Storytelling explained visually

September 8, 2016 6:26 PM

Jeff VanderMeer, best known for his SF Southern Reach triology (previously, previously), wrote a guide for writing fiction: Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction (previously). An Illustrated Guide to Writing Scenes and Stories summarizes key points of the book and is a great resource for highly visual thinkers.
posted by zardoz (15 comments total)

Jeff and Ann VanderMeer are simply the best. Thanks for posting. I know this post is primarily about his guide for writing fiction but I highly recommend reading both The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories and The Time Traveller's Almanac. They are excellent story collections.
posted by Fizz at 6:43 PM on September 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

Jeff Vandermeer writes really good fucking books, and not only are they good but each work seems to inhabit its own unique space in terms of language, mood and feel. There is a thread throughout all of them concerning the futility of struggle against nature, but from a kaleidoscope of perspectives. His is an expansive and darkly welcoming world.

Also, he has taught me that animals and plants are bad and will fuck you up. Don't let a meerkat into your apartment; stay very far away from bears; treat mushrooms with suspicion, and absolutely be concerned if you think you may have inhaled a spore.
posted by selfnoise at 6:59 PM on September 8, 2016 [9 favorites]

"City of Saints and Madmen" introduced me to Jeff VanderMeer and made me a fan. Weird and wonderful interconnected stories set in a single Weird universe. Highly recommended (one chapter is an annotated bibliography - don't skip it) - beware of the fruiting bodies!
posted by Death and Gravity at 7:13 PM on September 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

Thanks for reminding me that I wanted to read Southern Reach. Just picked up the first book for $1.99 at Amazon. Very interested to read this guide, too... maybe it will inspire me to finally try Nanowrimo this year.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 7:25 PM on September 8, 2016

I put Wondermark on my Christmas wish list in my annual "What's a book that looks like it would be better on my coffee table than on an e-reader." I'm not the best person to evaluate the creative advice, but boy, it's absolutely gorgeous.
posted by mark k at 8:03 PM on September 8, 2016

I read that first Southern Reach book, Annihilation, kind of shrugged, and put it aside thinking I wasn't hooked enough to finish the series. And then, I fucking could not stop thinking about it, even dreaming about it. Finally after a year I picked up the second, and now I'm waiting to read the third (I thought it would be fun to stick with the year gap between readings concept.)

Oh and I just went to wikipedia to make sure I had the order of the books correct and apparently Alex Garland might be turning them into a film
posted by mannequito at 8:04 PM on September 8, 2016 [2 favorites]

These would be great images for a writer the tape up on the fridge at times.
posted by sammyo at 8:05 PM on September 8, 2016

I've said it before, but "The Goat Variations" is probably my most favorite short story ever. (And if you read that, you must read the companion piece, "The Goat Variations Redux".)
posted by Lucinda at 9:07 PM on September 8, 2016 [7 favorites]

Have I gone off into something that’s so esoteric that maybe there’s one or two readers for it — and if so, was that my actual intent?

Middle takes abrupt U-turn into bizarre personal iconography, non-sequiturs

Lake of Forgiving Readers

NEWSFLASH: the subconscious wants its ideas back

Aaaaaand this is why I'll never get published lol
posted by naju at 11:58 PM on September 8, 2016

Oh and I just went to wikipedia to make sure I had the order of the books correct and apparently Alex Garland might be turning them into a film

Filming now, actually. Great cast, but color me incredibly cautious. Those books were incredible, but I honestly don't know how they'll capture the essence on film.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 4:18 AM on September 9, 2016 [1 favorite]

I highly recommend reading both The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories

I keep The Weird on my Kindle for times when I've got a little bit of time and am not actively reading a book and it's so worth it! I'm not sure I could get my way through the whole thing at a stretch, but it's a nice collection with a nice mix of stories from different types of weird traditions. Very much recommended.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 5:52 AM on September 9, 2016 [2 favorites]

This type of thing is my bag, baby. Thanks for posting, zardoz.
posted by Bob Regular at 6:14 AM on September 9, 2016

Filming now, actually. Great cast, but color me incredibly cautious. Those books were incredible, but I honestly don't know how they'll capture the essence on film.

Wasn't The Biologist non-white in the books? Oh well. I feel like Natalie Portman is a pretty bad casting choice for someone who has to be a super-prickly introvert and communicate that to the audience non-verbally. Jennifer Jason Leigh on the other hand I am totally on-board with.

I imagine they will change a lot in the film (just looking at the cast, it has more than 4 people in it, so obviously they are) but Alex Garland seems like he has some good ideas so we'll see.

(full disclosure: I basically am disappointed every time I see Natalie Portman in something. I'm sure she's a lovely person but she's like Unity Asset Store NPC: the person)
posted by selfnoise at 7:24 AM on September 9, 2016

I get the impression it's going to be pretty different, which is probably the only way you could make it work.

Oh, and comics artist Jock, who previously did concept art for Garland's Dredd and Ex Machina, is working on it, so I am hoping for some prettiness.
posted by Artw at 7:28 AM on September 9, 2016 [1 favorite]

For some reason, when I first read his stuff I thought that 'Jeff VanderMeer' was a pseudonym for Neil Gaiman or China Mievelle or something.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 10:33 PM on September 12, 2016