He’s not the kind of guy that shines you on.” “Chris Crutcher was the first person who actually said I was, and as I put in the acknowledgments of ‘Skate,’ he really believed it. “I loved writing, but I didn’t know if I was good at it from the standpoint of the craft,” says Harmon, a hairstylist and father of two teenagers. Harmon, 37, credits that meeting with moving him from desire to full-out action. “Nobody puts themselves out that much to see me, so I knew it was the passion for writing.” No running shoes I don’t even know if he had a coat. It was miserable outside and he ran about two miles with his manuscript to get to Great Harvest before I left. “The first day we were to meet, his car wouldn’t start.
“Actually, I knew within about five minutes,” Crutcher says. But Crutcher knew almost immediately that Harmon was different – serious about his goals. I’m not much of a teacher, but I knew from his first drafts he was good.”ĭozens of writers ask professionals for help, without developing the will or determination to accept it. “So he called me and asked if we could meet. “He found out there was a published writer in town that didn’t live far from him,” says Crutcher, 60, a nationally known author of novels for young adults. They’ll talk about the relationship forged between a student and a mentor. When Harmon and Crutcher speak tonight at Auntie’s Bookstore, they will reveal what happens when a new author resists his fragile ego, and his fear of success, to move toward publication. The instant one of the writers he questioned – best-seller Chris Crutcher – responded with enthusiasm, Harmon went from typical to exceptional. He talked to other writers.īut there was one important distinction.
He wrote and revised and continued to write.
Realizing his half-pipe dream: Under Crutcher’s guidance,īefore his first novel “Skate” was released in October, Spokane’s Michael Harmon was like any would-be writer.
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