Jane Lindskold Quotes

True confession time: I never know where a book is going. I get a gut feeling the story is there, then pursue it with the enthusiasm of a hunting tiger on a trail. If I knew where I was going, I'd get bored out of my mind and stop writing.

I realize that, to many readers, Hard Fantasy may seem to be a contradiction in terms. Fantasy, according to most generally recognized definitions, differs from both 'real world' fiction and 'science fiction' in that magic or magical creatures are active elements.

I started seriously applying myself to writing fiction immediately after I finished graduate school. By 'seriously,' I mean that, instead of noodling along on a story, finishing it or not as the mood struck me, I set out to complete what I started, to polish it to the best of my ability, and to send out the finished story.

Sometimes I write less than I'd like but do research. Other times, editor's notes or a copy-edited manuscript or page proofs for a forthcoming novel mean that I need to put my attentions elsewhere for a day or two, but I always come back to writing.

Well done, Sister," Blind Seer said. "I look forward to meeting this One above Ones. Now, you must make ready. I, of course, am already perfect.

'Thirteen Orphans' is the name of a specific limit hand. The same combination is also called 'Thirteen Improbable.' Once I'd decided I wanted to write a tale where mah-jong would be at the heart, I also knew I wanted to use limit hands.

A common complaint about stories that include excessive coincidence is that the story is 'unrealistic.'

Copy editors are very important and too rarely praised.

'Legends Walking' was the first of my books to go to a second printing based on strong initial orders, but much of that printing never found its audience.

The futuristic city on 'Legends Walking's cover rejects any connection with the contemporary setting of 'Changer.' It was as if every effort was made to keep readers of 'Changer' from finding this stand-alone sequel.

I love print fiction, but sometimes when I'm reading a good graphic novel or manga, I find myself envying those who work in an illustrated format.

For his part, Blind Seer had no difficulty accepting idleness. A wolf proverb stated: Hunt when hungry, sleep when not, for hunger always returns.

Words build a bridge between the imaginations of writer and reader, creating something unique between them.

I think of myself as a storyteller.

I thought," Shad said slowly, "that she was offended if you referred to Blind Seer or Elation as her pets."
"True," Derian assured him. "Absolutely the correct etiquette - to her face. However, well ... When I first met Firekeeper, less than a year ago, her relationships with animals fell into pretty much two categories: those you ate and those you befriended. I remember that she thought we were pretty clever for bringing horses along so we wouldn't need to hunt our meat. It took me a while to show her they had other uses.

Writing - not being a writer with interesting habits - gets priority.

My first five novels were written longhand. So were hosts of short stories.

There is no shame in strategic retreat if it lets you remain strong enough to go after the enemy later.

I've had over a dozen and a half novels published since late 1994 when my first novel, 'Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls' came out.

You cannot escape that you are a woman," she began.
"I wish I could," Firekeeper muttered, but Elise continued as if she hadn't heard.
"Since you cannot, you cannot escape the expectations that our society and our class places upon women."
"Why?" Firekeeper said querulously.
"...Consider," she offered, "what you told me about learning to see at night so that you could hunt with the wolves. Learning to wear a gown, to walk gracefully, to eat politely…"
"I do that!"
"You're learning," Elise admitted, "but don't change the subject. All of these are ways of learning to see in the dark."
"Maybe," Firekeeper said, her tone unconvinced.
"Can you climb a tree?"
"Yes."
"Swim?"
"Yes!" This second affirmative was almost indignant.
"And these skills let you go places that you could not go without them."
Stubborn silence. Elise pressed her point.
"Why do you like knowing how to shoot a bow?"
"It lets me kill farther," came the answer, almost in a growl.
"And using a sword does the same?"
"Yes."
"Let me tell you, Firekeeper, knowing a woman's arts can keep you alive, let you invade private sanctums, even help you to subdue your enemies. If you don't know those arts, others who do will always have an advantage over you."
"All this from wearing a gown that tangles your feet?

Readers are always surprised to learn that authors have little or no input regarding the cover art for their books.

I don't need music to write, but sometimes I put music on. I don't need special clothes or even my own equipment.

Firekeeper still could not understand the human penchant for eating in company. Even less so, she could not understand the human desire to combine business and meals.
True, a wolf pack shared a kill, but not from any great desire to do so - rather because any who departed the scene would be unlikely to get a share ...
She struggled ... not to bolt her food and almost always remembered that growling when a person spoke to you was not a proper response.

When I was finishing grad school, the hot new PC was the IBM 286. Bulky. Immobile. Expensive. I touched-typed easily and quickly, but nevertheless, I realized that the machine was a chain.

My feeling is that writing Fantasy should be harder - not easier - than writing any other kind of fiction.

For all they have the means of faster travel, faster communication, faster just about everything, they seem to have less time.

When a writer is already stretching the bounds of reality by writing within a science fiction or fantasy setting, that writer must realize that excessive coincidence makes the fictional reality the writer is creating less 'real.'

What if the only non-humans the two-legs know," she mused, "are the Cousin-kind? How stupid they would believe all others who walk the earth to be!

I am a brother to dragons, a companion to owls.

To be a writer, you need to like spending a lot of time by yourself in the company of imaginary people.

One of the ironies of being a professional writer is that, if you are even moderately successful, the very traits that let you succeed as a writer are not much help when the time comes to head out as 'The Author.'

The sad thing is that, for many writers of fantasy fiction, the inclusion of magic seems to mean that logical ramifications and real-world laws both go out the window.