Adam Morgan

Adam Morgan asked Jeff VanderMeer:

Percentage-wise, how often is the writing process pleasurable for you (versus painful)? How do you motivate yourself to keep writing when it's painful/torturous or when you become temporarily disillusioned with your work?

Jeff VanderMeer I'm very much pain-averse when it comes to writing. So if for some reason I'm stuck on something, I'll move on to some other part for a while, or some other writing project. By the time I come back, the old thing is usually fresh enough to be inspiring. If it isn't, I'll just tell myself I can fix everything in the editing process and power on through. I do a fair amount of writing avoidance, too, that's about giving myself enough time to think about what I'm working on. An awful lot of writing occurs in your thoughts rather than in the typing. I guess, too, when you've been doing it as long as I have you recognize that temporary disillusionment is just a phase. So you develop the patience to ride it out. And sometimes you can actually use your negative emotions--they come out through character or situation in an interesting, useful way.

More Answered Questions

João

João asked Jeff VanderMeer:

Reading through your Wonderbook, I found, on page 30 "(...) My novel Annihilation was inspired by a dream in which was walking down the spiral staircase of a submerged tower, descending into the ground below." Would the origin of that dream be the staircase at Quinta da Regaleira, in Sintra, Portugal, where you have been a couple of years ago? Best regards to you and Ann, from João, in Lisbon

Sheryl

Sheryl asked Jeff VanderMeer:

Regarding POV in Wonderbook: What is the best way to solidify an omniscient objective POV in the mind of the reader as they enter a story – without making the narrator a defined presence or character in his own right? I find that readers sometimes latch on to the first character to speak or act and respond as though the story was written in third person limited. Thus, POV shifts read as inappropriate head hopping.

Brian Salyards

Brian Salyards asked Jeff VanderMeer:

I often look at the world and wondering how an intelligent being from "somewhere else" would view things. I find this enjoyable and based on your writing I would imagine you do too. When I voice my observations people look at me like I am an alien. Reading your work makes me think in even newer and weirder ways. Thank you. And, in your opinion, what is the true value of weirdos in modern society?

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Jeff VanderMeer

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