Don't 'write what you know.' Make up something new! Joe Haldeman More Quotes by Joe Haldeman More Quotes From Joe Haldeman Bad books on writing tell you to "WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW", a solemn and totally false adage that is the reason there exist so many mediocre novels about English professors contemplating adultery. Joe Haldeman adultery writing book All experience is memory, and so everything you write about is from memory-unless you're writing about typing. Joe Haldeman typing writing memories The worst advice a young writer can get is "Write what you know." Imagination is more important than experience. Joe Haldeman imagination writing advice The 1143-year-long war hand begun on false pretenses and only because the two races were unable to communicate. Once they could talk, the first question was 'Why did you start this thing?' and the answer was 'Me? Joe Haldeman race war hands Tonight we're going to show you eight silent ways to kill a man. Joe Haldeman eight tonight men Doctors don’t seem to realize that most of us are perfectly content not having to visualize ourselves as animated bags of skin filled with obscene glop. Joe Haldeman bags doctors skins There's no such thing as writing about the future. The future hasn't happened yet. Joe Haldeman happened writing A good sign that an army has been around too long is that it starts getting top-heavy with officers. Joe Haldeman heavy army long Rationalism doesn't require "belief," only observation. The real, measurable world doesn't care what you believe. Joe Haldeman real believe world Relativity propped it up, at least gave it the illusion of being there…the way all reality becomes illusory and observer-oriented when you study general relativity. Or Buddhism. Or get drafted. Joe Haldeman buddhism reality way Maybe war is an inevitable product of human nature. Maybe to get rid of war, we have to become something other than human. Joe Haldeman inevitable human-nature war Big money seeks out the company of its own, for purposes of reproduction. Joe Haldeman company bigs purpose [Spielberg and I] had a disagreement over what God was....He thought God was Stephen Spielberg, but that thought had never occurred to me. Joe Haldeman disagreement Writer's block? Don't worry about it. Either it goes away or you die. Joe Haldeman dies block worry One thing most of us agree on is that the universe exists (people who deny that usually follow some trade other than science), so if some theoretical particle interaction would lead ultimately to the nonexistence of the universe, then you can save a lot of electricity by not trying to demonstrate it. Joe Haldeman electricity trying people I have always valued quiet, and the eternity of it that I face is no more dreadful than the eternity of quiet that preceded my birth. Joe Haldeman birth faces quiet One cannot make command decisions simply by assessing the tactical situation and going ahead with whatever course of action will do the most harm to the enemy with a minimum of death and damage to your own men and materiel. Modern warfare has become very complex, especially during the last century. Wars are won not by a simple series of battles won, but by a complex interrelationship among military victory, economic pressures, logistic maneuvering, access to the enemy’s information, political postures—dozens, literally dozens of factors. Joe Haldeman military men war There's something special about writing by hand, writing with a fountain pen, and there's something special about writing into a book, to take a blank book and turn it into an actual book. Joe Haldeman pen special writing book I suspect that war will become obsolete only when something worse supercedes it. Joe Haldeman only something will war One hopes that they'll never be able to use mind control weapons, because we're all done for if that happens. I don't want military people, or political people, to have that type of power over those of us who just get by from day to day. Joe Haldeman day power mind people
