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
Jessica
asked
Jeff VanderMeer:
Your projects tend to be a little out-of-the-box: huge anthologies that could kill people if they fell asleep reading them, books that are hard to summarize, and a writing book that was basically an art project as well. Do you ever get stuck and think, "Oh god, what am I doing? Did I bite off more than I can chew? Who is going to buy this?"
Wildwomble
asked
Jeff VanderMeer:
Just finished 'Annihilation' and loved it! It was so beautiful and eerie. It reminded me a little bit of Tarkovsky's film 'Stalker'. Have you seen that film or are a fan of Tarkovsky? I just started on 'Authority' so I'm reluctant to ask you anything about the books that might reveal a spoiler :)
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