On Saturday, January 31st, at 7 pm, Crestwood Library and the Friends of Crestwood Library will host An Evening with Author/Screenwriter Thomas Kelly, continuing the Crestwood Library Centennial festivities. Kelly is known for his books Payback, The Rackets, and Empire Rising, as well as writing for the TV shows Blue Bloods, FBI, and Tulsa King. Kelly will share how his experiences working in construction and politics gave his writing style the grit it’s known for.
In preparation for this event, Crestwood staff member Hanora Woodruff contacted Kelly with a few questions that would allow library patrons to learn more about him and his work prior to the event on the 31st. The correspondence went as follows:
Hanora: You’ve written everything from historical novels to serial screenplays. Can you speak on what skills or strategies you find yourself utilizing across these fields? Can you also highlight any skills that might be unique to these different types of writing?
Thomas: Writing novels and writing for television are two very different endeavors. Novel writing by definition is a solitary existence. It is you, the page, and nothing else. Television is a collaborative enterprise. From breaking stories to writing the final drafts of scripts, it's a team effort. And writers usually serve as producers as well. That can mean anything from hiring the caterers and casting the actors to doing final mixes on cuts of the show. Television is very structured. And there are limits imposed by time and money - none of which is an issue when writing novels. What the two mediums have in common is that they are both forms of storytelling. And - in both - character is everything. You want to create characters the audience can invest in. Then, the obvious thing I guess, having an active imagination is key to both.
H: Your bio mentions that you pivoted from working in construction and union politics to writing. Can you elaborate on why you made the switch?
T: I always wanted to be a writer. It was a crazy dream for a working class kid to have. Working in those other fields was a way to pay the bills while I wrote on the side and to have something to fall back on if I did not make a living as a writer.
H: How has your background shaped your work, both in what you’ve read and what you’ve experienced? Are there any tricks that you’ve adopted from your favorite authors, aspects you’ve tried to emulate, or particular experiences that you’ve drawn from that you utilize in your work?
T: I wish there were tricks. What I try to emulate is the work ethic most successful writers have.
H: Finally, what words of advice would you give the aspiring writers and screenwriters in our community?
T: First and most important - writers write. If you are writing on a regular basis, you are a writer. If you are only thinking about it or talking about it, you are not a writer. So get to work! Writing is hard and it doesn't get easier with success. Most writers I know who have made a living from a very uncertain profession need to write and would still be writing if only their mothers read their work. That need, that drive, is crucial. If you have that and a work ethic, you have a great chance at success.
We hope you’ll join us on January 31st to hear more from Thomas Kelly and support Friends of Crestwood Library!