Dominic Howarth
asked
Gillian Flynn:
You write about some of the darkest material I've read in a long time. How do you get inside of that mindset, to creatively live there in the black, and once there, how do you pull out of it again for your day to day life?
Gillian Flynn
Hi Dominic,
I think the short answer to the first question is: My brain goes very easily into the darkness. It always has. There are people who like to see what's under the rock and people who don't, and for some reason I've always been one of those to say, "Hey, let's flip over that rock."
Pulling back out is the trickier part. I had to first actually acknowledge that writing toxic stories can infect my mood (it seemed a little too "writer-y" to admit that at first). But especially during the darker scenes for Gone Girl, I would catch myself bringing the nastiness upstairs with me and inflicting it on my poor husband. So I learned to give myself about 15 minutes at the end of each day to purge myself of the foul mood. I usually play a video game or pull up a really great musical dance number on my computer. I dare anyone to watch the Moses Supposes dance number from Singin' in the Rain and not be blissfully cheery by the end of it. So it's become a very healthy habit—I even have a plaque on my desk that reads: "Leave the crazy downstairs." Very good advice.
I think the short answer to the first question is: My brain goes very easily into the darkness. It always has. There are people who like to see what's under the rock and people who don't, and for some reason I've always been one of those to say, "Hey, let's flip over that rock."
Pulling back out is the trickier part. I had to first actually acknowledge that writing toxic stories can infect my mood (it seemed a little too "writer-y" to admit that at first). But especially during the darker scenes for Gone Girl, I would catch myself bringing the nastiness upstairs with me and inflicting it on my poor husband. So I learned to give myself about 15 minutes at the end of each day to purge myself of the foul mood. I usually play a video game or pull up a really great musical dance number on my computer. I dare anyone to watch the Moses Supposes dance number from Singin' in the Rain and not be blissfully cheery by the end of it. So it's become a very healthy habit—I even have a plaque on my desk that reads: "Leave the crazy downstairs." Very good advice.
More Answered Questions
Liv
asked
Gillian Flynn:
When you write something like Gone Girl, or Sharp Objects, are you afraid of hurting your husband's or your mom's feelings with the things you say about those relationships that, granted, are not necessarily autobiographical, but that may contain half-truths drawn from real life? How do you handle that kind of situation?
Nate Hodges
asked
Gillian Flynn:
You seem to have a preference and a talent for writing from the perspective of broken women who work against their brokenness as they solve the problems in your stories. Your men are interestingly written also, but the heart of Sharp and Dark seems to come from the p.o.v of the women. What was the process like to do that from a man's perspective in Gone Girl and how was it different from that of your other books?
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
Dec 17, 2015 01:22PM · flag
Sep 06, 2016 04:38PM · flag