Ask the Author: Tao Lin

“Ask me a question.” Tao Lin

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Tao Lin Your response to the perspective change seems interesting to me. I didn't expect it to have an effect like that.

I tried both first and third person, and liked third person more, maybe because of the extra feeling of detachment and distance it provided.

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I would like to know more about the last poems you published on that online magazine. I think they're beautiful and made feel "alive", like my soul came back to me, so the question is how did you work on them, or where they come from?

Tao Lin Thank you for asking about those poems, which are here: http://magazine.nytyrant.com/seven-po...

The first poem was written based on my notes of January 2020, and the other poems are all "remixes" of other poems I've written. The third poem is a remix of the first poem.

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Do you still draw mandalas? If so, do you think you'll ever sell them again as you've done previously through eBay?

Tao Lin I do. Here are my major ones: http://taolin.tumblr.com/mandalas

I've been thinking of putting one on eBay to see how much it sells for.

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Could you share some of your favorite movies? Also which non-Taipei novel of yours would you select to be a movie if possible

Tao Lin Yi Yi
Being John Malkovich
Funny Ha-Ha
Grizzly Man
Welcome to the Dollhouse
Husbands and Wives

I just DuckDuckGo'd "Tao Lin favorite movies" to help me remember what other movies I've enjoyed a lot but couldn't find any links relevant to my search.

Eeeee Eee Eeee was made into a movie (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1700796/), so the only other novel left is Richard Yates, so Richard Yates.

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Why don’t you write about your older brother but do write about your other family members?

Tao Lin I haven't interacted with him as much as my parents. My next book, Leave Society, has a character that is based on him, though.

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You were very prolific early on. Bed and Eeeee Eee Eeee both came out the same year, for example. Since you've curbed the drug use, your books are coming out at a slower pace. Are these two things at all related? Are you less productive? More critical of your work? Or are drug use/writing output totally unrelated?

Tao Lin I didn't start using drugs, besides caffeine, until 2009. By then I'd already published five books. I used pharmaceutical drugs and cocaine and heroin from 2010-2013, and only produced one book in that time, Taipei. Since 2013 I've used cannabis daily and finished two books, Trip and Leave Society (forthcoming in 2021). I think drug-use and output are somewhat unrelated for me.

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Is your next book going to be 90k words or 100k words?

Tao Lin It'll be around 80k words.

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Do you happen to know how many words do each one of your novels have? If so, could you at least tell me how many words does "Eeeee Eee Eeee" have? Thank you very much :)

Tao Lin Eeeee Eee Eeee is ~35k words
Richard Yates is ~50k words
Taipei is ~75k words

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I have trouble believing in anything for certain. All information from media, peers etc. and philosophies from books and public figures are interesting insights but doesn't program me to feel more grounded. I have questions such as 'why am I doing this' that makes me feel like meaning in life is slippery, like water. How do you find information that you can believe, and how do solidify meaning?

Tao Lin Avoiding newspapers, magazines, and mainstream media in general, and focusing on nonfiction books, independent researchers, and scientific papers, has helped me find believable, empowering information and solidify meaning.

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Hey Tao How are you feeling at the moment?

Tao Lin Looking at "Hey Tao How" and feeling interested.

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Do you have some kind of method to read so many books? How do you achieve the necessary concentration? Are you able to read while under the influence of cannabis?

Tao Lin Lately, I have been able to achieve concentration all day. I've been waking at 5:30AM or so without an alarm, and doing things until bed at 9:00PM or so. I read well while stoned. My main method for reading is to have time. I have a lot of time.

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how do you choose what to read "next"?

Tao Lin For nonfiction, usually I have a backlog of books to read, which I've heard about from previous books I've read.

For fiction, usually authors of books I like will have new books coming out and I'll read those and also recommendations from friends and what friends are reading.

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When are we going to get Infinite Witz???

Tao Lin Thank you for asking about Infinite Witz. I don't foresee writing Infinite Witz. I've been working on novel titled Leave Society that I'm finishing first draft of in September and could be out in 2020 or 2021.

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what are you collecting trash for?

Tao Lin David Sedaris inspired my girlfriend Yuka and I to Sedaris. https://www.google.com/search?source=...

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Are there any plot details you can give us about the new novel?

Tao Lin It has a lot of bickering in it.

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You give all books a 5-star here. What is the motivation behind this? Does it imply the efforts a writer should go through to have a book published?

Tao Lin I've only put the books I've finished and enjoyed on here.

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