Interview with Dallas

conducted by Krystal Park

Krystal: What made you decide to become a writer? Has there been a significant event in your life where you knew right then and there, that this was it?

Dallas: Well, my dad is a sports columnist, so I have grown up with writing as a part of life . . . I don't remember a specific moment when I decided I wanted to be a writer; rather, it is something I have always seemed to love doing. I can't remember a time when I didn't love to write! I t always seemed the natural thing for me to do, and I don't think I even ever entertained the idea of a different career. I am so fortunate in that my friends and family and teachers have been very supportive of my aspirations and have given me so much encouragement and confidence in myself to pursue my dream of becoming an author.

I find inspiration everywhere ? I really consider myself blessed as I do not often have to deal with "writer?s block"; on the contrary, I have so many ideas the hard thing is finding time to write about and flesh out all of them! I find inspiration in my own life ? my relationships with people, events in my life, my feelings and fears and hopes. Indeed, many of my friends and family members will recognize themselves in my stories. Writing is incredibly cathartic to me in that it helps me express myself while at the same time connect with other people. What could be better than that?

I think writing is so powerful because it can really bring people together ? people from all backgrounds and races and ages and beliefs ? writing is a universal means of expression and understanding. With my writing, I hope to connect with people, to bring them together, and also to make them think or consider the world in a new way that hadn?t occurred to them before. Through my writing I have also had the opportunity to meet so many readers and other writers ? people from a variety of backgrounds and walks of life ? and it has really expanded my own horizons. The benefits go both ways.

4. How do you feel your first book, There?s a Huge Pimple On My Nose, differs from your most recent release 3 a.m.?

Pimplewas written when I was a kid myself, so its audience is naturally geared towards kids as that is all I knew at the time. I feel like I have come a long way in my life since Pimple?s poems about Peanut Butter and Jellyfish sandwiches ? and in turn, my writing has improved and matured as well. In 3 a.m., I address more complex themes such as personal relationships and inner growth ? and the intended audience is older, too, from middle- and high-schoolers to adults.

Hard question! That?s like asking a mother who her favorite child is. : ) I think all my pieces represent who I am at a certain point in my life or when I am feeling a certain way . . . as I mentioned before, I get inspiration for my writing from life itself, and little bits and pieces of me end up in all of my characters. So I guess I would answer that question by saying that whatever piece I am working on at the moment seems to best represent myself.

6. You?ve written all sorts of types: poems,non-fiction, fiction, short stories. Out of all of
those, which do you find yourself enjoying more, and why do you feel that way?

Fiction is my first love, and what I find myself naturally gravitating towards when I first get an idea. I started out with short stories because they are a little less daunting than carrying one idea with you throughout a whole 200-page manuscript . . . but as I have grown and matured, so, too, have my ideas grown and matured and I am actually about halfway finished with my first novel right now, and am having an incredible time with it. I?m also having fun experimenting with the idea of a short story ? taking a single scene, a snippet from life, and trying to say something through it. It?s challenging, and fresh, and to me that is exciting and what the joy of writing is all about.

Writing is work. That?s one of the most valuable lessons I think I have learned the past few years ? that it isn?t easy, and you shouldn?t expect it to be. Just because you love something doesn?t mean it will come easy to you. It doesn?t. Sometimes the words just won?t come, sometimes I spend hours on a single paragraph or months on a story that does not blossom in the end. But even more than the challenges of writing sometimes frustrate me, the greater part of me enjoys working through those challenges and learning from them . . .I live off the sweet satisfaction of having written and being able to express myself and connect with other people through my words.

To me, the number-one benefit of writing is feeling that you can touch and positively affect people in some way through your words. Receiving letters and e-mails from readers of all ages saying they relate to my work is one of the best gifts life offers me. And I hope that with my writing I can inspire other kids and young people to dare to follow their dreams. Maybe this sounds corny, but I truly believe that writing can change the world because writing is what brings forward ideas, and ideas have power to enact change. Writers can help ensure that these changes are beneficial ? they can give hope to others through their words.

I never have trouble finding ideas to write about. For me, the birth of an idea is the most exciting part ? when you are first trying to flesh out this kernel of an idea in your mind, and there are a million opportunities and pathways you can take with it . . . and you find yourself thinking about your story and puzzling it out constantly in your head. Then, for all the challenging writing days, there are some "easy" days ? days when the words seem to unfurl like magic beneath your fingertips and everything flows smoothly and you feel like some other force has taken hold of your creative subconscious and you are just the vehicle for this force, and time does not exist ? suddenly you look at the clock and it?s 3 a.m. (hence my book title! Hahaha) and you realize you haven?t eaten all day . . . it?s hard to explain, but those days are what make writing so worthwhile and special.

Hmmm. . . yes, I guess I do, but it?s not something I really think about too much. I think a lot of the mood in the piece depends first of all, of course, on what the story is about, but also on what mood I am in when I am writing it. And also who my intended audience is ? if I am writing a children?s story the mood is a lot different than if I am writing a coming-of-age young adult story, for example.

11. What are some typical thought processes that goes through your head every time you sit down to begin writing?

It?s hard to explain, but maybe you have kind of the same thing when you sit down to write a song or play a new song for the first time . . . and it?s like you step inside this different world, almost. I read over what I wrote the day before, and I kind of get back inside my characters? heads, inside this world I created before, and it?s weird because it?s like you see this other world around you while at the same time you are writing it out, creating it, on your computer screen . . . Once I get inside this world and kind of forget about all outside distractions, my writing starts to come easier and the words flow more smoothly and I begin to forget I am writing at all ? I?m learning the story, too, as I go along.

12. How would you describe your own style of writing? What makes it your own unique style?

Hmmm, that?s a hard one! I?m not really used to describing my own writing. I guess what I try to do ? what I hope to do ? is touch people and affect them in some way, so I hope my style reflects that. I hope it comes across like the voice of an old friend, inviting you into the story. At the same time, I think an effective story-telling voice allows you as a reader to step inside a story so completely that you actually forget that you are reading a story ? it feels so much like real life. And at the end you don?t want to leave. That?s what I hope to do.

13. How do you factor your target audience into your writing? How does it affect your writing style?

Well, if I know I am writing a children?s story, I write it in a simpler style with clear-cut dialogue and a younger vocabulary, and I always try to interject some humor into the story. Also, I try to make my plots for children?s stories more action-filled, whereas my stories for older audiences are often more character- or mood-driven. Generally, I always try to write something that I would enjoy reading myself.

14. What is your criteria that you follow, or what do you feel is necessary in writing good literature?

I am actually taking a Creative Writing course this semester called "Writing to be Read" that deals with just this topic . . . and I agree with my professor on this. He says that the ultimate goal of a story is to evoke some sort of emotion in the reader. As a writer, you want your reader to relate to your words in some way. You want to touch them, or scare them, or make them laugh or cry or think ? you want your words to stay with them even after they have turned the final page. My favorite books ? Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harry Potter :) ? are all books that I think about a lot, and relate to my life, and I read them again and again just because they seem so true and honest to me. That is what I think makes good literature. That is what makes a writer successful.

15. Out of all the types of media in our world today, why have you chosen writing as your form of expression as opposed to painting, or film making, etc.?

Good question! Well, for one thing I can?t draw for the life of me . . . : ) I think a lot of it was growing up in a household where writing and reading was just an inherent part of life ? I learned to read when I was four years old, and soon after I began telling my own stories and writing them down. It just seemed natural to me. I think writing is such a personal and yet universal means of expression . . . at the same time, I am interested in expanding my creative horizons ? I took an art class last year, wrote a stage-play for the drama department, and I hope to someday delve into screenwriting and perhaps even directing . . . I think the most important thing for people is to have some creative means of expressing themselves, whether that is painting or onscreen or on paper or through debates, etc.

16. How did you go about starting up Write-On? How has Write-On changed you as a writer?

Write On is the endeavor that brings me most pride and satisfaction of anything I do. It started in 2000, when I received a $50 grant to hold an essay contest through the local schools to encourage kids to write, awarding new books as prizes. That evolved into an entire foundation, Write On, with the goal of encouraging youth literacy. Writing and reading have opened up so many doors for me and have brought me so much joy and satisfaction, that I want to share that with as many people as possible. I now have a website, www.zest.net/writeon,and I hold essay contests twice a year, have book reviews and read-a-thons, and hold an annual Holiday Book Drive that has collected and distributed 6,390 new books the past four years to kids who otherwise, I am told, would not have received anything for Christmas. The excitement on these kids? faces to receive books of their own stays with me throughout the year, and warms my heart when I am feeling discouraged. I formed Write On to give other kids hope and inspire them to chase their dreams ? how ironic that in fact these kids are the ones who inspire me.

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