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Viewing all posts tagged "Jeff VanderMeer"
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Finch: A Primer on Novel Openings (Please Chime In)
Jeff VanderMeer gives a master class in writing the beginning of a novel. This is a fascinating look at how real writers write, and very educational. It’s particularly encouraging to see some of his early, discarded openings and compare them to the finished product. It’s a reminder that first drafts don’t need to be perfect, just finished.
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City of Saints and Madmen: The Untold Story by Jeff VanderMeer
When the small press publishing City of Saints and Madmen, Jeff VanderMeer’s first collection of novellas, told him he could have carte blanch designing the interior, he went a little overboard. Here explaining the long series of trials, bouts of self-doubt, and bursts of hubris that were necessary to bring City of Saints to press.
This is a long and sometimes agonizing essay, but it’s definitely worth the read. City of Saints was the first book VanderMeer published in his excellent Ambergris cycle. In a few weeks Finch, the last book in the cycle, will be released. VanderMeer has posted a retrospective in which he brings the entire Ambergris cycle to bed; that’s where I found this essay.
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Revising Fiction by David Madden: Leading by Example (and with TOC Checklist)
Jeff VanderMeer shares his appreciation for the book Revising Fiction (now out of print, sadly). VanderMeer shares how the book “radically changed” his perspective on revision:
I grew immeasurably as a writer and began to exhibit more control. In encountering questions I didn’t even understand at the time, I also came to understand that there is no such thing as “mastery” in writing fiction — that there would always be more to learn, more to look forward to internalizing. These two lessons, and the presence of masters of fiction ghosting through the text, soon made Revising Fiction and me inseparable. And I still return to it every year to see what else I can learn from it.
There are several used copies available for sale on Amazon, so I might consider picked one up eventually. In the meantime, VanderMeer provides most of the table of contents that is, essentially, a list of 183 questions to ask oneself while revising fiction.
Likes
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this is how I want to camp.
sweethomestyle:Camping (via redmann)
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“These Machines Kill Fascists” designed by You and Me, The Royal We
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ADA ad designed by Jeseok Yi
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where do I get trunks like that??
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Just saw a foursquare check-in to a church. I’m not sure God appreciates other people trying to...
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