If location shapes a person, it must be noted that the writer Tao Lin was born (in 1983) in Virginia, grew up in Orlando, Florida and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Lin’s books thus far include 2009′s ‘Shoplifting from American Apparel’, a poetry anthology ‘cognitive-behavioral therapy’ (2008) as well as fiction pieces Eeeee Eee Eeee and Bed (both 2007). He possesses an excellent grasp of punctuation and one of the best URLs in existence.
Heheheheheheheeheheheehehe.com, check it.
What do you enjoy the most about what you do? Listening to music while looking at the internet after drinking coffee.
What are your essential daily rituals? Looking at Gmail, Statcounter, Twitter, Tumblr, Sales Rank Express, eating fruit, drinking smoothies, drinking green juice, drinking coconut shakes, drinking coffee, exercising in my room, listening to music through earphones, showering.
Who is your hero (real, fictional or otherwise)? I don’t know.
What do you do if you’re not inspired? How do you shake a creative block off? I do the same things if I’m inspired, not inspired, feeling creative, or not feeling creative, I think. I eat fruit, drink coffee, and look at my emails. If I’m working on something I look at sentences on the computer screen moving words around while adding new words, deleting words, and doing things with punctuation. Maybe 85-95% of the time that I am working on something “intense creativity” isn’t required. Maybe 50-70% of the time “no creativity” is required.
What’s your favourite sound/noise? I like listening to the snare drum in certain songs. I don’t think I have a favorite sound/noise. Maybe “silence” or whatever I hear when I’m asleep. Maybe my girlfriend’s voice when she is speaking in a calm, affectionate tone to me (when I have a girlfriend, don’t have one right now).
What do you consider your big breakthrough? Urban Outfitters selling “Shoplifting from American Apparel.”
What’s the best decision you’ve made? I don’t know.
Any current inspirations or obsessions? I’ve been listening to a playlist of all “The Blacktop Cadence” songs recently on repeat.
What are you reading? I’m on page ~150 of “The Ruined Map” by Kobo Abe.
Finally, digital or analog? Not really sure what “analog” means. Maybe not sure what “digital” means either in the context of your question. Probably I’ll “go with” “digital” since it seems newer.
Read an excerpt from his book Shoplifting From American Apparel here. Thanks Tao!
