So the Story Goes...

[Ned Vizzini] started his writing career by writing articles for New York Press while still in high school. And this week, his bestselling young adult novel [It’s Kind of a Funny Story...](http://focusfeatures.com/film/its_kind_of_a_funny_story/)—starring Keir Gilchrist, Zach Galifianakis and Emma Roberts—opens in theaters. Although the script was written by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (Half Nelson, Sugar), who also directed the film, we were interested in how the process was for Vizzini, who says he’s still checking out people for their quirks and not scared of Hollywood at all.

How much were you involved in the movie-making process?

Ned Vizzini: [Both Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden] are really talented filmmakers, and when I heard they were interested in the project, I was really excited! We met and really hit it off. Some things had to be modified to make it a good movie, but all of the critical things from the book— emotional vibe and narrative structure— are very well encapsulated in the movie.

I saw a cut of it and the emotions that went through me were everything from amazement to otherworldly—I don’t know—otherworldly terror. I’m still kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know? The movie was so good that part of me is thinking, Someone’s gonna get you, Ned, for having so much fun with your life.

Did you spend a lot of time on set?

I met the whole cast, and they were all very sweet and cool and professional. I was not really needed on the set of the movie, but they made me feel good and the one thing that I heard a lot on the set was: “Hey, thanks, you got me a job! If you didn’t write that book, we wouldn’t be shooting this movie and I wouldn’t be working right now.” It was cool.

One of my T-shirts is worn by a character in one scene, and in one segment of the movie Craig is reading a copy of [my book] [Be More Chill], which I didn’t even realize they were going to do. There are these little hidden messages in the movie that I appreciated, things that will make it fun for me and my friends.

Where do you find inspiration for your fiction pieces? First and foremost, by reading. The second place I get inspiration from—sort of the same place I’ve always gotten inspiration from—is to observe and catalog human life around me. If you’re observant, you get inspiration from the way people actually act, because people are just strange sometimes.

You began writing for the New York Press at 15. How did you get into that and what do you recommend aspiring writers do in order to get connections in the publishing business and eventually get their works published?

The first thing I tell people is: “Don’t write a book.” Chances are if you sit down [and say], “I’m going to write a novel,” you’ll just get frustrated and it may turn you off from writing altogether. It’s much better to start with short pieces. You can hone your craft more quickly doing this, instead of taking months and months traveling down the rabbit hole of writing a novel.

I highly recommend that young people who want to become writers start out trying to work with alternative newspapers and their local communities. Young people’s opinions are actually very valuable because people think that you know what’s cool. Editors are going to say, “Oh, this is someone reporting from the trenches of American youth!” The way that I started with the alternative press community in New York was by writing an essay about my high school and sending it in to the address of the New York Press. A couple months later I got a call from one of the editors. They read the essay and liked it, and they were interested in working with me. So it was really that simple.

The world is a little different from when I started in 1996, but the essential attitude is still there. The first thing you have to do is read and identify a newspaper or magazine that may publish a piece of your writing. The second thing you have to do is write it. And the third thing you have to do is send it off and be respectful and professional.

Are you working on anything right now?

I have finished a new book and my agent and I are bringing it to publishers; we’re literally at the very beginning of that process right now. It’s a young adult book that delves deeply into my love of role-playing games. So if you like Dungeons & Dragons, World of Warcraft and Magic: The Gathering, it will be a book that’s right up your alley.

A version of this interview originally appeared on [www.figment.com](http://www.figment.com), a reading and writing site for young adults.