Diana Wynne Jones' excellent book 'The Tough Guide to Fantasyland' is a compendium of the sort of lazy writing that has given fantasy fiction - especially the sub-section that features elves and dwarves and other Tolkienesque elements - a bad name. Jane Lindskold More Quotes by Jane Lindskold More Quotes From Jane Lindskold There is no shame in strategic retreat if it lets you remain strong enough to go after the enemy later. Jane Lindskold retreatstrongenemy Is she become a rag doll? Are the wolves become children? It seems quite possible, there on the twilight fringes of dying. With some faint spark of herself, the little girl holds on to the idea. Even a rag doll has more life than does a dying child. Jane Lindskold girltwilightchildren 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. Jane Lindskold doneperfectlooks For his part, Blind Seer had no difficulty accepting idleness. A wolf proverb stated: “Hunt when hungry, sleep when not, for hunger always returns. Jane Lindskold hungerreturnsleep 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. Jane Lindskold wolf-packsdeparteddesire 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. Jane Lindskold horsecleveranimal 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. Jane Lindskold feelingmindtimebook A common complaint about stories that include excessive coincidence is that the story is 'unrealistic.' Jane Lindskold aboutstorycoincidencecommon The only thing I like about air travel is it gives me time to read. Jane Lindskold likemetimetravel 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.' Jane Lindskold fantasywritingsciencereality Copy editors are very important and too rarely praised. Jane Lindskold copytooveryimportant There are other types of public appearances a writer does in addition to book signings and readings. Each calls for different skills. None of these skills, needless to say, are those that go into writing books. Jane Lindskold saygowritingbook I think of myself as a storyteller. Jane Lindskold i-thinkmyselfthinkstoryteller Coincidence is a recognized element in 'real life.' All of us have anecdotes about those times when, by the merest coincidence, we avoided some disaster or stumbled onto some wonderful experience. Jane Lindskold disasterexperiencereallife In any story, drama may be intensified by the characters realizing by how narrow a margin they had managed to succeed - that is, where coincidence played a role. This is one of the more realistic ways to use coincidence because rarely do we realize how important a coincidental event is until after the fact. Jane Lindskold realizestorysucceedimportant 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. Jane Lindskold fantasymagicsadwindow My feeling is that writing Fantasy should be harder - not easier - than writing any other kind of fiction. Jane Lindskold feelingfantasykindwriting 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. Jane Lindskold fantasymagicscienceworld 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. Jane Lindskold citylegendseffortwalking '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. Jane Lindskold neverlegendsstrongwalking
