Ask the Author: Jacob Ian DeCoursey
Answered Questions (8)
Jacob Ian DeCoursey
For VIVID GREENE, if you're talking about the title story, I touch on this in the book's afterword. But Really I just sat down and wrote the first few lines and got inspired by the scene I had painted. Then I came up with the situation "what if unmarried women started birthing monster babies in a conservative Southern town?" with the added question of "and what if the townsfolk treated the occurrence as normal, more an annoyance than something horrific?" I didn't necessarily know how I would tackle those questions, but I knew it would lead to some very weird results.
Jacob Ian DeCoursey
In terms of how I come up with a situation to write about, it usually starts with a question: "What if X did Y in Z?"
So maybe it'll be "what if the undead were used as soldiers during the American Civil War?" or "what if a drifter finds a dark entity while locked in the basement of an abandoned farm?" or "what if a church pastor's skin suddenly turned translucent during a Sunday service?"
There are a few ways you can come up with these situations, but my preference as drawing random combinations from a hat.
So maybe it'll be "what if the undead were used as soldiers during the American Civil War?" or "what if a drifter finds a dark entity while locked in the basement of an abandoned farm?" or "what if a church pastor's skin suddenly turned translucent during a Sunday service?"
There are a few ways you can come up with these situations, but my preference as drawing random combinations from a hat.
Jacob Ian DeCoursey
I've been going back and forth with a long experimental/surreal story between other projects. One day I hope to finish and release it, but it's proving to be daunting because it's very personal. Other than that, I have a few short stories I'm editing and shopping around. I also have some articles coming very soon online.
Jacob Ian DeCoursey
I've said this before, but you'll be a crap writer if you don't spend time with a diverse group of people. You have to listen to people. You have to do your research. Spend time among these strange and dangerous and wonderful things called people. Most importantly, you have to empathize with them. Not justify. Not apologize. Empathize. Otherwise your characters won't be human. They'll be caricatures.
Jacob Ian DeCoursey
It's an outlet for a lot of things that need releasing. If I weren't writing, I'd be a lot worse off.
Jacob Ian DeCoursey
Stop writing what you're writing and write something else.
Jacob Ian DeCoursey
In a lot of the books I read, the worlds are generally not pleasant places to live in. The metaphysical worlds in Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" series would be the only ones I can think of where I'd willingly visit.
Jacob Ian DeCoursey
I don't really have a summer reading list because I read all year long. I can tell you that I just finished "Less Than Zero" by Brett Easton Ellis, and am currently working my way through "Imagica" by Clive Barker. After that, I would like to take on some of the untouched non-fiction on my shelf...maybe "Homage to Catalonia" by George Orwell, or "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn. Unless something else catches my eye first.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more