Jane Lindskold Quotes & Sayings

There is no shame in strategic retreat if it lets you remain strong enough to go after the enemy later. — Jane Lindskold

My feeling is that writing Fantasy should be harder - not easier - than writing any other kind of fiction. — Jane Lindskold

I started seriously applying myself to writing fiction immediately after I finished graduate school. By 'seriously,' I mean that, instead of noodling along on a story, finishing it or not as the mood struck me, I set out to complete what I started, to polish it to the best of my ability, and to send out the finished story. — Jane Lindskold

I think of myself as a storyteller. — Jane Lindskold

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

A common complaint about stories that include excessive coincidence is that the story is 'unrealistic.' — Jane Lindskold

I've had over a dozen and a half novels published since late 1994 when my first novel, 'Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls' came out. — Jane Lindskold

When I was finishing grad school, the hot new PC was the IBM 286. Bulky. Immobile. Expensive. I touched-typed easily and quickly, but nevertheless, I realized that the machine was a chain. — Jane Lindskold

'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

My first five novels were written longhand. So were hosts of short stories. — Jane Lindskold

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

The only thing I like about air travel is it gives me time to read. — Jane Lindskold

Readers are always surprised to learn that authors have little or no input regarding the cover art for their books. — Jane Lindskold

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

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

Indeed, he is glorious in his madness. — Jane Lindskold

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

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

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

What if the only non-humans the two-legs know," she mused, "are the Cousin-kind? How stupid they would believe all others who walk the earth to be! — Jane Lindskold

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

I don't need music to write, but sometimes I put music on. I don't need special clothes or even my own equipment. — Jane Lindskold

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

One of the ironies of being a professional writer is that, if you are even moderately successful, the very traits that let you succeed as a writer are not much help when the time comes to head out as 'The Author.' — Jane Lindskold

Wolves regularly attacked their rivals in power, so the idea of killing to gain position was neither alien nor repulsive to her. The use of assassins she had filed as yet another of the curious tools - like swords and bows - that humans created to make up for their lack of personal armament. What she still had to puzzle through was the subtle strategies involved in killing those who were expected to inherit power rather than those who held the power itself. — Jane Lindskold

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

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

Writing - not being a writer with interesting habits - gets priority. — Jane Lindskold

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

Are you prepared then, to shoot a human being?" he asked, trying not to let Jenny sense his own internal unease. "It's not the same as shooting a duck or gazelle."
Jenny's violet eyes met his straight on. "If that human being was about to harm any one of us, I'd feel worse about shooting the duck. It, at least, would have done nothing to deserve a bullet. — Jane Lindskold

Copy editors are very important and too rarely praised. — Jane Lindskold

Words build a bridge between the imaginations of writer and reader, creating something unique between them. — Jane Lindskold

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

To be a writer, you need to like spending a lot of time by yourself in the company of imaginary people. — Jane Lindskold

Sometimes I write less than I'd like but do research. Other times, editor's notes or a copy-edited manuscript or page proofs for a forthcoming novel mean that I need to put my attentions elsewhere for a day or two, but I always come back to writing. — Jane Lindskold

'Thirteen Orphans' is the name of a specific limit hand. The same combination is also called 'Thirteen Improbable.' Once I'd decided I wanted to write a tale where mah-jong would be at the heart, I also knew I wanted to use limit hands. — Jane Lindskold

I love print fiction, but sometimes when I'm reading a good graphic novel or manga, I find myself envying those who work in an illustrated format. — Jane Lindskold

I am a brother to dragons, a companion to owls. — Jane Lindskold

I've never met any artist who illustrated one of my books, although I've corresponded briefly with one. I have always been impressed by the technical expertise involved in the covers, even if sometimes puzzled by the subject matter. — Jane Lindskold

Even after the text is written, there are a tremendous number of stages along the way to the finished book. If a publisher cares about the finished product, none of them will be omitted. — Jane Lindskold

After a day of watching the two-legs interact from within their midst, she was certain that they could talk as well as any wolf. Unlike wolves, however, they mostly used their mouths, a thing she found limiting. How could you tell someone to keep away from your food when your own mouth was full? — Jane Lindskold

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