nancy ... Less than you think, unless you think I didn't do much, in which case probably more than you think. I didn't want to write a story about autism; I wanted to write a story about a guy who happened to be autistic. Thus, making Edward consistent unto himself, whatever that happened to be, was more important to me than getting the diagnostics just so. My research focused on behaviors and traits more than clinical stuff. Thanks so much for the question.
Craig Lancaster
Hi, Rhiannon ... I'm so grateful Edward was such an immersive experience for you.
He's a character who lets me know when he has more to say. When that happens, I'll be ready to write.
He's a character who lets me know when he has more to say. When that happens, I'll be ready to write.
Craig Lancaster
Why did I wait until my 40s to buy quality socks? Seriously. No decision, outside of marrying my wife, has made such a day-to-day difference. Buy good socks, have happy feet, be a contented person. Three keys to success.
OK, maybe that's not my serious answer. Here's a better one: The life of my grandfather—my father's father—is mostly unknown to my family, and probably unlikely to be unraveled given the fact that his contemporaries, like him, are dead. So, really, he could be anything I imagined him to be. Hmmm ...
OK, maybe that's not my serious answer. Here's a better one: The life of my grandfather—my father's father—is mostly unknown to my family, and probably unlikely to be unraveled given the fact that his contemporaries, like him, are dead. So, really, he could be anything I imagined him to be. Hmmm ...
Craig Lancaster
Thanks so much for the question, Debbie. I'd have to say it's this big, jumbled mishmash of things, sometimes so complex that even I can't say what's imagination and pure theft from my own memories or experiences. The truth is that when I'm doing my best writing, the characters reveal themselves as much as I imbue them with particular traits or personalities.
Here's something I tell my writing workshops: Fiction is a three-part formula. It's memory plus experience plus imagination. Each story imposes the mix; if I were writing a story about made-up creatures in another world, imagination would be the dominant ingredient. A father-son story set in the American West leans more heavily on experience. And so on.
Here's something I tell my writing workshops: Fiction is a three-part formula. It's memory plus experience plus imagination. Each story imposes the mix; if I were writing a story about made-up creatures in another world, imagination would be the dominant ingredient. A father-son story set in the American West leans more heavily on experience. And so on.
Craig Lancaster
Hi, Beth ... Please tell your mom that I'm deeply appreciative. (Tell yourself, too!) I haven't outlined any plans for Edward No. 4, but I'm not really the outlining type. He revisits me on his own timetable. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing him again.
Craig Lancaster
Because of production schedules and other variables, Luke and I weren't able to collaborate on this one. In his stead, I think Mr. Otey did a fabulous job. I have no doubt that Luke and I will work together again. Thanks for the question.
Craig Lancaster
Hi, Helen. I'm so glad you liked the first book, and I hope you like the second just as much. Some other projects have moved in front of a third Edward book. I want to make sure I have the best possible idea for that before I do it (I said after the first book that there wouldn't be a sequel, so clearly these things take a little time for me to work out). In the meantime, I hope you'll check out some of my other work. Without giving too much away, I'll tell you that "The Fallow Season of Hugo Hunter" furthers the Edward story in an interesting way.
Craig Lancaster
I appreciate that.
Craig Lancaster
I think your answers for nonfiction represent the gold standard, Mark. My fiction influences would differ a bit. I'm interested in the sweet spot where literary worthiness meets compelling storytelling, and so I tend to veer toward authors like Jonathan Evison, Stewart O'Nan, Jennifer Egan, etc. I don't worship the sentence; I worship the story.
Craig Lancaster
Hi, Bonnie ... I think it's inevitable that another Edward story gets written. I have some other things on my plate ahead of it, but I'll get to it. Promise. Thank you for the question.
Craig Lancaster
Thank you so much for this, Deborah. I'm so glad you've enjoyed the stories.
Craig Lancaster
I've done some work on a third Edward. I'd like to see him again. I'm so glad you've enjoyed him.
Craig Lancaster
By denying that it exists, at least in the context of my own life and my own work. (Clearly, I can't tell anyone else that it doesn't exist for them.) Incidentally, this is also how I deal with my mortality and the Dallas Cowboys.
The big thing is that I give myself permission to suck so long as I have revisions ahead of me. Given enough time and distance, I can usually fix whatever I screw up in the first place. Or I can discover that the whole thing is garbage and shouldn't be unveiled. Whatever.
The big thing is that I give myself permission to suck so long as I have revisions ahead of me. Given enough time and distance, I can usually fix whatever I screw up in the first place. Or I can discover that the whole thing is garbage and shouldn't be unveiled. Whatever.
Craig Lancaster
If there's a chance you want anything else for your life, you should probably grab it and continue on happily. If you can't imagine doing anything else, then you have no choice and should embrace this wholeheartedly. Beyond that, here are a few things that help tremendously:
1. Be good at it.
2. Write what's in your heart and trust that simpatico readers will find it.
3. Have the maturity to accept the criticism that will make you better and the fortitude to not accept anybody else's definition of success.
1. Be good at it.
2. Write what's in your heart and trust that simpatico readers will find it.
3. Have the maturity to accept the criticism that will make you better and the fortitude to not accept anybody else's definition of success.
Craig Lancaster
In the most practical way of all: I make the bulk of my living at it, so if I don't write, I don't eat. Perhaps even more important, if I don't write I'll have to go out and get the kind of job where I have to leave the house in the morning and work among other people. You know, the kind of job I did for twenty-five years. Let me tell you: I'm way too wild to back to a workplace now. I'd be like a stray dog, tearing up the furniture and pooping in the middle of the floor.
Craig Lancaster
I'm going to assume that this refers to the next book I have coming out, as opposed to the one I'm working on. This assumption is entirely self-serving, because I don't want to talk about the one I'm working on.
I wrote a short story about a boxer, a guy I named Hugo Hunter, for the Spring 2013 issue of Montana Quarterly magazine (one of the finest regional magazines in the country, and I'm not just saying that because I work there and it occasionally publishes my stuff). Once the magazine came out and I re-read the story, I realized I wanted to know more about this cat. So I wrote a book. You should read it.
I wrote a short story about a boxer, a guy I named Hugo Hunter, for the Spring 2013 issue of Montana Quarterly magazine (one of the finest regional magazines in the country, and I'm not just saying that because I work there and it occasionally publishes my stuff). Once the magazine came out and I re-read the story, I realized I wanted to know more about this cat. So I wrote a book. You should read it.
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