All explicit knowledge is translated knowledge, and all translation is imperfect. Patrick Rothfuss More Quotes by Patrick Rothfuss More Quotes From Patrick Rothfuss If you're going to have a book full of clever people and nobody ever jokes, it's just not going to ring true to the reader. That said, humor writing is the hardest kind of writing there is. Patrick Rothfuss clever writing book My favourite member of the Beatles is Lennon. He might have been crazy. But he's my kind of crazy. Patrick Rothfuss crazy kind might I'm not a big fan of overt marketing. I'd much rather just put things out there for people to see. I'm just putting it out there for people to see. If people think this is cool, I'm hoping they'll tell their friends. Patrick Rothfuss marketing people thinking Fantasy is a genre that allows me to create anything I want. That, in turn, allows me to explore any sort of idea I'm curious about. I love it because Fantasy is a genre that asks, "What if...?" That's my favorite question. Patrick Rothfuss what-if want ideas The key to good worldbuilding is leaving out most of what you create. You, as the author, had damn well better know the where all that dragon food comes from, but that doesn't mean that I, as a reader, want to read a five thousand word essay about you explaining it to me. I don't need to see the math, but I can tell by the details you provide whether or not you've thought these things through to their logical conclusions. Patrick Rothfuss keys math mean Reading aloud sounds like a good idea, but honestly, it doesn't work very well. Good dialogue in a book doesn't actually bear much resemblance to real-life dialogue. For example, if you've ever seen a word-for-word transcript of people talking, it doesn't read off the page very well. The trick is to make it *seem* like it's being spoken, not to make it speakable. Patrick Rothfuss real reading book We need time to relax and enjoy ourselves too, no matter how dark the story. The occasional humorous moment helps with that. That's one of the things that Joss Whedon excels at in his storytelling. Patrick Rothfuss relax humorous dark Humor is important for is pacing. If your whole book is just drama drama drama, it's going to wear down the reader. Patrick Rothfuss important drama book Right now my favorite thing is working to recall our absolute shitbag of a governor. He's been screwing up my state for more than a year. I want him out. Patrick Rothfuss favorites-things want years Frequently, an author gets "orphaned" at a publisher. What this means is that an editor buys their book, then ends up getting fired, promoted, or transferred to a different job somewhere else. It sucks for the author because suddenly the person who liked your book enough to buy it isn't around to help you edit and promote it. Patrick Rothfuss jobs mean book The thing that helps me do a good job is that I don't feel the need to explain everything about the world to my reader. I'm not writing a history text on the Four Corners. I'm telling a story that's set there. The setting belongs in the background for the most part, and it's easy for fantasy authors to forget that. That's one of the unfortunate parts of Tolkien's legacy, in my opinion. Read the first hundred pages of the Fellowship of the Ring and you start to get pissed, "Shut up about the Shire's museums! Isn't the world supposed to be in peril or something?" Patrick Rothfuss writing jobs museums I'm honestly not a big fan of pitching things. I'm a firm believer of letting the product speak for iteself. Patrick Rothfuss pitching fans speak I love worldbuilding. It's as much fun for me as writing itself. It's like a hobby of mine. Patrick Rothfuss hobbies writing fun We need to read good books, and for that to happen, we need to share good books. Patrick Rothfuss share book needs Here's the thing: Authors live or die by recommendations. [That's one of the reason I review so many books on Goodreads.] Giving books you love good reviews is one of the nicest things you can do for an author. What's more it's good for the entire community. Patrick Rothfuss community giving book I have had a few gentlemen let me know they find my manly beardiness somewhat alluring. Never any ladies though. Patrick Rothfuss alluring let-me gentleman If the beard gives a modifier to seduction, I'm guessing it's not a positive one. Patrick Rothfuss beard guessing giving I will say the most raw joy I've experienced reading has probably come from the times I've been reading with my little boys. Patrick Rothfuss reading joy boys My most popular blogs end up being the ones where I talk about being a dad. Patrick Rothfuss being-a-dad dad ends Now that I understand how publishing schedules work, I can understand why many authors have the sophomore slump. A year is a long time to wait for a sequel, but it's a short, short time to WRITE a sequel. Patrick Rothfuss writing long years
