My parents read to me a lot as a kid, and I started writing very early, probably spurred on by Aesop's fables.… — Jeff VanderMeer Copy Share Image
The map had been the first form of misdirection, for what is a map but a way of emphasizing some things and… — Jeff VanderMeer Copy Share Image
A dream inspiring a story is different than placing a description of a dream in a story. When you describe a character's… — Jeff VanderMeer Copy Share Image
I’ve got...ways of tricking my brain into getting what I need out of it — Jeff VanderMeer Copy Share Image
Imbuing fiction with a life that extends beyond the last word is in some ways the goal: the ending that goes beyond… — Jeff VanderMeer Copy Share Image
'Borne,' in a weird way, even though it's a totally different universe, picks up where the 'Southern Reach Trilogy' leaves off, because… — Jeff Vandermeer Copy Share Image
I like to go through the zine sections of local bookstores when on the road and have found a lot of really… — Jeff VanderMeer Copy Share Image
One of the most important things as a writing instructor is to provide a lot of different entry points to subjects. To… — Jeff VanderMeer Copy Share Image
In a sense, fictional dystopias have been a way of distracting us from the truth of our condition by placing it 'over… — Jeff Vandermeer Copy Share Image
One thing about beginning writers is that they don't really always know their own strengths and weaknesses - you might think you're… — Jeff VanderMeer Copy Share Image
When you describe a character's dream, it has to be sharper than reality in some way and more meaningful. It has to… — Jeff Vandermeer Copy Share Image
The music I listen to while writing is really scene-specific. It's just a great motivator, a way to put myself in the… — Jeff VanderMeer Copy Share Image
“Perhaps only I could truly make Wick a person, by forgiving him, and if I forgave him, if I showed I forgave him, then… — Jeff VanderMeer Copy Share Image
“I knew these elements were intended for me and me alone. There were no endearments, but I understood in part because of this restraint.… — Jeff VanderMeer Copy Share Image
“What if an infection was a message, a brightness a kind of symphony? As a defense? An odd form of communication? If so, the… — Jeff VanderMeer Copy Share Image
That's how the madness of the world tries to colonize you: from the outside in, forcing you to live in its reality. — Jeff VanderMeer Copy Share Image
What I envy about musicians is, they have this more direct relationship with the audience. They don't have to go through words. Sure, the… — Jeff VanderMeer Copy Share Image
“In college, what had always stuck with him in Astronomy 101 was that the first astronomers to think of points of light not as… — Jeff VanderMeer Copy Share Image
“But I was not a domesticated animals...The dirt and grit of a city, the unending wakefulness of it, the crowdedness, the constant light obscuring… — Jeff VanderMeer Copy Share Image
Dreams, though, are just one kind of inspiration - no more or less special than something in a newspaper article or from the world… — Jeff VanderMeer Copy Share Image
“All of the things that wore you down, even as that was balanced by the electric feeling of being on the side of a… — Jeff VanderMeer Copy Share Image
There simply aren't enough constitutional safeguards in place to protect against a rogue president. — Jeff Vandermeer Copy Share Image
There are some beautiful creatures in the ocean that seem very alien at the same time. — Jeff Vandermeer Copy Share Image
Even a dream as inspiration doesn't mean anything unless you then find that it's sparked an actual story with a plot. — Jeff VanderMeer Copy Share Image
