Deirdre Simon Dore is a Canadian writer. Her short fiction has won, among other awards, The Journey Prize and has been published in numerous journals and translated into Italian. Her plays have been produced in Vancouver and Calgary. Originally from New York and a graduate of Boston University, she has an MFA in creative writing from UBC. After homesteading on a remote island in BC, she moved inland where she acquired a woodlot license on which she planted trees and learned to use a chainsaw. She lives near a large lake in the interior of British Columbia with her husband, black lab and assorted livestock. She has two children.
1 - How did your first book change your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different?
Funnily enough, I was just thinking the other day: There I was, with some writing experience in other genres, finally tackling the novel. Years I worked on it. Writing, revising, editing, notes, outlines, storyboards, etc…then seeking out a publisher, editing and revising again and finally looking forward to the publication date like the best Christmas ever. But then? What changed? Basically nothing. Lol. Except to say there have been some strange reactions to the work from people very close to me. So maybe my life did change a little and I’m a little bit hoping to change it back. Enough said on that.
2 - How did you come to fiction first, as opposed to, say, poetry or non-fiction?
Well first was a very short living autobiography, followed by playwriting, followed by poetry, followed by short fiction, followed by screenplays and then the novel. If I had ended up a journalist or lawyer or space engineer I might have worked in non-fiction but I studied psychology in school and I think that an interest in people and what makes them tick is why I gravitate to fiction.
3 - How long does it take to start any particular writing project? Does your writing initially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Do first drafts appear looking close to their final shape, or does your work come out of copious notes?
Depends. Both quick and slow. Sometimes initial drafts are very close to the final shape and sometimes vastly, hugely different.
4 - Where does a work of fiction usually begin for you? Are you an author of short pieces that end up combining into a larger project, or are you working on a "book" from the very beginning?
I have not turned short pieces into a larger project though I wonder sometimes about trying that. This first novel, plus the one I am working on now were/are earmarked to be novels at the outset.
5 - Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?
I have done a couple of readings at my local library and was gratified to get positive feedback. That’s a good feeling and encouraging.
6 - Do you have any theoretical concerns behind your writing? What kinds of questions are you trying to answer with your work? What do you even think the current questions are?
John Patrick Shanley (a playwright) once wrote to me in a letter that these sorts of questions are ‘afterwords’ sort of questions and not something he worries about when he starts writing. I think I feel about the same.
7 – What do you see the current role of the writer being in larger culture? Do they even have one? What do you think the role of the writer should be?
I’m leery of putting the writer in such a box. For me the role is simply to bear witness to life.
p.s. Just literally moments after I came up with that answer to this question I opened at random a Deborah Levy book I had not read yet and found this quote by Georgia O’Keeffe: “When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else.” NY Post, May 16, 1946
8 - Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?
Love working with an outside editor. Especially if they are fans of the draft. I think it would be depressing if they were not.
9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
I don’t know if this qualifies as the ‘best’ piece of advice I’ve ever heard but once, years ago, my father said to me “Don’t be afraid to put sex in it.”
10 - How easy has it been for you to move between genres (short stories to plays to the novel)? What do you see as the appeal?
Poetry gives you an appreciation for the economy of words, for the value of imagery and metaphor, for the beauty of language. Playwriting gives you dialogue and character. Short stories give you emotional snapshots and also character. Novels are all that and long.
11 - What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep, or do you even have one? How does a typical day (for you) begin?
Before we had lots of critters to tend, I would write first thing in the morning upon awakening, with a cup of coffee in my hand. Now I have to feed the ducks and chickens and let the geese into the pond and walk the dog first. Before even coffee. By then I’m ready to sit at my computer and do a little work. But - walking the dog - a lot of ideas come then.
12 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?
I have some books that I like to read, to help with tone or inspiration, from authors like Ottessa Moshfegh and Donna Tartt. I also like to just put it all away, and dream about it, or walk mindlessly in the woods.
13 - What fragrance reminds you of home?
The smell of the spring blossoms of cottonwood trees puts me squarely back in the valley where I spent many years of my life. And then there’s a particular smell of blackberries that puts me in England. Not that I’m from England but I have roots there.
14 - David W. McFadden once said that books come from books, but are there any other forms that influence your work, whether nature, music, science or visual art?
Not really, I’m pretty much in the McFadden camp on this one.
15 - What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?
I have a list of writers that I love, it’s on my website – deirdresimondore.com
16 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?
I’d like to organize all my sketchbooks in one place. And all my journals. And destroy the ones that I don’t want hanging around.
17 - If you could pick any other occupation to attempt, what would it be? Or, alternately, what do you think you would have ended up doing had you not been a writer?
This is an occupation which I actually have a little experience in, and that is live life as a cowboy. I would hope for a really good horse.
18 - What made you write, as opposed to doing something else?
Living for many years in a rural, somewhat isolated situation, writing became my interesting other reality. Kept loneliness and boredom at bay.
19 - What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film?
The last great book I read was Daughter, by Claudia Dey.
The last great film? Well, how about a series – The Money Heist. Loved that series!
20 - What are you currently working on?
Thank you for asking. I’m working on a second novel. My first was female and plot driven – this one has male protagonists and I’m trying to steer it more towards character, maybe less plotty. It’s about letting them make their own choices I guess.
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