Alan Dean Foster Quotes
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I usually do one con a year as a GoH and try to make the World Fantasy Convention for business purposes. Last year I went to a worldcon for the first time in two decades. I may go again this year.
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We're all nothing but unified arrangements of atoms and particles, drifting around, enjoying consciousness every now and then for a second or so before splitting up to become bits and pieces of trees and stars and french fries.
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How much research I have to do depends on the nature of the story. For fantasy, none at all.
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I try to challenge myself as much as possible, as often as possible.
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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.
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I write early in the morning, usually after reading portions of at least half a dozen newspapers on the web.
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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.
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In loquaciousness lay insanity.
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Spontaneity is one of the joys of existence, especially if you prepare for it in advance.
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Dawn was written well before 9/11. People speak a lot today about the banality of evil, but not all evil is banal. Some of it is carefully structured and well-thought-out. That's where the real danger lies.
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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.
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Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting.
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If you're crazy, there's two things you can do to make yourself feel better: One is to get yourself cured. The other is to make everyone you have to deal with crazy.
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The thing all writers do best is find ways to avoid writing.
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The universe is full of dead people who lived by assumption.
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I've been writing full-time since 1978.
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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.
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Where lies the line between sorcery and science? It is only a matter of terminology, my friend.
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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.
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I have a bad tendency to get rapidly bored with my own material, so rewriting is hard for me. I mean, I already know the story and would rather read something new.
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Don't try to write to the trend of the moment.
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There is nothing in art, in philosophy, or in politics to match the fervor of mutual cooperation among discordant bands of fanatics.
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An apex is always surrounded only by emptiness
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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.
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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.
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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.
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In one book, CACHALOT, just for my own amusement, every character is based directly on someone I have known.
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I hear entire symphonies, oratorios, in my head, but I can't write a note.
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It is always hard when reality intrudes on belief.
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I enjoy listening to classical music and heavy metal. I play basketball and try to go diving at least once a year. I don't really have hobbies in the traditional sense... I engage in too many activities already through the actions of my characters.
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