Ask the Author: Michael Van Vleet
Answered Questions (5)
Michael Van Vleet
I could, sure, I mean how hard could it be to fulfill the genre requirement by— [This is all that remains of the author's response, which was found on a piece of blood-soaked parchment in the middle of a heath, leagues from the open window of his crumbling home from where some errant gust of wind likely granted it its freedom from the manse where it is rumored the author's ghost still wanders in the wee hours of the night, dragging chains and lamenting the modern fashion for terse sentence length.]
Michael Van Vleet
My brain is an unknown country made of meat and electricity. I assume some misfiring constellation thought that writing my most recent book would bring me some sort of benefit, but can I eat an e-book of micro-fiction? I can not.
Will having written this book allow me to transcend this too-human form, escaping the cycle of life and death, to be reborn eternal and infinite? So far: No.
The idea came to me from the vast unknown, compelled me along, and now (briefly) I am free.
Will having written this book allow me to transcend this too-human form, escaping the cycle of life and death, to be reborn eternal and infinite? So far: No.
The idea came to me from the vast unknown, compelled me along, and now (briefly) I am free.
Michael Van Vleet
I am at the mercy of subconscious currents, little better than a sea creature when creative, driven by forces I barely understand. I'm a product of society. At some point, a confluence of stimuli acts upon me and I'm compelled to wiggle my fingers such that words come tumbling out in the only language I know, and if I'm lucky they're read and enjoyed.
I get inspired to write by questions such as: Is this all I am? A collection of cells? A river of babbling language in my head that I mistake for myself? Can I prove that I am more than that via some magical, non-survival-related activity? Does that prove anything?
Also thoughts such as "Heh, that's kinda funny, you should write that down."
From where does this voice come, that pushes me to document thoughts? I can't say. I don't know. I don't know why I started typing in this box, save that it seemed like the thing to do at the time. I can't tell you, at this point, when I'm going to stop typing. Probably soon, though. I don't imagine anyone has the patience to stick with this conceit for too much longer.
I get inspired to write by questions such as: Is this all I am? A collection of cells? A river of babbling language in my head that I mistake for myself? Can I prove that I am more than that via some magical, non-survival-related activity? Does that prove anything?
Also thoughts such as "Heh, that's kinda funny, you should write that down."
From where does this voice come, that pushes me to document thoughts? I can't say. I don't know. I don't know why I started typing in this box, save that it seemed like the thing to do at the time. I can't tell you, at this point, when I'm going to stop typing. Probably soon, though. I don't imagine anyone has the patience to stick with this conceit for too much longer.
Michael Van Vleet
Don't ask living writers for advice. The world hasn't decided if they knew what they were doing yet. Living writers are oscillating bodies whipped between arrogant confidence and face-rending doubt, which gives off the necessary electrical charge-- this rapid changing of states-- required to fuel the creation of the unnecessary.
Occasionally of the actually-necessary.
But that's for the reader to decide and the reader lives somewhere in the future.
I guess my advice is: You wanna write? Maybe go write. It's as meaningful an activity as anything. Some people go to remote wilderness areas and stack rocks on top of each other. Self-expression takes strange forms. We're not here for very long.
Please stop asking questions. I am a living writer and my opinion has an indeterminate value.
Occasionally of the actually-necessary.
But that's for the reader to decide and the reader lives somewhere in the future.
I guess my advice is: You wanna write? Maybe go write. It's as meaningful an activity as anything. Some people go to remote wilderness areas and stack rocks on top of each other. Self-expression takes strange forms. We're not here for very long.
Please stop asking questions. I am a living writer and my opinion has an indeterminate value.
Michael Van Vleet
Probably the best thing about being a writer is that you start as a reader. As a reader, one must spend time either accruing a personal library or-- and this is riskier-- accessing someone else's. Then, over a period of days or weeks one chews and expels the books, creating a pulpy paste that can be applied to any fixed structure, though many writers will tell you that any space under eaves works well for temperature regulation and predator avoidance. Once your book structure is complete, you move on in, surrounded by the comforting smell of paper and your own warm breath, and there you remain until your insides melt. After a timeless age, your book home cracks and you emerge a wet and glistening writer. That's pretty much the best.
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