I had decided to retire the literary Would You Rather series, but didn’t want to stop interviews on the site all together. Instead, I’ve pulled together 40ish questions – some bookish, some silly – and have asked authors to limit themselves to answering only 10 of them. That way, it keeps the interviews fresh and connectable for all of us!
Today we are joined by Paul Chitlik. Paul has written for all the major networks
and studios in English and in Spanish.
He was story editor for MGM/UA’S “The New Twilight Zone,” and
staff writer for Showtime’s sitcom “Brothers.” He has written features for Rysher
Entertainment, NuImage, Promark, Mainline Releasing, and others. He has directed episodes and been
coordinating producer for “Real Stories of the Highway Patrol” and “U.S.
Customs Classified.” He wrote and
produced “Alien Abduction,” the first network movie shot on digital video for UPN. He wrote, produced, and directed “Ringling
Brothers Revealed” a special for The Travel Channel. (He had been a roustabout for Circus Vargas
years earlier.) Most recently he wrote,
produced and directed “The Wedding Dress,” for Amazon Prime. He received a Writers Guild of America award
nomination for his work on “The Twilight Zone” and a GLAAD Media
Award nomination for “Los Beltrán,” a Telemundo show. He won a Genesis Award for a Showtime Family
movie.
He has taught in the MFA programs of
UCLA, the University of Barcelona’s film school ESCAC, Cuba’s film school
EICTV, Chile’s film school UNIACC, The University of Zulia in Venezuela, The
Panamerican University in Mexico City, The Story Academy of Sweden and as a
clinical associate professor at Loyola Marymount University. Now writing full time again and living near
his grandson in Chapel Hill, NC, with wife, Beth McCauley.
Why do you
write?
For me there
are only three reasons to write: to
entertain, to make a reader feel an emotion, and to change the world one reader
at a time. I think every writer wants to
change the world. That’s why we create
worlds, so we can have it our way. But
in a larger sense, I want to contribute to a better world, and writing is one
way to do that.
What do you do
when you’re not writing?
These days I
spend a lot of time with my grandson. I
love discovering the world anew as he learns about it.
What’s
something that’s true about you but no one believes?
I’m a crack
shot with a rifle. As a twelve-year-old,
I was in the Junior NRA. With a .22
rifle, I reached Sharpshooter level, the highest category at the time. But I’ve never owned a gun and don’t intend
to.
What’s the
best money you’ve ever spent as a writer?
Travel. And more travel. It opens your eyes to other ways of
living. And eating.
Describe your
book in three words.
Search for
self.
Would you and
your main character get along?
Once he
figured out who he wanted to be as opposed to who he was, yes.
If you could
spend one day with another author, who would you choose and why?
Carl
Hiaasen. He’s got such a great
imagination and sense of humor. We’d
talk and laugh all day, sharing and making up stories.
What is your
favorite book from childhood?
The Story
of Dr. Dolittle by
Hugh Lofting. I spent many hours in the
public library reading all of his books.
What are you
currently reading?
The
Covenant of Water by
Abraham Verghese. Just finished Doña
Perfecta, by Benito Perez Galdós.
Both portray village life in their stories – one in India, the other in
Spain – in ways that make you feel you live there for a bit.
If you could
go back and rewrite one of your books or stories, which would it be and why?
I’d go back
and rewrite “With the Greatest of Ease,” which I wrote when I was first
starting out. It’s never gotten out of
my desk drawer and for good reason. I
really didn’t know what I was doing then.
What I got right, though, was the circus because I was fascinated enough
at the time to work in one for a short while.
Now I know story better. And
people better.
