b. 1979
Donald Ray Crislip
Growing up, I hated writing. I loved the idea of writing but hated the actual act of writing. I wanted to be a filmmaker instead. I'm definitely a product of countless hours spent watching Steven Spielberg and George Lucas films. I spent my adolescent years daydreaming about becoming a Hollywood director. After I graduated from film school, I moved to Hollywood and quickly discovered that it wasn't all that I thought it would be. I took part in the pride swallowing grind that nearly every wannabe filmmaker goes through. I stomached a year of working seven day weeks for almost no pay before deciding to move back to Cleveland with my beautiful wife. It was in Cleveland that I received my chance to direct a feature length film called Tomorrow For A Dollar, which I co-wrote.
All I can say about Tomorrow For A Dollar is that the film was a spectacular failure. It was spectacular in the sense that I received incredible wisdom from the experience, met and worked with some incredible people, and completed an impossible shooting schedule within an impossibly small budget. If there were ever an instance when someone could honestly say, "It was an incredible movie considering..." this would be that instance. I can attribute a lot of who I am to the making of that film. I wouldn't be a writer today if it weren't for Tomorrow For A Dollar.
After spending five years working in the film industry, Tomorrow For A Dollar was the final nail in the coffin. I quickly discovered how much I hated dealing with outside forces. Filmmaking is all about collaboration—with crew, with actors, with machines, with the weather, and with just about anyone or thing that feels the need to interfere. It was the collaboration that sent me running from the film industry. I wanted more control than it allowed. So I guess you can say I'm a control freak (but not really).
I can probably pinpoint my, "aha!" moment with writing just after Tomorrow For A Dollar premiered in New York City. I was exhausted from jumping through Hollywood hoops and really did some soul searching. I asked myself, "Why make movies?" and the answer was, "The story telling process." I love it. It's what motivates me. It's the reason why I scrutinize every detail of every film, book and television show I watch. It's the reason why I read so many biographies on Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, why I watch so many behind-the-scenes documentaries. I then asked myself, "Do I have to be a filmmaker in order to enjoy the story telling process?" and I realized I didn't. "I can be an author!"
I began (really began) my first novel, The Man God Forgot, around this time. In writing, I have complete control over everything, which is exactly what I need. I spent four years working heavily on the book until it was finished—about four drafts later. And now it is here, waiting for someone to represent and sell it.
I was recently given a scrap book from my mother for Christmas that contains all kinds of papers, drawings and newspaper articles from my school days. On the very first page was a story I wrote somewhere between the ages of eight and nine. Written on that story, by my teacher at the time, was a note that said, "Very creative and well written story. You should be an author when you grow up." She was right. It just took me "growing up" to realize it.
Some of my favorite authors include:
Philip K. Dick, David Mitchell, David Foster Wallace, Thomas Pynchon, Mark Z. Danielewski, George R.R. Martin, Stephen King, Chuck Palahniuk, Richard Matheson, George Orwell, J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, and Dan Brown.