Anne McCaffrey
Make no judgements where you have no compassion.
But Ship Who Sang remains my favorite story. I really rocked folks with that and still cannot read it aloud myself without weeping at the end.
But I will say that living in Ireland has changed the cadence and fullness of speech, since the Irish love words and use as many of them in a sentence as possible.
I have a shelf of comfort books, which I read when the world closes in on me or something untoward happens.
I'm 78, I'm on my pension in Ireland, and all that good stuff.
I think the Internet, particularly the availability of information, is great. I do a lot of correspondence on-line and have a chat line to talk to my fans as well.
I'm very fond of the Talent series, and also the Crystal Singer trio.
I think writers need windows on a view to remind them that a whole world is out there, not the minutiae with which they might be dealing on a close scale.
People have freaked out when I tell them that my dragons are scientifically based... what else can you call a genetically engineered life form?
Because we build the worlds we wouldn't mind living in. They contain scary things, problems, but also a sense of rightness that makes them alive and makes us want to live there.
Writing has been so much a part of my life that I'm really quite annoyed that I can't do as much as I used to.
What I used to do between writing fits was feed my kids, ride my horse and go shopping for cat and dog food.
The thing is, emotion - if it's visibly felt by the writer - will go through all the processes it takes to publish a story and still hit the reader right in the gut. But you have to really mean it.
That's what writing is all about, after all, making others see what you have put down on the page and believing that it does, or could, exist and you want to go there.
That's such a thrill - a story I wrote at the beginning of my career, and it's still packin' the house.
Mostly I'm telling people that they don't have to be victims.
I wouldn't encourage new writers to start off publishing through electronic media... it still isn't wide enough for the readership they would need to get a good start.
I would recommend the short story form, which is a lot harder to write since you have to be so careful with words, until there is plenty of time to doodle through a novel.
I have written my own screen version of Pern, but had no buyers yet.
I have my good days and my bad days, but I don't have as much energy as I used to back when I was young and foolish and didn't count the cost - and it takes a lot - to write.
I have always used emotion as a writing tool. That goes back to me being on the stage.
I don't often reread my own books, unless I am going into another in the series and need to refresh my mood when originating the concept.
I do outlines when I'm writing with someone, but they also need to have a certain amount of freedom.
I didn't raise Todd to be a writer, but he happened to be one anyway.
I did not have a chance to write novels until my youngest child started school fulltime.
I also don't have organized religion on Pern. I figured - since there were four holy wars going on at the time of writing - that religion was one problem Pern didn't need.
At age 77, I need the help of someone with more energy than I can now summon to finish a book.
A good story is a good story no matter who wrote it.
I have a shelf of comfort books, which I read when the world closes in on me or something untoward happensCollection: Book
Make no judgments where you have no compassion.Collection: Inspirational
Tell a story! Don't try to impress your reader with style or vocabulary or neatly turned phrases. Tell the story first!Collection: Writing
Fear has its uses but cowardice has none.Collection: Life
Tell the readers a story! Because without a story, you are merely using words to prove you can string them together in logical sentences.Collection: Writing
The blackest night must end in dawn, the light dispel the dreamer's fear.Collection: Night
Above us, outlined against the brilliant sky, dragons crowded every available perching space on the Rim. And the sun made a gold of every one of them.Collection: Dragons
A real scientist solves problems, not wails that they are unsolvable.Collection: Real
My eyes are green, my hair is silver and I freckly; the rest is subject to change without notice.Collection: Eye
Mostly I'm telling people that they don't have to be victimsCollection: People
But I will say that living in Ireland has changed the cadence and fullness of speech, since the Irish love words and use as many of them in a sentence as possibleCollection: Use
The horse, the noblest, bravest, proudest, most courageous and certainly the most perverse and infuriating animal that humans ever domesticatedCollection: Horse
Each email contains an unsubscribe link. We will NEVER sell, rent, loan, or abuse your email address in ANY way. Writing has been so much a part of my life that I'm really quite annoyed that I can't do as much as I used to.Collection: Writing
I think writers need windows on a view to remind them that a whole world is out there, not the minutiae with which they might be dealing on a close scaleCollection: Thinking
To cry was to release all sorts of ugly little pressures and tensions. Like waking out of a long, dark dream to a sun-filled day.Collection: Dream
Drummer, beat, and piper, blowHarper, strike, and soldier, goFree the flame and sear the grassesTil the dawning Red Star passesCollection: Stars
James Blish told me I had the worst case of "said bookism" (that is, using every word except said to indicate dialogue). He told me to limit the verbs to said, replied, asked, and answered and only when absolutely necessary.Collection: Writing