Best-selling author Rex Pickett gave a laugh and advice-filled Q&A video conference to Ball State students Wednesday in the David Letterman Communication and Media building.
The Q&A was preceded by a showing of Alexander Payne’s film adaption of Pickett’s book “Sideways.” Walter Enzmann, a junior creative writing major, said he enjoyed the movie.
“I thought the movie was great,” Enzmann said. “I enjoyed it better than the book because it did a better job representing the story. The book was more convoluted, with a lot more characters that would show up, and then you wouldn’t see them again.”
Pickett said he loves the way Payne adapted the book to the big screen.
“I love the movie,” Pickett said. “The movie is 90 percent my book. That is a very good percentage. Payne said he enjoyed my book because my characters were ‘so f—king pathetic.’”
Pickett said he wrote “Sideways” in nine weeks after traveling to California’s wine country to get away from everything in his life.
“I originally wrote 'Sideways' as a screenplay, but then I quickly threw it out,” Pickett said. “It became a short story and then I expanded it to a novel. I didn’t have anything. I was literally broke, so I needed to get something out there as fast as possible.”
The finished novel wasn’t an instant hit, though.
“I was given over 100 rejection letters, and when my ex-wife read it for the first time, she told me to burn it,” Pickett said.
Despite the general difficulty of getting a book published, Pickett encouraged students to keep writing and to find their passion.
“The passion for writing is what must drive you,” said Pickett. “Young people need to harness their passion.”
But Pickett also emphasized the need for students to write something that has a chance to be published.
“Quality is still appreciated, but you must also be mindful of the business,” Pickett said. “'Sideways' would probably not be published or made into a movie today.”
Enzmann felt Pickett's demeanor enhanced the experience of the conference.
“[Pickett] was very real and laid-back,” Enzmann said. “He wasn’t talking to us like a teacher.”
Despite Pickett’s self-professed love for making people laugh, he left the group with his best tip for writing.
“A lot of people think they need to explore or create whole new worlds to write good stories, but that’s not the case,” Pickett said. “People’s best material is already at their fingertips.”
