Novelist and screenwriter Scott Frost recently talked to Suite101 about his Alex Delillo crime series and the differences between writing for the page and screen.
Is writing something you have always wanted to do?
No, I grew up dyslexic, so growing up I avoided writing as often as I could. It wasn’t until I was in my mid twenties that I began to write.
As both a screenwriter and novel writer, do you have a preference for either one or the other?
Novels. Screenplays are by nature collaborative, so if you want control of your vision the only satisfying way to write is through books.
Who are some of the authors that have influenced your own writing?
Hemmingway, Peter Matthiessen, Tom McGuane and no doubt countless others whose work have influenced me without ever realizing it.
Your crime series featuring Pasadena detective Alex Delillo have been praised for their psychological depth, complex plotting and evocative Los Angeles setting. Do you do a lot of external research before starting a book? What is your writing process like?
My stories begin with an image. In the case of Don’t Look Back it was that of a frozen body found in an empty stadium. From that point on I follow the story where it leads me much as a detective would. I don’t know where it will end until I’m there. As far as research goes, I do as much or as little as the story demands. In some cases it’s important to get facts correct because it may involve a institution that really exists. In other’s, you never want to let facts get in the way of good story telling.
Why the decision to write a female protagonist?
I grew up in a family where the stories were told by the women, so I think I learned to hear stories through their voices. So stepping into Alex’s world feels very natural. I like the way she sees the world, it feels more complete than my own.
You've penned episodes for several acclaimed television productions, including Twin Peaks and The X-Files. How different is that creative process in terms of the final product in comparison to the solitary business of writing a novel?
Very different. You’re just a piece of a puzzle in a very large machine making TV. You learn to develop very thick skin in the rough and tumble of a script process. Nothing is sacred. You get beat up on a daily basis.
The Twin Peaks experience must obviously have been unique in that you worked, creatively, with both your father (actor Warren Frost) and your brother (writer Mark Frost). Do you think creativity takes on a different dimension when you are working on that level with people you know so intimately?
There’s an unsaid understanding that goes on in families. You find it is like working in shorthand because you often know what the other is thinking.
Favourite line from a book or film.
"I am haunted by waters." ( A River Runs Through It - Norman Maclean)
Read any good books lately?
This Cold Heaven by Gretel Ehrlich
If you could invite any three authors (living or dead) to a dinner party, who would they be? What would you ask them?
Jim Harrison, Lillian Hellman and Studs Terkel. I’m not sure I would ask anything, just sit back and listen.
How does a writer get to that moment when he or she realises that they now have a style, a unique way of saying something?
I don’t think you ever truly reach that moment. Every day is the same struggle to write honestly.
What are some of the themes/motifs that you keep returning to in your own work?
I frankly haven’t considered that. I suppose they exist in the work, but that’s someone else’s job to think about, not mine.
What are you currently working on?
Another Alex Delillio story.
Are there other genres besides crime that you would like to explore?
Perhaps, but for the moment I enjoy crime fiction, it allows you to write about everything.
What advice would you give the aspiring writer?
Don’t take too many writing courses, and never listen to anyone who says you can’t do it.
American writer Scott Frost began his career as a screenwriter, working on the cult TV series Twin Peaks and later scripting episodes for The X-Files. He is an established crime novelist and has been nominated for an Edgar Award for best first novel.
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