Jeff Vandermeer
Jeff Vandermeer
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" VanderMeeris an American New York Times Best Selling writer, editor, teacher, and publisher. He has won the Nebula Award, Rhysling Award, British Fantasy Award, BSFA Award, the World Fantasy Award three times, and has been a finalist for the Hugo Award...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth7 July 1968
CountryUnited States of America
book writing thinking
The best visual book I can think of is Lynda Barry's What It Is, but although I refer to it all the time it's not a creative writing book per se.
book passion writing
Angela Carter's fiction blew me away and really instilled a passion for writing, bolstered by Vladimir Nabokov. But in general, I can't point to any one thing. I just always loved books and writing.
reading kids writing
My parents read to me a lot as a kid, and I started writing very early, probably spurred on by Aesop's fables. Then they gave me The Lord of the Rings way too early for me to fully understand what I was reading, which was actually kind of cool. It was almost better - comprehension's overrated when you're reading.
believe writing creative
I believe the best creative writing lessons live in the specifics.
writing important different
One of the most important things as a writing instructor is to provide a lot of different entry points to subjects. To not impose your own personal experience as the One True Way.
writing imagination failing
Trust your imagination. Don't be afraid to fail. Write. Revise. Revise. Revise.
writing islands balance
Position yourself to succeed by doing the other things in your life that rejuvenate you. You can create little islands of time away from your novel that will help preserve your balance. Exhaustion will affect both your writing’s quality and your productivity.
book reading writing
I've always wrestled with the difference between plot and structure, and after re-reading a lot of writing books I realized I wasn't alone.
writing fiction helping
I have to have music as a soundtrack to writing fiction. I listen to it at other times, too, but it helps me write.
writing way mood
The music I listen to while writing is really scene-specific. It's just a great motivator, a way to put myself in the mood.
mean interesting mind
I like delivering a message, but what I find interesting is providing those details in a different context. Then the readers can make up their minds what it means.
jumping people risk
I also am not particularly risk-averse - I don't mind jumping off a cliff if I trust the people who've told me they'll catch me at the bottom.
important fiction might
Cross-pollination and "contamination" is really important to the health of fiction, and sometimes it's a literal conversation, too, in that writers who might never otherwise meet and talk do so because of our anthologies.
dream inspiration mean
Even a dream as inspiration doesn't mean anything unless you then find that it's sparked an actual story with a plot.