We do a hard fantasy as well as hard science fiction, and I think I probably single-handedly recreated military science fiction. It was dead before I started working in it. Jerry Pournelle deadfantasyfiction Change image and share on social
And meanwhile, the storytellers like me and Anderson, Silverberg... we tell stories. People like them. They want to know how it comes out, they want to know what the ending is. Jerry Pournelle andersonendpeople Change image and share on social
And that's another piece of advice I'll give junior writers; when you get to the point where they take you to lunch, let the editor suggest where to go. Jerry Pournelle adviceeditorgive Change image and share on social
The Aztecs believe they started up in what's now New Mexico, and wandered for 10,000 years before they got down into where they are now, in Mexico City. That's a weird legend. Jerry Pournelle 000azteccity Change image and share on social
One the other hand, the publishing trend is ghastly, isn't it? Two hundred and something distributors are now down to 10 or 12? And what's the recruiting drive? Jerry Pournelle distributordriveghastly Change image and share on social
And in down times it shakes a lot of the bad SF out, a lot the stuff that was bought for literary reasons, which is neither entertaining nor great literature. Jerry Pournelle badbuyentertain Change image and share on social
Heinlein never had a best-seller. Even, I think, with Stranger in a Strange Land, I don't think it was actually on the New York Times best seller list. Jerry Pournelle heinleinlandlist Change image and share on social
I think it takes about a million words to make a writer. I mean that you're going to throw away. Jerry Pournelle makemilliontake Change image and share on social
Somebody's always getting me to come lecture to their writing class, and I don't talk about writing at all, I talk about the business of making a living at this racket. Jerry Pournelle businessclasslecture Change image and share on social
The hard part of writing at all is sitting your ass down in a chair and writing it. There's always something better to do, like I've got an interview, sharpening the pencils, trimming the roses. There's always something better to do. Going to a writer's club? Jerry Pournelle chairclubhard share on social
