Interview with Carl Deuker [carldeuker] on Whohub

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What did you first read? How did you begin to write? Who were the first to read what you wrote?

I loved to read biographies of people like Kit Carson and Daniel Boone. After listening to Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, and the Beatles, I started writing poems and songs. In high school, I passed these songs and poems around to friends. One friend (Jim Canning) and I wrote a narrative poem entitled "The Armless Hitchhiker" which we performed for our classmates. It was and is quite funny in a black humor, sick way.

What is your favorite genre? Can you provide a link to a site where we can read some of your work or learn something about it?

I basically write sports books "with a little extra" for young adults, though I also have a mystery-thriller for young adults in print as well. I'd like to do more mystery-thrillers in the future. My website is: http://members.authorsguild.net/carldeuker/index.htm (...)

What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write?

Once an idea comes to me, I go through the basic plot and make notes. Real general. Then I do a free-write for about thirty pages or so, going fast and trying to get a feel for my narrator's voice. Next I go back and clean-up those thirty pages. When that's done, it's back to the free-write for 30 pages or so. Then I go back to the very beginning and work it all in again. So it's very circular. I write the opening many times, but by the time I reach the ending, I usually have the voice down well and don't have to rewrite so much.

What type of reading inspires you to write?

All of my reading inspires me. Writing does not come easily to me so I'm inspired by anyone who sits down and does it, published or unpublished.

What do you think are the basic ingredients of a story?

I write using the first person for all books. For me, the voice of the narrator/main character is absolutely essential. If I get the voice right, then the story will flow in plausible ways.

I feel that the plot is secondary to the creation of character. A satisfying, full main character makes for a satisfying book, even if the plot isn't tight. A tight plot with lousy characters just doesn't satisfy.

What voice do you find most to your liking: first person or third person?

I am strictly a first person writer. I've tried third person, but it just doesn't work for me. I wish it did. First person stories are hard to construct because the main character has to be present (or be told) about everything that happens. In third person, things can happen away from the main character. There's a little less juggling in third person.

What well known writers do you admire most?

People like Phillip Roth and John Updike are amazing. To write so many books of such high quality requires both talent and dedication. Among "children's" authors, Lois Lowry jumps to mind for the same reasons.

What is required for a character to be believable? How do you create yours?

Main character must be both flawed and likeable. If he/she isn't flawed, then they aren't human, so no one will want to read. If they aren't likeable, then very few readers will want to spend many hours with them.

I usually have a problem running through my books: alcohol abuse, parental neglect, poverty. Then I put a nice kid into that bad situation and make him live through it.

Are you equally good at telling stories orally?

I can spin a pretty good story. Once, after telling one, a woman said to me: "How come things like that never happen to me?" I shrugged, but what I should have said was: "I embellish wildly on what really happened. Sometimes, I make up things that didn't happen." So, yes, I stretch the truth.

Deep down inside, who do you write for?

I wanted very much to be part of the fraternity of "published" authors. I wanted something I wrote to be in the public library. I admire books so much, that my life-long goal was to write one. So to be in the company--even if it is way in the back, back row--of great writers is why I write.

Is writing a form of personal therapy? Are internal conflicts a creative force?

Very much so. In Night Hoops, I have a character with a tough home life who comes to see the value of community and friendship. He's based on a student of mine who, with an equally tough home life, completely fell apart, shattering his own life and the lives of others. In real life, an unhappy story . . . in fiction, the happy ending I wish the boy could have had.

Does reader feed-back help you?

I find reader feed-back to be encouraging and an incentive to keep writing, probably because the people who take the time to write almost invariably say nice things. To know that your words are having an impact is a powerful source of inspiration.

Do you participate in competitions? Have you received any awards?

I have never participated in any competition other than the main one--trying to find someone to publish my books!

Awards: On the Devil's Court, Young Adult Book of the Year in South Carolina.
Heart of a Champion: YA Book of the Year in Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Tennessee
Night Hoops: YA Book of the Year, Nebraska
High Heat: YA Book of the Year, Nebraska
Other novels nominated for YA Book of the Year in many states.

They love me in Nebraska! Go Big Red!

Do you share rough drafts of your writings with someone whose opinion you trust?

My wife and daughter read my drafts, but I don't belong to a "writers group" and never have. I'm certain I would be intimidated by the other writers, and I'm afraid I'd try to write like someone else, which is the kiss of death for a writer.

Do you believe you have already found "your voice" or is that something one is always searching for?

Every book is a new search for the right voice for the character. It is the biggest struggle.

What discipline do you impose on yourself regarding schedules, goals, etc.?

I'm a full-time teacher and part-time writer. So, I try to write for at least one hour every day. If I do that, I'm satisfied.

What do you surround yourself with in your work area in order to help your concentrate?

When I'm free-writing or just trying to get the story moving, I put on headphones and listen to Neil Young, or the Beatles, or the Rolling Stones, of the Band. Somebody who gets the juices going. When I'm trying to get everything just right at the end, it has to be quiet.

Do you write on a computer? Do you print frequently? Do you correct on paper? What is your process?

I do almost everything on a computer. When I'm in the final editing process, I will print the entire book and read it. I'll always find things in a printed version that slip by me on computer. I don't know why that is, but it is definitely a fact.

What has been your experience with publishers?

I have had one editor, Ann Rider, for all my books. She has been wonderful. Sometimes I'll have a chapter or a passage and I'll think: "This really isn't very good but no one will notice." Invariably, she notices and helps me improve the passage. Equally important, when I think I have something right, Ann does as well. I never find myself arguing with her about changes.

Ann started with Little, Brown, so I started with Little, Brown. When she moved to Houghton-Mifflin, she asked me if I'd join H-M, and I was delighted to do so.

What are you working on now?

I'm working on a sports mystery/thriller about an athlete who shows up in his senior year at a new school. He has incredible talent which he only infrequently allows to shine. He seems to be hiding something about his past. The school newspaper reports smell something rotten. An undercover cop? An ineligible player? What's going on?

As the story unfolds, they discover that they are both very right and very wrong about the new student.

What do you recommend I do with all those things I wrote years ago but have never been able to bring myself to show anyone?

Nothing a person writes is wasted. It's like saying that a basketball player who goes out and shoots around is wasting his time. That said, if the voice in the stories is good, then keep working on it until you think it's about 90% done, and then start showing it to people. If the voice isn't right, then either work on it to get the voice right or work on something else. Just don't keep going with a "bad" voice. It will just get worse and worse. Trust me, I've done it!

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