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Once upon a time, a reclusive worm rancher who lived on the banks of the Columbia River in Oregon thrust a book into my hands and said, "Read this."

I asked, “Is it good?”

She looked at me with a hard frown that confirmed what the world had been telling me since I was a boy: I am very slow, and very dim.

The book was called Big Fish. Some guy named Daniel Wallace wrote it.

I read the book and when I returned it to my worm rancher friend she asked, "Was it good?"

I confessed, "It was perfect."

She smirked.

A short time later, while Big Fish was receiving raves from reviewers and selling way more copies than a first novel by a non-celebrity-regular-guy is supposed to, I met the author. So I can tell you that Daniel Wallace is thin and handsome and speaks with an almost wistful North Carolina drawl. In spite of these fine qualities, and in spite of his having crafted a deeply moving and hilariously funny novel and earning all sorts of praise and money from his writing, I decided I liked Daniel Wallace.

I was even able to put aside my envy when Daniel bought a house with money that a guy named Steven Spielberg gave him—just for the option!—of making a film out of his novel. Still later, I was able to keep my envy from storming back when Daniel's book was made into a Big Hollywood Movie by some other guy named Tim Burton.

In spite of all of his success, I've been able to continue liking Daniel Wallace because it's painfully obvious that when he gets up each morning, he's just a writer. He's just a dad. He's just a guy.

For proof, consider that when I asked Daniel if he would grant an interview to WORD, he said, "Sure."

Later Daniel learned that I play the interview game by firing lots of rude, random, intrusive questions at him, insisting that he answer them as fast and as honestly as he can. I truly enjoy games that make other people do all the work, take all the risks, suffer all the consequences. Perhaps I would make a good War President.

Copyright 2004 WORD san diego

An Exclusive WORD Flash Interview
with Daniel Wallace

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a banjo player.

What do you want to be now?

One day, I would like to be a writer.

What’s your earliest memory?

I can't remember.

You've made a living as a cartoonist and greeting card artist and writer, among other things. Did you draw and write when you were a kid?

I drew pictures, badly. I hated everything I did. I wrote poems. Mostly for my mother. I don't do that anymore.

Do you collect anything?

Glass eyes. I have always been fascinated by them.

Do you believe in a god or gods?

I don't. But please say I do in case one of them reads your magazine.

How did you make it i.e., become a full-time writer, and not a Kinko’s employee, a waiter, a taxi driver, or currency trader?

These things you mention may yet occur, but I am a full-time writer for one reason only: Hollywood. They made a movie of my book and I made some money from that.

How do you work? How do you take an idea, urge, itch, dissatisfaction—whatever it is that you start with—and turn it into a story?

That's the mystery—what engages a writer. My way is to write and write and write until I come upon something. Then I write that for as long as I can. I think of it as a job. I write in the morning. The less I work the worse I feel.

You wrote five unpublished novels before your "first" novel, Big Fish. What on earth made you keep going, made you write that sixth novel?

I was too old to do anything else. And I thought I would rather fail at writing than succeed at anything else.

You're a parent. How does that influence you, your work?

I like the idea of my kids looking at books by me on the shelf after I've died.

What are the joys and hassles of being a wildly successful author? How has the success, the praise you've earned, affected you or changed your life? How do you handle it?

It's all temporary. I think of it as an adventure. Soon, I'll be right back at it, every morning. Nothing has changed.

Do you watch television?

I love television. I want to write a TV show.

What are you working on these days?

O Great Rosenfeld, a novel. And a book of short stories.

What are your writing and life goals?

Just to be able to continue writing.

Why do you write?

I like it. That sounds glib but it's true.

How do you see yourself? As an artist? An individual? A citizen? A random collection of star dust?

As a guy, mostly.

What advice can you offer to others who would seek or are beginning creative careers as writers, artists, musicians, filmmakers?

Live for a long time. And work. Hard.

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