This interview with Crystal
Arbogast was first published in March 2006.
Where were you born and raised?
I was born in Wise County, Virginia. (It’s the same
county that one of my favorite actors, George C. Scott was born). My folks
moved to St. Louis for a brief period when I was a teenager and went back home
without me. (I married my high school sweetheart, and yes, we’re still
married).
What was it that first got you into writing and when did
you start writing?
I dabbled in poetry as a teenager but really did not
start writing stories until I was 40 years old. I was taking classes at
the local college and my English teacher gave the class a writing assignment.
“Omega Day” was born. She raved about it so much I thought I should
give it a try.
Which writers have influenced you the most?
I can’t say that any one writer has really influenced me.
I can list a few that come to mind as being one of many that I enjoy
reading.
Ambrose Bierce, Ernest Hemingway, Edwidge Danticat , and
remember Rod Sterling? His mind created the “Twilight Zone”.
Where do you stand on the nature v. nurture
debate? Were you born a writer, or were there factors in your environment
that enabled you to become a writer?
I’ve always been told that my mother wrote as a young
girl (mostly poetry and songs). She and one of my aunts sang on a radio
show when they were in their early teens. Perhaps I inherited my love of
writing from her. I know I have a good deal of loving the telling of a
tale from my dad. What actually makes a person want to write? It’s
something you love to do. My husband is a musician. He has always
played music since I’ve known him. He loves it. He has no formal
training as a musician, but he has quite a following in the St. Louis area.
He has a feel for it. You can force piano lessons on a kid and
teach him to read music, but if he or she doesn’t “feel” it, then it’s a
mechanical pounding of the keys. It has to be something that you’re born
with. That makes you want to do it in the first place.
There are a lot of courses teaching creative
writing nowadays, but do you think that good writing can be taught?
I think that creative writing classes are a good way to
get the juices flowing and to bounce feedback back and forth, but I doubt that
good writing can be taught.
Have you entered writing competitions? If so, have
you won any prizes?
I learned early on that writing competitions were only
interested in my entry fee so the answer is yes.
Do you have any short stories or poems published
online? (If so, please provide the URLs):
www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/indexframe.html
www.poetry.com/
www.cyberwit.net
(these are actual paperback editions that contain a
short story and poetry)
What kind of things do you write?
Whatever strikes my fancy.
What, for you, is the best piece of prose that you
have ever written?
A poem I wrote for my dad when he died entitled,
“Requiem”.
What are you working on now?
My first real “book”. Unfortunately, I’m at a
standstill. I have a terrible case of writers block.
What is your writing day like?
It’s been so long, I can’t say. I work for an
attorney these days and the job is very demanding. I really need a
writer's vacation.
Where would you like to be in 10 years time?
At my age……healthy, retired from the real world and
writing my heart out.
What’s the most exciting thing about writing for
you?
Having someone write me or e-mail me and tell me how much
they’ve enjoyed reading my work. I get a few e-mails from young people
all over the world, schools, colleges, etc.
What’s the most frustrating thing about writing
for you?
Writer’s block
What’s the best piece of feedback that you’ve had
from your audience?
An English teacher in Turkey e-mailed me and told me that
he had his class read two of my short stories and how much they enjoyed them.
He had good things to say and I saved the message so I could wallow in
some good feelings when I’m feeling depressed.
Do you write for a particular audience, or is your
first priority to satisfy your own creativity?
To satisfy my own creativity.
Do you have a homepage? If so, what’s the URL?
http://www.crystalarbogast.com/
