Ask the Author: Ville Vuorela
Answered Questions (7)
Ville Vuorela
Hmm. Where to start? The biggest difference is probably the setting. I've made a conscious choice to stick as close to Roadside Picnic as possible while not adopting the compulsory (and it really was compulsory at the time) "World Socialism" -setting of Roadside Picnic. Instead, I have taken the elements, the setup and all the names and events I possibly could and transplanted them into our post-Soviet world and age.
Next, I have extrapolated how our world would react to it and in some cases, such as the Institute, what would these core elements of the original novel have to be like if they were to exist in our reality. All other changes, such as the nature of the protagonist, the extra-sociatal nature of stalkers themselves, the status of Zone Refugees, the violent underworld of artefact smuggling and power struggles around and within the Institute stem from this shift away from the Socialist Utopianism (which the original novel was, in my opinion, subtly mocking).
Next, I have extrapolated how our world would react to it and in some cases, such as the Institute, what would these core elements of the original novel have to be like if they were to exist in our reality. All other changes, such as the nature of the protagonist, the extra-sociatal nature of stalkers themselves, the status of Zone Refugees, the violent underworld of artefact smuggling and power struggles around and within the Institute stem from this shift away from the Socialist Utopianism (which the original novel was, in my opinion, subtly mocking).
Ville Vuorela
Usually by going back on what I have already written and polishing it up while waiting for whatever problem caused the block to sort itself out. Sometimes, though, I just power through. I do know what I want to say, so even if I didn't yet know how to say it, I just write it down and start polishing it up from there. I might very well end up tossing the whole text and starting anew but usually the wrong way to say things hides the key to the right way of saying things.
Ville Vuorela
Anybody can travel abroad if they have the budget, but only a creative artist can transcend the boundaries of reality and self. Very few people are able to sustain themselves on their writing but even if you don't, the sensation of having created something out of nothing; bringing about things that are now real and yet were never there, is thrilling. Not to mention that I am also a sucker for compliments and good reviews. :)
Ville Vuorela
Go for it. There are lectures, mentors and everything but nothing beats learning by doing. Also, read as much as you can. I would advice you to be eager to submit your early work to test readers and grow a thick skin against seemingly unfair criticism but when I figure out how to do that I'll let you know. But... do it! I have a bad habit of fiddling around, waiting for a divine inspiration to come down and do the writing for me. Since this never happens but deadlines will, eventually I have to throw up my hands, grit my teeth and do the bloody thing myself. Which is how I have done some of my best works.
Ville Vuorela
A bunch of things. Those relevant here are the sketching out of a potential sequel for The Hollow Pilgrim (fingers crossed that the publisher agrees) and writing my second fantasy novel with a working title of "The Snake Dancer", albeit in Finnish.
Ville Vuorela
This is like asking what the purpose of life. When I do know what I am going to write, I will first try to get into the mood by enjoying other works of similar nature or genre. Then, during writing I often but not always have background music at a mellow volume, usually movie or video game soundtracks since those have been designed not to steal your focus away. Of course, sometimes the inspiration is so strong I don't need any preparations or accessories. This can be annoying if it hits at night.
Ville Vuorela
I have obviously been a fan of Strugatskys' work for a long time and in 2008 the late Boris Strugatsky gave me a license to use his immaterial property and effectively write things set in the same universe, as long as I kept my promise of modernizing the setting and producing my own fiction within the themes and frameworks of Roadside Picnic.
Writing a novel with that license was always on the table and I had already sketched some things out, but only in 2012, after my tabletop roleplaying game "Stalker" proved a niche success, did the publisher of my previous book, Finn Lectura, offer a deal on a "New Roadside Picnic" novel using that setting. After that I simply ran out of excuses :D
Writing a novel with that license was always on the table and I had already sketched some things out, but only in 2012, after my tabletop roleplaying game "Stalker" proved a niche success, did the publisher of my previous book, Finn Lectura, offer a deal on a "New Roadside Picnic" novel using that setting. After that I simply ran out of excuses :D
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