Chris
asked
Jeff VanderMeer:
Why do you think there is a chasm in the minds of reviewers, the media, and readers in general between "literary" fiction and "genre" fiction (specifically sci-fi/fantasy)? I often find the most accurate depictions of humanity, its foibles, minor triumphs and resonant truths coming from well-crafted, thoughtful genre fiction authors such as yourself.
Jeff VanderMeer
I don't consider myself a genre writer. I consider myself a fiction writer. This isn't a new thing--it's how I've always identified. Once you wall yourself off from the rest of literature or associate with just one tribe in fiction, you close yourself off from all kinds of things. I read with omnivorous intent and I bring all of that and a varied life experience to my fiction. As for the chasm--it exists on both sides, and so I just ignore it or I speak the language of the people I'm talking to and am not interested in defending genre or anything like that. I just want to read good fiction and I want to tell people about good fiction. And mix "mainstream" and "genre" as much as possible. You can waste a lot of energy trying to convince people their view of fiction is limiting when in fact you can do a lot of good just by writing your books and making sure they get to the widest audience possible.
More Answered Questions
Drew
asked
Jeff VanderMeer:
Jeff, you've created several awesome settings for your novels (Veniss, Area X, Ambergris) - but then you leave them, headed off to even more inventive places. Do you ever miss them, those old haunts? Slash do you ever think about going back? I was inspired to ask because I had a dream the other night where I was back in Ambergris during the festival... and it was a pleasant, if dangerous, pseudo-memory.
Sam
asked
Jeff VanderMeer:
You've built some pretty outrageous and fantastic worlds in your writing, but are able to draw the reader in so easily. I've never had a point when starting one of your books where I am at all reticent to dive in completely. Is there a process for this world creation? Do you have a set map in your head from the beginning or does it kind of grow along with the story?
Sheryl
asked
Jeff VanderMeer:
Regarding POV in Wonderbook: What is the best way to solidify an omniscient objective POV in the mind of the reader as they enter a story – without making the narrator a defined presence or character in his own right? I find that readers sometimes latch on to the first character to speak or act and respond as though the story was written in third person limited. Thus, POV shifts read as inappropriate head hopping.
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