Insight into the process

Recently author Jeff Vandermeer has been posting various notes and extracts from drafts on his blog, including ones that never made it into the 'final cut', on his blog. It's fascinating stuff.

In case you're reading this several months in advance of writing, in which case the posts I'm talking about won't be on the front-page anymore, I'll post some links up:

'Shriek: An Afterword - Genesis'

'Shriek: An Afterword - Alternate start to the war'

'Shriek: An Afterword - High level notes after completing first draft'

This selection is by no means definitive, and I'd heartily recommend a thorough exploration of the site, not just in terms of this material but because it's a damn good one.

In some cases it's like being provided with the literary equivalent of deleted scenes and director's commentary, and it definately allows new insight into the texts and the process that brought them to fruition. This sort of thing elevates Jeff's blog to a different level than that of many other authors, and is apart from anything else a very generous gesture to the readers, especially those who are writers themselves. You don't see this sort of thing very often, and it's a testament not just to the quality of Jeff's blog but also to blogs and their potential as a unique, invaluable format on the whole.