John Scalzi
John Scalzi
John Michael Scalzi IIis an American science fiction author, online writer, and former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He is best known for his Old Man's War series, three novels of which have been nominated for the Hugo Award, and for his blog Whatever, at which he has written frequently on a number of topics since 1998. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 2008 based predominantly on that blog, which he...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAuthor
Date of Birth10 May 1969
CountryUnited States of America
People imagine that there are rituals, like lighting candles or sacrificing chickens. They really just want to know what the magic formula is for writing. I inevitably disappoint them by saying you just put your butt in the chair, and you write 500 words a day, and then you get up and repeat it the next morning.
If the universe is bigger and stranger than I can imagine, it's best to meet it with an empty bladder.
Never anger a sci-fi writer. These people destroy entire planets over lunch. Imagine what they'll do to you.
I'm perfectly fine with the fact that lots of young folks are wanting to watch anime and read manga. I'm perfectly happy that they are doing things online, reading there as opposed to traditional print magazines.
It took me eight books to finally be at a point in my career where I could come out with a book and say, 'This is meant to be a funny book,' and we didn't have to make any bones about it.
The way that I write novels in particular is I don't usually outline; I just write. Part of the fun is discovering what's happening in the story as I'm going along.
People are worried about their bodies. They're worried about disease. They're worried about how they are able to get out and participate in the world.
People start panicking because they think it's the end of everything. But the fact is, you know, books survived movies; books survived TV. Books are surviving manga and anime. Books will always be there in one form or another. You just have a larger palette of entertainment options.
I don't keep a Bucket List. I'm open to anything.
Personally speaking, when everything is boiled down to the marrow, I think the reason Reddit tolerates the creepy forums has to do with money more than anything else.
I would say I'm a medium-sized 'Star Trek' fan. I love the universe that it's created.
Many of the writers who have inspired me most are outside the genre: Humorists like Robert Benchley and James Thurber, screenwriters like Ben Hecht and William Goldman, and journalists/columnists like H.L. Mencken, Mike Royko and Molly Ivins.
I find it difficult to believe that Redditors don't understand that anonymity online is merely a facade; indeed, it's probably one of the reasons that revealing the identity of pseudonymous Redditors is looked on as such a huge betrayal.
There's always been a little bit of tension between the writers of science fiction literature and then science-fiction televised shows or movies, partly because they have a different dynamic.