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INTERVIEWER
How does a book take shape for you?
BALLARD
That’s a vast topic and, to be honest, one I barely understand.
Even in the case of a naturalistic writer, who in a sense takes his
subject matter directly from the world around him, it’s difficult
enough to understand how a particular fiction imposes itself. But
in the case of an imaginative writer, especially one like myself with
strong affinities to the surrealists, I’m barely aware of what is
going on. Recurrent ideas assemble themselves, obsessions solidify
themselves, one generates a set of working mythologies, like tales
of gold invented to inspire a crew. I assume one is dealing with a
process very close to that of dreams, a set of scenarios devised to
make sense of apparently irreconcilable ideas. Just as the optical
centers of the brain construct a wholly artificial three-dimensional
universe through which we can move effectively, so the mind as a
whole creates an imaginary world that satisfactorily explains
everything, as long as it is constantly updated. So the stream of
novels and stories continues . . .
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