Rothfuss Quotes & Sayings

My alar is like the ocean in storm. (Devi) — Patrick Rothfuss

So," Chronicler said. "Subjunctive mood." "At best," Kvothe said, "it is a pointless thing. It needlessly complicates the language. It offends me. — Patrick Rothfuss

It was easy to understand why. Most students attend the University for several terms before being admitted to the Arcanum. Everyone here had to work their way up through the ranks the hard way. I hadn't. — Patrick Rothfuss

My head felt clear and light, like a leaf floating on the wind. — Patrick Rothfuss

There can be many opinions on a thing, but there is only one truth."

Vashet smiled lazily. "And if the pursuit of the truth was my goal, that would concern me." She gave a long yawn, stretching like a happy cat. "Instead I will focus on the joy in my heart, [...} — Patrick Rothfuss

I was in my early twenties and I was, to be quite honest, a bit of a punk. A swaggering entitled straight white guy who hadn't but a lot of thought into what it might be like to be anything other than a straight white guy. Because when you're a straight white guy, you don't *have* to think about that ... — Patrick Rothfuss

There was a pointed silence from Ambrose, so I lowered my shirt and turned to face Fela, ignoring him entirely. "My lady scriv," I said to her with a bow. A very slight bow, as my back wouldn't permit a deep one. "Would you be so good as to help me locate a book concerning women? I have been instructed by my betters to inform myself on this most subtle subject." Fela gave a faint smile and relaxed a bit. — Patrick Rothfuss

As a writer, I first felt successful before I was published. — Patrick Rothfuss

For without hope, what do any of us have? — Patrick Rothfuss

You see, a laurel needs to grow. I can't do much about that. But I can keep the rain off a few musicians heads, can't I?" A sly smile wound it's way onto his face. "So God will tend the laurels and keep them wet. And I will tend the players and keep them dry. And wiser minds than mine will decide when to bring the two together." -Count Threpe — Patrick Rothfuss

Death was like an unpleasant neighbor. You didn't talk about him for fear he might hear you and decide to pay a visit. — Patrick Rothfuss

My mind was learning to work in different ways, becoming stronger. It felt the same way your body feels after a day splitting wood, or swimming, or sex. You feel exhausted, languorous, and almost Godlike. — Patrick Rothfuss

Laying in the dark, she wondered what the day would bring. Some days were trumpet-proud. They heralded like thunder. Some were courteous, careful as a lettered card upon a silver plate.
But some days were shy. They did not name themselves. They waited for a careful girl to find them. — Patrick Rothfuss

In closing, she advised me to drink more water, get some sleep, and suggested that in the future I refrain from strenuous physical activity in a hot room the day after falling off a roof. — Patrick Rothfuss

I was no stranger to bar fights. You'd think they'd be rare in a place like the University, but liquor is the great leveler. After six or seven solid drinks, there is very little difference between a miller on the outs with his wife and a young alchemist who's done poorly on his exams. They're both equally eager to skin their knuckles on someone else's teeth. — Patrick Rothfuss

It's a shame you left without a word, you know. She was just beginning to trust you before that. Before you got angry. Before you ran off. Just like every other man in her life. Lusting after her, full of sweet words, then just walking away. Leaving her alone. Good thing she's used to it by now, isn't it? Otherwise you might have hurt her. Otherwise you just might have broken that poor girl's heart — Patrick Rothfuss

Why is the Maer looking at hairy balls?" A — Patrick Rothfuss

And remember, small thaws make great floods, so be twice wary of a slowly changing season. — Patrick Rothfuss

In the midst of fear Lyra knelt by Lanre's body and breathed his name. Her voice was a beckoning. Her voice was love and longing. Her voice called him to live again. But Lanre lay cold and dead. — Patrick Rothfuss

All the truth in the world is held in stories. — Patrick Rothfuss

I wish I felt as calm as I look — Patrick Rothfuss

Pride is always a better lever against the nobility than reason. — Patrick Rothfuss

We were none of us particularly drunk. But then again, none of us were particularly sober either. Our exact positioning between these two points is a matter of pointless conjecture, and I will waste no time on it. — Patrick Rothfuss

Second is the door of forgetting. Some wounds are too deep to heal, or too deep to heal quickly. In addition, many memories are simply painful, and there is no healing to be done. The saying "time heals all wounds" is false. Time heals most wounds. The rest are hidden behind this door. — Patrick Rothfuss

But I seem to remember you saying that you would float us home tonight if you got your pipes. Which may be unfortunate, as I happen to be wearing my lead drinking shoes." I heard Stanchion chuckle behind me. "These — Patrick Rothfuss

What do they do to students at the University who eavesdrop?" Bast asked curiously.
"I haven't the slightest idea. I was never caught. I think making you sit and listen to the rest of my story should be punishment enough. — Patrick Rothfuss

Everyone knows one story, I thought. Everyone knows at least one. — Patrick Rothfuss

It's hard to long for something that is always there. — Patrick Rothfuss

Congratulations. That was the stupidest thing I've ever seen. Ever. — Patrick Rothfuss

Kvothe looked at Bast for a long moment. "Oh Bast," he said softly to his student. His smile was gentle and sad. "I know what sort of story I'm telling. This is no comedy."
"This is the end of the story, Bast. We all know that." Kvothe's voice was matter-of-fact, as casual as if he were describing yesterday's weather. "I have led an interesting life, and this reminiscence has a certain sweetness to it. But ... "
Kvothe drew a deep breath and let it out gently. " ... but this is not a dashing romance. This is no fable where folk come back from the dead. It's not a rousing epic meant to stir the blood. No.
We all know what kind of story this is. — Patrick Rothfuss

Secrets of the heart are different. They are private and painful, and we want nothing more than to hide them from the world. They do not swell and press against the mouth. They live in the heart, and the longer they are kept, the heavier they become. Teccam claims it is better to have a mouthful of poison than a secret of the heart. Any fool will spit out poison, he says, but we hoard these painful treasures. We swallow hard against them every day, forcing them deep inside us. There they sit, growing heavier, festering. Given enough time, they cannot help but — Patrick Rothfuss

I started a novel back in high school. It wasn't very good. It was the opposite of good. The writing itself wasn't too bad, and the characters were interesting. But the story was a mess, and it was full of fantasy cliches. Dwarf with an axe. Barbarian warrior. I don't ever think I'd bother finishing that. It's just not worth my time. — Patrick Rothfuss

I hate nothing so much as doing a thing badly. — Patrick Rothfuss

And if that meant she wasn't entirely mine, what of it? I would be the one she could always return to without fear of recrimination or question. So I did not try to win her and contented myself with playing a beautiful game. — Patrick Rothfuss

The figures of our speaking are like pictures of names. Vague, weak names, but names nonetheless. Be mindful of them. — Patrick Rothfuss

If you want to write a fantasy story with Norse gods, sentient robots, and telepathic dinosaurs, you can do just that. Want to throw in a vampire and a lesbian unicorn while you're at it? Go ahead. Nothing's off limits. But the endless possibility of the genre is a trap. It's easy to get distracted by the glittering props available to you and forget what you're supposed to be doing: telling a good story. Don't get me wrong, magic is cool. But a nervous mother singing to her child at night while something moves quietly through the dark outside her house? That's a story. Handled properly, it's more dramatic than any apocalypse or goblin army could ever be. — Patrick Rothfuss

I have an apple that thinks its a pear. And a bun that thinks it's a cat. And a lettuce that thinks its a lettuce."
"It's a clever lettuce, then."
"Hardly," she said with a delicate snort. "Why would anything clever think it's a lettuce?"
"Even if it is a lettuce?" I asked.
"Especially then," she said. "Bad enough to be a lettuce. How awful to think you are a lettuce too. — Patrick Rothfuss

Is there a connection between language and magic? Yes. Ten times yes. So much yes that it almost doesn't bear talking about. It's as pointless that arguing that the sun is hot. — Patrick Rothfuss

I sat still as stone with my fingers aching. I wanted to play, not listen. Want isn't strong enough a word. I was hungry for it, starved. I'm not proud of the fact that I thought about stealing his lute and leaving in the dark of the night. — Patrick Rothfuss

She looked at me. "What? Is there something wrong with my idea?"
"It's not very heroic," I said dismissively. "I was expecting something with a little more flair."
"Well, I left my armor and warhorse at home," she said. "You're just upset because your big University brain couldn't think of a way, and my plan is brilliant. — Patrick Rothfuss

Apology now is of little consequence," she said, her voice flat and chill as slate. "Anything you say at this point cannot be trusted. You know I am well and truly angry, so you are in the grip of fear.
"This means I cannot trust any word you say, as it comes from fear. You are clever, and charming, and a liar. I know you can bend the world with your words. So I will not listen."
"Vashet to Kvothe — Patrick Rothfuss

Damn chicken. Come eat your dinner. I'm cold. — Patrick Rothfuss

Why would I want to win anything other than a beautiful game? — Patrick Rothfuss

You can divide infinity an infinite number of times, and the resulting pieces will still be infinitely large," Uresh said in his odd Lenatti accent. "But if you divide a non-infinite number an infinite number of times the resulting pieces are non-infinitely small. Since they are non-infinitely small, but there are an infinite number of them, if you add them back together, their sum is infinite. This implies any number is, in fact, infinite."
"Wow," Elodin said after a long pause. He leveled a serious finger at the Lenatti man. "Uresh. Your next assignment is to have sex. If you do not know how to do this, see me after class. — Patrick Rothfuss

It is quiet, and when the belling tower strikes the late hour, it doesn't break the silence so much as it underpins it. — Patrick Rothfuss

But this was not a time for begging favors from the moon. Not now. She could not rush and neither could she be delayed. Some things were simply too important. — Patrick Rothfuss

So strange and rare. So full of faraway. — Patrick Rothfuss

Aethe, near my heart.
Without vanity, the ribbon.
Without duty, the wind.
Without blood, the victory. — Patrick Rothfuss

It's not the first time I should be dead, Bast. I'm a fair hand at avoiding it. — Patrick Rothfuss

She kicked, but there was little to be gained from that, burdened as she was with the heavy lump of sharp, hard love she held so tightly to her chest. Was it the answers that it held that gave it so much weight? — Patrick Rothfuss

It's profoundly disorienting to go from zero to celebrity. — Patrick Rothfuss

so fresh in a building with no windows. — Patrick Rothfuss

I have it on good report that not only does Ambrose have a tiny, tiny penis, but he can only become aroused when in the presence of a dead dog, a painting of the Duke of Gibea, and a shirtless galley drummer. — Patrick Rothfuss

Seriously, it's like you stepped out of a storybook. — Patrick Rothfuss

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

You remind me of a willow." She said easily. "Strong, deep-rooted, and hidden. You move easily when the storm comes, but never farther than you wish. — Patrick Rothfuss

As I've said before, there is a great difference between being fearless and being brave. — Patrick Rothfuss

Auri took it, and peered inside the small leather sack. "Why this is lovely, Kvothe. What lives in the salt?" Trace minerals, I thought. Chromium, bassal, malium, iodine ... everything your body needs but probably can't get from apples and bread and whatever you manage to scrounge up when I can't find you. "The dreams of fish," I said. "And sailor's songs. — Patrick Rothfuss

Think of music as being a great snarl of a city [ ... ]. In the years I spent living there, I came to know its streets. Not just the main streets. Not just the alleys. I knew shortcuts and rooftops and parts of the sewers. Because of this, I could move through the city like a rabbit in a bramble. I was quick and cunning an clever.
Denna, on the other hand, had never been trained. She knew nothing of shortcuts. You'd think she'd be forced to wander the city, lost and helpless, trapped in a twisting maze of mortared stone. But instead, she simply walked through the walls. She didn't know any better. Nobody had ever told her she couldn't. Because of this, she moved through the city like some faerie creature. She walked roads no one else could see, and it made her music wild and strange and free. — Patrick Rothfuss

He felt himself go cold as he suddenly realized what a dangerous game he was playing. So this is the difference between telling a story and being in one, he thought numbly, the fear. — Patrick Rothfuss

We stare at a fire because it flickers, because it glows. The light is what catches our eyes, but what makes a man lean close to a fire has nothing to do with its bright shape. What draws you to a fire is the warmth you feel when you come near. — Patrick Rothfuss

Off to one side his fine white teacup waited for him with a patience Aria envied — Patrick Rothfuss

Reputation is like a sort of armor, or a weapon you can brandish if need be. — Patrick Rothfuss

You know that proper doctoring means hard choices." She gave me an unflinching look. "We hain't like other folk. You burn a man with an iron to stop his bleeding. You save the mother and lose the babe. It's hard, and nobody ever thanks you for it. But we're the ones that have to choose." She — Patrick Rothfuss

I am not accusing you of engaging in boyish fancy. I am advising you to avoid the appearance of boyish fancy.
Master Loren to Kvothe — Patrick Rothfuss

I'm obsessive. That's the word for me. I obsess - perhaps to the point where it's moderately dysfunctional. I tend to put a book through about 100 revisions. If anything, that's an understatement. If there's another author out there who does this sort of revision, I would really like to meet him. Maybe we could form some sort of support group. — Patrick Rothfuss

THE NAME OF THE WIND marks the debut of a writer we would all do well to watch. Patrick Rothfuss has real talent, and his tale of Kvothe is deep and intricate and wondrous. — Terry Brooks

As he sorted and packed, the red-haired man seemed content. But if you looked more closely you might have noticed that while his hands were busy, his eyes were far away. And while his expression was composed, pleasant even, there was no joy in it. He did not hum or whistle while he worked. He did not sing. — Patrick Rothfuss

You have a stone in your heart, and some days it's so heavy there is nothing to be done. — Patrick Rothfuss

Then he would ask for songs and I would pluck them out for him on a lute I borrowed from my father's wagon. He would even sing from time to time. He had a bright, reckless tenor that was always wandering off, looking for notes in the wrong places. More often than not he stopped and laughed at himself when it happened. He was a good man, and there was no conceit in him. Not long after he joined our troupe, I asked Abenthy what it was like being an arcanist. He gave me a thoughtful look. Have you ever known an arcanist? — Patrick Rothfuss

Sometimes I go outside after a long stretch of writing and I'm surprised it's not raining. Or that it's daylight. Or that it's not the middle of winter. I don't know if that level of immersion is normal, but it's now I do things. I like it. It works well for me. — Patrick Rothfuss

It is a high place with a chance of falling. Things are more easily seen from edges. Danger rouses the sleeping mind. It makes some things clear. Seeing things is a part of being a namer. — Patrick Rothfuss

There is something powerfully beguiling about the excited eyes of a young woman. They can pull all manner of nonsense out of a foolish young man, and I was no exception to this rule. — Patrick Rothfuss

All the truth is held in stories, you know? — Patrick Rothfuss

We lay on our sides, like spoons nesting in a drawer. My arm ended up under her head, like a pillow. She curled snugly along the inside of my body, so easy and natural, as if she had been designed to fit there. - Kvothe - The Name Of The Wind - pg 629 — Patrick Rothfuss

The myth stems from the belief that writing is some mystical process. That it's magical. That it abides by its own set of rules different from all other forms of work, art, or play.But that's bullshit. Plumbers don't get plumber's block. Teachers don't get teacher's block. Soccer players don't get soccer block. What makes writing different? Nothing. The only difference is that writers feel they have a free pass to give up when writing is hard. — Patrick Rothfuss

Some were bitter. Some were sweet. Some were hardly anything. That was just the way of things. — Patrick Rothfuss

A long road will teach you more about yourself than a hundred years of introspection. — Patrick Rothfuss

I guess I'm destined to be loveless — Patrick Rothfuss

I sow salt because the choice is between weeds and nothing. - Lanre — Patrick Rothfuss

A moment in the mind is worth nine in the fire. — Patrick Rothfuss

There is a sort of camaraderie that rarely exists except between men who have fought the same enemies and know the same women. — Patrick Rothfuss

I have a blog where I keep in touch with my fans. I write about things that are important to me. Sometimes on there I'll just tell a little story about the things that happen in my everyday life. People seem to enjoy them well enough. — Patrick Rothfuss

He barely even owned his own name, and even that had been worn thin and threadbare through the years. — Patrick Rothfuss

She was weary and disappointed with all of everything. — Patrick Rothfuss

We all become what we pretend to be. — Patrick Rothfuss

You lack the requisite spine and testicular fortitude to study under me. — Patrick Rothfuss

Remember this, son, if you forget everything else. A poet is a musician who can't sing. Words have to find a man's mind before they can touch his heart, and some men's minds are woeful small targets. Music touches their hearts directly no matter how small or stubborn the mind of the man who listens. — Patrick Rothfuss

I never set out to become 'famous.' I mean, when you're 14 you think 'I'm gonna become a writer and people will want my autograph and that'll be cool,' but you grow up and you learn that's just not how the world works. I resigned myself to the fact that I would probably never be published and if I did it probably wouldn't be a big deal. — Patrick Rothfuss

Nobody cooks using just one ingredient. Why would you write using just one flavor of story? — Patrick Rothfuss

No. You should take pleasure in following the Lethani. If you fight well, you should take pride in doing a thing well. For the fighting itself you should feel only duty and sorrow. Only barbarians and madmen take pleasure in combat. Whoever loves the fight itself has left the Lethani behind. — Patrick Rothfuss

Who keeps you safe from the Amyr? The singers? The Sithe? From all that would harm you in the world? Haliax asked with calm politeness, as if genuinely curious as to what the answer might be. — Patrick Rothfuss

You know, I could have carried you. — Patrick Rothfuss

I looked down at the board. "The point isn't to win?" I asked. "The point," Bredon said grandly, "is to play a beautiful game. — Patrick Rothfuss

I'd heard he had started a fistfight in one of the seedier local taverns because someone had insisted on saying the word "utilize" instead of "use. — Patrick Rothfuss

Do you just want to get by? Or do you want to make me proud? — Patrick Rothfuss

It wasn't even a good note. 'If you are reading this I am probably dead.' What sort of a note is that? — Patrick Rothfuss

I would have more luck trying to steal the moon. At least I knew where to look for the moon at night. — Patrick Rothfuss

This isn't the hand of some swooning princess who sits tatting lace and waiting for some prince to save her. This is the hand of a woman who would climb a rope of her own hair to freedom, or kill a captor ogre in his sleep. And this is the hand of a woman who would have made it through the fire on her own if I hadn't been there. Singed perhaps, but safe. — Patrick Rothfuss

I think the tendency to over-explain and over describe is one of the most common failings in fantasy. It's an unfortunate piece of Tolkien's legacy. Don't get me wrong, Tolkien was a great worldbuilder, but he got a little caught up describing his world at times, at the expense of the overall story. — Patrick Rothfuss