For the Lifecycle of a Story, for example, he gave me four iterations of the frog beastie before we got to the right one. I gave Jeremy rough sketches along with a document detailing the text, or an overlay of text (using Microsoft Paint - I'm primitive), and he would create from that. While we're on the topic of illustration, your name may be bold on the cover, but you still managed to gather a number of cooks in the kitchen for this. Others are meant to push to the edge of what's possible - like 'Approaches to Style,' which uses color swatches to describe different writer styles. So some illustrations replace the need for text entirely. It also allowed us to extend the metaphor or analogy of writing through the point of someone publishing a story without diluting our focus (because Wonderbook isn't a career guide). I'd say the 'Lifecycle of a Story' exemplifies the streamlined quality of using illustrative diagrams in a way that words couldn't necessarily match. So finding the right synergies of image with text while creating the book was fun, even invigorating, because it felt organic and a form of play even as it was also a serious search for useful ways to express concepts. My mother's an artist and I tend to think visually in my own writing. While you were working on the book, did you find there were any points past which words failed you, when you felt an illustrator might explain a concept better? It may seem a bit counterintuitive to turn to visual art when understanding writing. Over email, VanderMeer tells me about his collaboration with Jeremy Zerfoss, the book's principal illustrator, and his unique approach to teaching writing.

There's even a talking penguin - but don't get him started on what he thinks of the duck.

Dragons butt in from the margins to contradict lessons. Misbegotten fish serve as models for revision. It's a writing guide, sure, but it's unlikely you've seen one like this before. Now, imagine the exact opposite, and you might get Jeff VanderMeer's Wonderbook.

When you hear the phrase, 'writing guide,' unpleasant things may spring to mind: sentence diagrams or even - shudder to think - your high school textbook. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title Wonderbook Subtitle The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction Author Jeff Vandermeer and Jeremy Zerfoss

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