Wednesday, March 31, 2010
QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD
posted 12:34 PM
I can't answer all of these, owing to constraints of life-having, etc., but I will try to answer a few on a regular basis.
First up is member Trogdor:
Q: Logarithms. What the fuck is with logarithms? Also Toluene and Microfiber. WTF?
A: I'm basically innumerate, and "logarithms" sound sexy to me. Kind of dirty, actually. But in a good way. Toluene is carcinogenic and smells like it is. Microfiber seems kind of miraculous to me, probably because I am old.
Q: Have you ever thought about doing a western novel?
A: I have sometimes thought of a Civil War novel. But only vaguely.
Q: Which novels did you enjoy writing most?
A: Writing novels is a painful and anxiety-ridden process, for me. There are *moments* of enjoyment. I very much enjoy the state of having written.
Q: Least?
A: They're all equally if differently painful, and each one seems, at some point, to me, to be not only a very bad novel, but the worst novel ever written. That crisis, I've learned, indicates that I'll be finished soon, and that the worst is over. But knowing that doesn't seem to decrease that devastating and absolute conviction of utter failure.
Q: Seemed to me you enjoyed Spook Country. That so?
A: As usual, I was terrified throughout. The pace seemed utterly glacial, to me. The essential thing is to have at least one trusted daily first reader. Four or five, even better. But the keyword is "trusted". When it comes to evaluating my own work, truly, my head has a contract out on my ass.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
WHEW. IT'S DUSTY IN HERE...
posted 10:43 PM
I've turned in the manuscript of Zero History, my new novel. Publication date is September 7, 2010.
Just let me get a few windows open, get this place aired out, and we'll have a little blogging.
Meanwhile, I'm @GreatDismal on Twitter.
