Growing up, I never gave a thought to being a writer. All I ever wanted to be was a traveler and explorer. Science-fiction allowed me to go places that were otherwise inaccessible, which is why I started reading it.
Besides the mistakes that are pointed out, I love the way readers become involved with the characters. When readers start asking about character motivations instead of concentrating on the special effects, it means you’re connecting with them on a personal level.
How much research I have to do depends on the nature of the story. For fantasy, none at all.
The overwhelming triumph of the international multimedia conglomerate has resulted in less diversity within the field and has made it much harder for newer writers not only to break in, but to make any kind of a living while doing so.
There’s certainly more new SF available than when I started writing. That means there’s also more bad SF available. Whether there is also more good is a matter for future historians of the field.
I try to challenge myself as much as possible, as often as possible.
Keep writing. Try to do a little bit every day, even if the result looks like crap. Getting from page four to page five is more important than spending three weeks getting page four perfect.
I hear entire symphonies, oratorios, in my head, but I can’t write a note.
Advances have fallen, generally, for everything except the biggest potential bestsellers. Given all the changes, both economic and technological, SF hasn’t done too badly.
There is nothing in art, in philosophy, or in politics to match the fervor of mutual cooperation among discordant bands of fanatics.
In loquaciousness lay insanity.
In one book, CACHALOT, just for my own amusement, every character is based directly on someone I have known.
Don’t try to write to the trend of the moment.
Where lies the line between sorcery and science? It is only a matter of terminology, my friend.
Writing allows me the time to travel and see the world, which is what I always wanted to do. I’d really like to have been Sir Richard Francis Burton, but it’s the wrong century.
The storm hit with all the fury of a woman who’d been dieting for six months, only to discover she’d gained four pounds.
Getting inside the mind of a terrorist wasn’t difficult at all. Even as children, human beings fabricate elaborate revenge fantasies. We’re not a particular species. Check out popular video games.
I’ve been writing full-time since 1978.
I write early in the morning, usually after reading portions of at least half a dozen newspapers on the web.
An apex is always surrounded only by emptiness.