That's right, we have an interview here with a big time writer. Dan Chaon is the bestselling author of novels Await Your Reply and You Remind Me of Me, as well as three short story collections. His latest book of stories is called Stay Awake, and was released in February. And oh yeah, he plays Skyrim.Breadline Books: A popular question seems to be When did you first decide you wanted to be a writer? Have you ever not wanted to write for a living?
Dan Chaon: I wanted to tell stories ever since I was a little kid. I really liked pretend games that I would make up. Being a writer is just one of the quasi-legitimate ways that allows you to do that as an adult. Of course, there are times when writing is frustrating and boring and you want to beat your skull open with a brick; but generally I've been happy that I got a chance to do it for a living.
BB: When it comes to writing, what do you wish you were better at? How do you work to improve that skill?
DC: I think that writing scene and action is the hardest for me. Obviously the best way to improve is through practice, but also through reading. I'm always looking for people who do scene really well. That's one of the reasons I'm enjoying Josh Bazell's book Wild Thing.
BB: Everyone procrastinates. How have you been wasting your time recently?
DC: Playing Skyrim on my PC.
BB: Do you write in areas other than fiction, like essays or poetry?
DC: I write poetry sometimes, but don't really publish it; I've also been working on screenplays, and I'm interested in comics as a medium. I write essays when I'm asked to for various things, but it's not really my thing. I'm especially not interested in memoir.
BB: What authors or books do you enjoy that are most unlike your own work?
DC: I really like children's fantasy and adventure books. Some of my recent favorites are the Abhorsen books by Garth Nix and the Bartimaeus books by Jonathan Stroud.
BB: As a teacher of creative writing, what's the most important message you want to get across to your students?
DC: That learning is a spiral rather than a ladder. You're always circling around the same stuff, again and again. You don't ever "master" the craft.
BB: You're working on a screenplay for Await Your Reply. Will we see it in theaters eventually?
DC: Ha ha. I hope so! I have been working really hard on it! But a lot of movie making is about money, and finding money, so I can't say for sure.
BB: Aspiring writers look up to accomplished authors. Who do accomplished authors admire?
DC: There's always someone more accomplished than you, in one way or another. I admire people whose stories and characters take me somewhere I've never been before. That's the thing I want more than anything else--that feeling of being transported. If someone can do that for me, they are my hero.
BB: If you won a free book, what would you choose?
DC: I would probably choose Denis Johnson's book Jesus' Son, because the students are always stealing it from me and then I have to buy extra copies.
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