12 or 20 (second series) questions with Deirdre Simon Dore
Deirdre Simon Dore is a Canadianwriter. Her short fiction has won, among other awards, The Journey Prize andhas been published in numerous journals and translated into Italian. Her playshave been produced in Vancouver and Calgary. Originally from New York and agraduate of Boston University, she has an MFA in creative writing from UBC.After homesteading on a remote island in BC, she moved inland where sheacquired a woodlot license on which she planted trees and learned to use achainsaw. She lives near a large lake in the interior of British Columbia withher husband, black lab and assorted livestock. She has two children.
1 - How didyour first book change your life? How does your most recent work compare toyour previous? How does it feel different?
Funnily enough, Iwas just thinking the other day: There I was, with some writing experience inother genres, finally tackling the novel. Years I worked on it. Writing,revising, editing, notes, outlines, storyboards, etc…then seeking out apublisher, editing and revising again and finally looking forward to thepublication date like the best Christmas ever. But then? What changed? Basicallynothing. Lol. Except to say there have been some strange reactions to the workfrom people very close to me. So maybe my life did change a little and I’m alittle bit hoping to change it back. Enough said on that.
2 - How didyou come to fiction first, as opposed to, say, poetry or non-fiction?
Well first was avery short living autobiography, followed by playwriting, followed by poetry,followed by short fiction, followed by screenplays and then the novel. If I hadended up a journalist or lawyer or space engineer I might have worked innon-fiction but I studied psychology in school and I think that an interest inpeople and what makes them tick is why I gravitate to fiction.
3 - How longdoes it take to start any particular writing project? Does your writinginitially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Do first drafts appear lookingclose to their final shape, or does your work come out of copious notes?
Depends. Bothquick and slow. Sometimes initial drafts are very close to the final shape andsometimes vastly, hugely different.
4 - Where doesa work of fiction usually begin for you? Are you an author of short pieces thatend up combining into a larger project, or are you working on a"book" from the very beginning?
I have not turnedshort pieces into a larger project though I wonder sometimes about trying that.This first novel, plus the one I am working on now were/are earmarked to benovels at the outset.
5 - Are publicreadings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort ofwriter who enjoys doing readings?
I have done acouple of readings at my local library and was gratified to get positivefeedback. That’s a good feeling and encouraging.
6 - Do youhave any theoretical concerns behind your writing? What kinds of questions areyou trying to answer with your work? What do you even think the currentquestions are?
(a playwright) once wrote to me in a letter that these sorts ofquestions are ‘afterwords’ sort of questions and not something he worries aboutwhen he starts writing. I think I feel about the same.
7 – What doyou see the current role of the writer being in larger culture? Do they evenhave one? What do you think the role of the writer should be?
I’m leery ofputting the writer in such a box. For me the role is simply to bear witness tolife.
p.s. Justliterally moments after I came up with that answer to this question I opened atrandom a Deborah Levy book I had not read yet and found this quote by Georgia O’Keeffe: “When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’syour world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else.” NYPost, May 16, 1946
8 - Do youfind the process of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (orboth)?
Love working withan outside editor. Especially if they are fans of the draft. I think it wouldbe depressing if they were not.
9 - What isthe best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
I don’t know ifthis qualifies as the ‘best’ piece of advice I’ve ever heard but once, yearsago, my father said to me “Don’t be afraid to put sex in it.”
10 - How easyhas it been for you to move between genres (short stories to plays to thenovel)? What do you see as the appeal?
Poetry gives youan appreciation for the economy of words, for the value of imagery andmetaphor, for the beauty of language. Playwriting gives you dialogue andcharacter. Short stories give you emotional snapshots and also character.Novels are all that and long.
11 - What kindof writing routine do you tend to keep, or do you even have one? How does atypical day (for you) begin?
Before we hadlots of critters to tend, I would write first thing in the morning uponawakening, with a cup of coffee in my hand. Now I have to feed the ducks andchickens and let the geese into the pond and walk the dog first. Before evencoffee. By then I’m ready to sit at my computer and do a little work. But -walking the dog - a lot of ideas come then.
12 - When yourwriting gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a betterword) inspiration?
I have some booksthat I like to read, to help with tone or inspiration, from authors likeOttessa Moshfegh and Donna Tartt. I also like to just put it all away, anddream about it, or walk mindlessly in the woods.
13 - Whatfragrance reminds you of home?
The smell of thespring blossoms of cottonwood trees puts me squarely back in the valley where Ispent many years of my life. And then there’s a particular smell ofblackberries that puts me in England. Not that I’m from England but I haveroots there.
14 - David W.McFadden once said that books come from books, but are there any other formsthat influence your work, whether nature, music, science or visual art?
Not really, I’m prettymuch in the McFadden camp on this one.
15 - Whatother writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your lifeoutside of your work?
I have a list ofwriters that I love, it’s on my website – deirdresimondore.com
16 - Whatwould you like to do that you haven't yet done?
I’d like toorganize all my sketchbooks in one place. And all my journals. And destroy theones that I don’t want hanging around.
17 - If youcould pick any other occupation to attempt, what would it be? Or, alternately,what do you think you would have ended up doing had you not been a writer?
This is anoccupation which I actually have a little experience in, and that is live lifeas a cowboy. I would hope for a really good horse.
18 - What madeyou write, as opposed to doing something else?
Living for manyyears in a rural, somewhat isolated situation, writing became my interestingother reality. Kept loneliness and boredom at bay.
19 - What wasthe last great book you read? What was the last great film?
The last greatbook I read was Daughter, by Claudia Dey.
The last greatfilm? Well, how about a series – The Money Heist. Loved that series!
20 - What areyou currently working on?
Thank you forasking. I’m working on a second novel. My first was female and plot driven –this one has male protagonists and I’m trying to steer it more towards character,maybe less plotty. It’s about letting them make their own choices I guess.
