David Levithan, co-author of Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and recent visitor to these shores very kindly agreed to a short email interview with BookieMonster.
You do a lot of collaboration writing – do you have a set process to make sure that works, or do you follow different processes with different people?
DL: It’s just a matter of instinct. It was Rachel’s idea to do NICK AND NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST, and we ran with it, not having any idea what we were doing. Which is, I think, what makes the book so special. We were talking to each other through the characters, and having a great time.
What is the most important thing that drives you to write about and write for young people?
DL: I’m not sure anything in particular drives me. (I have a book about two adults coming out in January.) But it’s a fascinating time of life to explore. And certainly the response from the readers means a whole lot, and I suspect you don’t get that as much when you write primarily for older folks. I guess I’ll see.
What were your favourite books when you were a teen?
DL: Anne Tyler’s DINNER AT THE HOMESICK RESTAURANT, Alice Hoffman’s SEVENTH HEAVEN, John Irving’s A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY… among many others.
Are you a book re-reader? and if you are, what are some books you always go back to?
DL: I’m not much of a re-reader, but I have re-read all of the books listed above.
What was the experience of having Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist made into a movie like?
DL: In a word, it was awesome. Rachel and I were both very lucky to be involved in the process and to love love love all of the cast and the crew, including the screenwriter and the director. The movie certainly takes some different turns from the book, but it never, ever strays from the spirit and the heart of the book, and for that I’ll be forever grateful.
What’s your current reading material?
DL: I just finished Donna Freitas’s THIS GORGEOUS GAME, which is a really intense, powerful book about a girl who is stalked by an older man. Before that I read William Trevor’s LOVE AND SUMMER, which was a perfect summer read – not that it’s “beachy,” but it’s about the connections we can form over the summer, and how temporal they can be.
The characters in Will Grayson, Will Grayson are really likeable and endearing, even when they are being quite irritating! How do you feel about characters when you are writing them?
DL: Usually I like them a lot. Even the hard ones. Because, let’s face it, nobody is saintly all the time. That would be boring.
The characters also seem amazingly real – their dialogue and reactions and emotions are so spot-on. How do you keep it so genuine when writing characters who are a different age to yourself?
DL: The emotions don’t really change, so it’s remarkably easy to slip into the characters’ minds, no matter what age.
What were you like as a teenager? Second Will Grayson has a problem with depression, was that something you had experience of?
DL: I was a very happy, well-adjusted teenager – I try to single-handedly disprove the myth that you need to suffer greatly in order to create great art. So my experience was different from my Will’s (in fact, I was much closer to John’s Will), but at the same time, I have a great deal of empathy for what my Will is going through, because I have friends who’ve been there, and because I can see how easy it would have been for me to go there, too.
Who are some of your favourite current authors?
DL: There isn’t enough space to answer this one. So I’ll cheat and say that I am deeply in love with the writing of all of my co-authors.
With the death of JD Salinger last year there was a lot of talk about the present relevance of The Catcher in the Rye and the character of Holden in particular. Was (or is) The Catcher in the Rye an important book for you personally? Do you see it as being relevant to Young Adult writing of today or would you disagree with the notion that it’s somehow a “teen” book? How do you think (or hope) your books will be thought of in 40 years time?
DL: If you read my book THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY, there’s a poem in it that distills at least some of my feelings about CATCHER IN THE RYE. I actually like the other books better, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that Salinger was an amazing writer. Of course it’s a teen book – any book that appeals to a teen is a teen book. As for how my own books will be thought of in 40 years time – well, I hope at least one of them will seem horribly dated. After we get full equality (which we will in the next forty years, and probably much sooner than that), BOY MEETS BOY will seem like a relic from another age. As it should be.
Why, oh why, did they stop making My So-Called Life?
DL: Low ratings? But I will admit I have a secret joy that they left us with one perfect season rather than letting it go on. So many of the other shows I love stumble after a while. But MSCL stands as perfect from beginning to end.
Did you love the scene in Almost Famous where they’re singing along to “Tiny Dancer”?
DL: How could I not?
A huge thanks to David for taking the time to answer my questions.
