Walter Jon Williams

“Some of my ideas were shot down by Lucasfilm because they stepped on territory that has been reserved for the movies. I didn't have a problem with that.”

“It's a tough job to tell a story when the audience already knows the ending, and the ending is bleak.”

“I was pretty much grown-up by the time I attended school in Britain - or as grown-up as I'll ever get.”

“Science fiction readers probably have the gene for novelty, and seem to enjoy a cascade of invention as much as a writer enjoys providing one.”

“I've learned that I get blocked when my subconscious mind is telling me that I've taken the work in a wrong direction, and that once I start listening to what my subconscious is trying to tell me, I can work out the problem and get moving again.”

“The Rift, which was well over a thousand pages of manuscript, took two years.”

“That's why editors and publishers will never be obsolete: a reader wants someone with taste and authority to point them in the direction of the good stuff, and to keep the awful stuff away from their door.”

“Try to meet as many authors, agents, and editors as you can.”

“Genre labels are useful only insofar as they help you find an audience.”

“I've experienced writer's block, but never for more than a few days.”

“For every SF reader of that period, Robert A. Heinlein was also a touchstone.”

“It's hard to generalize, because they're all different. When I started, I decided to take as much advantage as I could of the freedom offered by the SF field.”