Fanmail Z&A: (Zombie Apocalypse)

So just a couple minutes ago, I was reading through my fanmail and I got to the following letter.

Mr. Rothfuss,

I don’t know how to go about this, so I will just explain: I write a fictional blog set in the zombie apocalypse, and today in my post I referenced you… Since this is a work of fiction I have tried to get permission from any person I mention by name, and I wanted to make sure that this is alright with you. If you would like to read the entry, here’s the link.

If you would like me to edit you out, please let me know, and I will do so immediately.

I am a HUGE fan, by the way. I have purchased no fewer than four hardback copies of The Name of the Wind, and two paperbacks. People love them as gifts.

Looking forward to Wise Man’s Fear.

Joshua

My first thought was that Joshua was terribly polite. So I hopped over and checked out the link to make sure he didn’t have me dancing around in a leopard-print unitard or anything like that. Then, when I saw that I wasn’t, I dropped him an e-mail telling him it’s all cool.

My second thought was that while he didn’t ask me a question, there’s definitely one implied in his post.

Specifically: If there was a zombie apocalypse, and society collapsed, would I still keep working on my books?

It’s a good question. And after thinking about it, I’m a little surprised to say yes. I would.

The reason this is surprising to me is that I’m at the end of a long, LONG, jag of revisions.

How can I put this in perspective for you…?

How about this: I’m assuming most of you have written papers for school. And, because I assume most of you are kinda like me, I’m guessing you put off writing those papers until the night before they were due. (Or, in the case of more involved college research papers, you put them off until the weekend before they were due.)

So let’s go back and remember those long, desperate nights of paper-writing together: It’s late at night. You’re exhausted. You are absolutely fucking sick of the paper because you’ve been banging away on it for hours and hours.

Then you finally finish it. Relief. You are free. You can rest.

But then you think to yourself, “I should really read through it one more time to catch any last minute mistakes.” Because while you might be a procrastinator, that doesn’t mean you’re an idiot.

So you start to read even though you’re weary. Even though you hate your paper so much that re-reading it is like chewing sand. You read it one last time even though the topic you’re writing about fills you with such loathing that you could just shit yourself with rage.

And, as you read it one last time, you find a handful of mistakes that would have made you look like an absolute fuckwit. So you’re glad you put in the effort. But still, it was pretty excruciating.

Are we unified in our shared experience? Do you remember what that last read-through is like?

I did that read-through of the book six months ago.

And I am still working on the book.

Now in the interest of complete honesty, I should mention that I took a bit of a break after that sick-to-fucking-death read-through.

And I don’t mean to imply that every minute is excruciating. Sometimes I read a bit I’d forgotten about, and I think, “Wow, that’s really good.” Sometimes when I finally fix a long-standing problem (like how to plausibly arrange events so Bast, Ambrose, and Elodin can have a threeway) it feels great.

But the fact is that working on revisions is just that: work. What’s more, it’s work I’ve been doing it every day for months and months. I haven’t seen a movie since I caught Sherlock Holmes in the theater.

No. Wait. That’s not true. In a fit of madness I rented Transformers II about five months ago. While I was watching it, I remember thinking, “Huh? This makes no sense. Has it been so long since I watched a movie that I can’t understand them anymore?”

But no. It was just a horrendous pile of shit. Someone deserves to be punched in the neck for that movie.

Wait. What was I talking about again? Oh yeah. Revisions.

My point is that I’ve been doing revisions when I’ve really wanted to be doing other things. Like play with my baby, or re-watch Firefly, or go outside on the rare, jewel-like days when the weather here in Wisconsin isn’t like living in the crack of Satan’s ass.

Simply said, as I’ve mentioned before, everybody hates their job sometimes.

That’s why I was surprised when I asked myself that question. It only took me a few seconds to realize the answer: Yes.

Yes. If society collapsed, I would keep working on the books. I’d do it even if I knew they’d never be published.

And you know what? I’d still be every bit as obsessive about my revision as I am now. The only difference would be that my timetable would be more relaxed, and I’d probably have to work a little harder to find beta readers….

This was actually a rather nice revelation for me. It’s easy to focus on the fact that I *have* to work on the book. That line of thinking can get overwhelming for me sometimes. There’s a lot of pressure. A lot of stress.

It’s nice to remember that I also *want* to work on the book. It’s nice to remember that I love telling this story and that I’m lucky to have the freedom to revise obsessively, as is my nature.

But for all that, I have to say, I’m going to be really glad when it’s finished and I can move on….

pat

This entry was posted in Fanmail Q + A, musings, RevisionBy Pat86 Responses

86 Comments

  1. Posted August 31, 2010 at 1:57 AM | Permalink

    I’ll be sure to check the bookstores after the zombie apocalypse in baited anticipation of your books, just as I am before the apocalypse. I know the book is going to be amazing. Keep up the good work Pat, even if we readers have to wait longer.

    • peterlcoffey
      Posted August 31, 2010 at 8:10 AM | Permalink

      I normally don’t point out spelling errors, because it’s internettrollish and dickish, but I love the idea of you hiding in a bookstore with your baited zombie traps. I guess you’d bait them with brains…

    • caro
      Posted August 31, 2010 at 4:51 PM | Permalink

      Hi! I’m sitting in Germany on my Couch trying to write my Master’s Thesis in biology and it’s just as you described. I has been like that all my life, a last minute writer. So now I’m stuck and have no motivation to go on and I just read your blog and now I’m thinking if even world class writers had these problems, maybe I can finish this in time and get a good mark for it. And maybe I’m a first class writer, too, and just don’t know it yet…just kidding, I simply don’t have the imagination capacities to write stories like yours. But I really enjoyed your book and can’t wait to read the next one, or the next wheel of time as Mr. Sanderson is mentioned in this Zombie blog as well ;)
      Let’s just do this last minute writing together shall we?

  2. kim
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 1:57 AM | Permalink

    If in the near future we did get a disease that made us all zombies, amidst all the killing, blood and gore, i’d find a way to stay sane enough to read your book :D

  3. Shnargen
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 2:01 AM | Permalink

    Moving on to more and (probably impossible) even BETTER stories!! I just realized that I’ve been bursting in anticipation for WMF since I first read TNotW like a year ago, and that I will have to go through that same feeling every time you have a book coming out for the rest of my (or your) life.

  4. keos
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 2:01 AM | Permalink

    Pat,
    thanks for that, I’m finishing my Master’s Thesis right now – knowing exactly what you mean with the last read through, though I still have to write the last pages I’m dreading the second I’ll have to read all this for the very, very last time… Oh, and probably I’d be writing my last pages now even if there was a zombie apocalypse (bit hard to imagine here – looking out my window I see the already snowy mountains of peaceful Switzerland) – because I know my professor wouldn’t like zombies as an excuse. So – you just made me laugh on this quite grey morning, thank you =) you rock.
    nina

  5. Posted August 31, 2010 at 2:01 AM | Permalink

    As a side note, my spellcheck doesn’t recognize the word “threeway.”

    Or “spellcheck,” oddly enough.

    • NaiGnome
      Posted August 31, 2010 at 2:11 AM | Permalink

      epic

    • peterlcoffey
      Posted August 31, 2010 at 8:12 AM | Permalink

      Your spellcheck is thinking “Wait, if I think therefore I am, and I don’t think that I exist… erm… crud, I should have been a philosophycheck.”

    • Rob
      Posted August 31, 2010 at 9:44 AM | Permalink

      Perhaps “ménage à trois” is the preferred nomenclature . . . .

  6. dressner
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 2:10 AM | Permalink

    Pat we know you added threeway to your spellcheck’s dictionary when you wrote that erotic Harry Potter fanfic.

    I just came back to my low paying customer service job after much needed a week off where I spent most of the time trying to figure the best way out of the career path where I get yelled at and treated rudely. And surprisingly today I was very happy to be at work. I’d missed it for some reason, though the break was pretty nice.

  7. katelyn
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 2:11 AM | Permalink

    We appreciate the hard work, my friend. And maybe your spell-check is more familiar with “ménage à trois”?

    • katelyn
      Posted August 31, 2010 at 2:23 AM | Permalink

      P.S. I think the real answer is a hyphen … three-way? Spell-check says yes. :)

      • HJ
        Posted August 31, 2010 at 7:09 AM | Permalink

        Spellcheck says yes to any two legitimate words separated by a hyphen…try “pat-fuss”. :)

        • HJ
          Posted August 31, 2010 at 7:13 AM | Permalink

          Or “rick-rot”.

  8. Posted August 31, 2010 at 2:21 AM | Permalink

    “… and I can move on…”

    … to finishing up book three!

    • Sedulo
      Posted August 31, 2010 at 2:39 AM | Permalink

      Oh, you did not really just type that! You are so jinxed.

  9. endo
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 3:38 AM | Permalink

    I’ll add build a book press to my ‘to do’ list when the zombie apocalypse comes. The radar dish in the backyard should come in handy for parts.

  10. Marcus Cox
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 4:09 AM | Permalink

    Hey Pat. Really enjoyed the blog and I’m once I get sometime I’m going to check out that zombie blog you posted. I have one quick question; was this a subtle way of telling us that you’re missing your deadline? That’s kind of the vibe I’m getting from it. I’ll wait as long as I need to because NotW is one of the best novels I’ve ever read. I was just curious.

  11. Sarah
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 5:04 AM | Permalink

    I’ve been reading erotic fanfictions about Elodin. And about Bast (and Kvothe obviously) but I somehow DON’T want to read anything of the sort that involves Ambrose…. but I’m sure if you write it it’ll somehow be alright…. you make a lot of promises recently. First BastxChronicler now a threeway… can’t wait for the book :D

    • Widow Of Sirius
      Posted August 31, 2010 at 2:32 PM | Permalink

      I’d assume you don’t want to read any erotic fanfictions about Ambrose because he’s “ten times the bastard” people think he is – no one WANTS to see a guy like that get any kind of sexual pleasure in life.

  12. Achela
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 5:17 AM | Permalink

    I hope the spanish translation reflects the same effort… Because I will try to buy WMF when it comes out… But as always, I know I will miss some parts until I read it in spanish…

  13. Garble
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 5:50 AM | Permalink

    Ah, what a perfect situation to ask you something similar! It’s been playing on my conscience recently that I should ask you.
    ‘couple days.. weeks.. months ago, I was randomly saying your name and got a blast of spoonerism.. and said Rothrick Patruss.
    I quite soon realised that “rothrick patruss” is a pretty damn awesome name. Since then I took the word Rothrick, cut off the k, and used the name for a god in the story I’m planning. Now I feel like I have some obligation to check if it’s ok with you.. … do you mind being the awesome half mad loki-rip-off God in a book that may never see daylight? I can promise you there won’t be any leopard print unitards. Hopefully.

  14. Darmys
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 6:14 AM | Permalink

    I’m happy to wait an extra couple of weeks / month or so for the book if it means you get to re-watch Firefly.

    I watched the Expendables last night, and at the end of the movie, my one comment to my husband was. Vera would have been better in it.

  15. Joshua_Guess
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 6:26 AM | Permalink

    Mr. Rothfuss–You are my hero! It was great that you posted my email, but the idea that something I did led you to write something is…I dunno, almost unreal to me. Thank you so much, I will buy WAY more copies of WMF when it comes out!

    And thanks to all of you who have followed the link in the above post, I hope you like what you have read. My zombie blog is sort of daily practice for my writing, and I am sort of self-conscious about it.

    Best day ever? Maybe.

    • Joan
      Posted August 31, 2010 at 3:46 PM | Permalink

      You’re welcome. Good luck with your own fantasy book.

  16. Genius of a Gambling Fool
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 6:51 AM | Permalink

    I know how you feel. I absolutely love my job, but at the end of the day I’m usually just ready to go home.

  17. justajenjen
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 7:46 AM | Permalink

    You know, I once

  18. Blue Iris
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 7:47 AM | Permalink

    Zombie Apocalypse: Well equipped with essentials (firepower, explosives, food, water, etc..), commandeer most ideal vehicle (head to air force base fine one there…or a Semi Truck that would be good, there is a truck stop 2 miles form my house…), reserve fuel (in the event that there isn’t a gas station I can stop at due to unavoidable circumstances), head to Pat’s stronghold (for obvious reasons).

    Thanks for the hard work Pat, we await in anticipation!

  19. justajenjen
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 7:51 AM | Permalink

    Whoops, sorry, baby helping me type and he posted too soon. You know how it is.

    Anyway, as I was saying, I once wrote a 15 page paper starting about 20 hours before it was due, including the research. I got an A, too. I think that was my most awesome bit of procrastination. I don’t really recommend that anyone try it, though.

    I’m glad that you’ll keep working, even after the zombies take over. It will be good to have something to read while I hide out from them in my zombie proof compound.

  20. Sokol
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 9:54 AM | Permalink

    Thanks for taking me back to the wonderful world of grad school, and banging out last minute papers the weekend they were due. I think it was my penultimate (by the way thanks for giving me a reason to slip the word penultimate into a sentance) paper that allowed me to do the all time great frack-up of stapling the final draft in the wrong order, and with some pages upside down. I don’t really need to explain that alcohol was involved during that weekend, do I?

  21. Rob
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 9:57 AM | Permalink

    Thanks, Pat. It’s for posts like these that I read this blog. Like probably many people here, it’s the only blog I read. These posts are a breath of fresh air. The tangent about the transformers movie was particularly hysterical.

    • Posted August 31, 2010 at 12:17 PM | Permalink

      That movie was so terrible. Its good to know that I’m not the only one that hated it.

      • Posted August 31, 2010 at 9:30 PM | Permalink

        I think it’s funny that you and Pat are the only ones here with legitimate photos next to your names.

  22. Rob
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 10:09 AM | Permalink

    I think it’s also worth noting that, to anybody who knows anything about brain-tanning leather, a zombie apocalypse simply couldn’t come to pass. Brain-tanned leather is EXPEN$IVE, thousands of dollars for a jacket, and most people these days will never touch any in their lifetime. The movie studios buy the stuff up for their American Indian costumes. All it would take is a couple angry tanners in their pickup trucks to wipe out any zombie army trying to put the kibosh on their supply of brains. I think all authors thinking about writing zombie fiction should be required to take a course on animal hide preservation before engaging in their art.

    • Joshua_Guess
      Posted August 31, 2010 at 10:19 AM | Permalink

      That’s almost Libertarian in its endorsement of the free market…however, I don’t know that I would want such amazing leather if it was made from such diseased brains. Though of course, there is no accounting for taste, so you might be right!

      • Rob
        Posted November 5, 2010 at 12:44 PM | Permalink

        Well, regardless of how Libertarian I am (and it’s considerable, I might add), I assure you that once you have a conversation with the guys doing the tanning, you’ll be persuaded to this outcome by their free market views.

        Additionally, the point of my post was that the tanners would want the brains before the zombies got to them to disease them, not that people would want disease ridden leather.

  23. Posted August 31, 2010 at 11:18 AM | Permalink

    I suppose everybody knows that situation, although maybe in a small scale…

    Thank you for keep on writing, Pat ^^ We love you! :D

  24. Robo
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 11:29 AM | Permalink

    Went in to one my favorite used book stores and came across a hardcover copy of NAME. Immediate brain reaction: I have one already, signed. Secondary brain reaction: I wonder if it’s a first printing. Set my Jamba Juice down (manly flavor), take book off shelf. “Hmm. Pretty nice copy.” Open front couple pages. Bam! First printing. Price on the inside: $8.95. Love independent bookstores. Love it more when they don’t always know what they got.

    BTW, professional beta reader for movie studios/producers. 15 years experience. Offering free read and notes. I’m just sayin’.

    • Little My
      Posted August 31, 2010 at 7:04 PM | Permalink

      Which flavor is the manly one? Is there more than one? I guess “Peach Pleasure” isn’t necessarily the manliest one. If they even have that flavor any more. It was good, though.

      • Robo
        Posted August 31, 2010 at 7:53 PM | Permalink

        I’m preferrential to Citrus Squeeze (original, no longer on menu but very orderable) and Razzmatazz. Both sound “manly” and I feel comfortable ordering. There’s something about Super Yumberry and Mango-a-go-go that I just don’t feel comfortable saying in a busy store. “Can I get a Super Yum with a Flax and Fiber boost, please?” Man, I might as well order a shot of wheat grass. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

  25. IrisSue
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 11:32 AM | Permalink

    Hey Pat,

    During a zombie apocalypse, I will try to survive as long as I can just so I can read Wise Man’s Fear. I’ll hike my way to Wisconsin if I have to! By chance I make it to your doorstep, then would it be possible for you to read the book to me? Most likely, my arms would have been ripped off by those zombies and I wouldn’t be able to turn the pages. :)

  26. Rhys
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 12:24 PM | Permalink

    As Mal would say ‘I don’t believe there’s a power in the ‘verse that can stop Pat from finishing WMF, not even those pesky limb-gnawing, brain-sucking zombies.’

    Time to go rewatch Firefly and Serenity…

  27. Pravda
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 1:13 PM | Permalink

    Firefly…

  28. Gail
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 2:19 PM | Permalink

    I am always grateful to hear about your writing/revision process. Even if it means the book is delayed, it’s great to have insight into the timing. I always prefer to know, even if it’s bad news! Thanks so much, Pat, for your willingness to share :)

  29. Widow Of Sirius
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 2:40 PM | Permalink

    It’s something of a relief to know you’d keep writing if the zombie apocalypse came about. I think Nate and I could guard your door, although I’m not sure if we’d go the “We have big guns and can destroy you” look or the “What, we’re zombies too, just chillin” look (Nate does a mean zombie make up).

    We should have a Firefly party when you’ve sent off WMF to your editor and have a few days to a week free. I’ll make cookies.

    • Little My
      Posted August 31, 2010 at 7:01 PM | Permalink

      Hey, isn’t it rude to talk about a party here unless we’re all invited?

      (Are we all invited?)

      • Widow Of Sirius
        Posted September 1, 2010 at 1:12 PM | Permalink

        You are absolutely welcome :)

      • Little My
        Posted September 2, 2010 at 12:41 PM | Permalink

        Thank you! :D

        The question is, what does a gathering of Patrick Rothfuss minions most look like? Those who come to readings? WisCon? Do we have a particular demographic?

        Also, is there a special name for Patrick Rothfuss minions, along the line of “Twi-Hards”?

  30. iburnbrass
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 8:57 PM | Permalink

    So, Ambrose _is_ the “catcher”, right?

  31. Matt
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 9:09 PM | Permalink

    Crack of Satan’s ass? This Wisconsin summer has been much more unpleasant than usual, true… but I gotta tell ya, Pat, this ain’t nuthin’ compared to all the poor bastards living in those southwestern states down there. Given a choice, I’ll take a brutal winter over a brutal summer every single time.

    If the revisions need more time than has been previously budgeted, I urge you not to hurt yourself trying to cram too may hours into your days. We’ve waited this long, and we still love you. A few more weeks/months won’t change things for your fans.

  32. Posted August 31, 2010 at 10:33 PM | Permalink

    Don’t feel bad about not understanding Transformers II. It’s not that it made no sense. It just sucked about as much as a Thai hooker in a room full of vacuum cleaner salesmen. I mean, they placed Aqaba and Petra, which are in Jordan, a leisurely quick drive from the Pyramids of Giza. Whoever made the decision to do that learned geography from our former president’s coloring books.

    • Constance
      Posted September 1, 2010 at 9:15 AM | Permalink

      Someone ought to do a ‘Phantom Edit’ to it and remove everything that makes no sense or was put in for comedy value. This would result in about 24 minutes of very enjoyable robot warfare.

      Sadly they are doing a third movie. This one will feature NASCAR racing Decepticons with Gatling-gun mounts. Not joking…

      • Posted September 1, 2010 at 10:03 AM | Permalink

        “Sadly they are doing a third movie. This one will feature NASCAR racing Decepticons with Gatling-gun mounts.”

        Really? I used to live in the South, and when they see this in the next Transformers movie, they’re likely to get so excited they’ll shit cupcakes with Dale Earnhardt’s face on them.

  33. Skye
    Posted August 31, 2010 at 11:16 PM | Permalink

    “like how to plausibly arrange events so Bast, Ambrose, and Elodin can have a threeway”

    I’m just going to take Ambrose out of that, and slip in Chronicler, and go off to my own little happy place now…

  34. pbatt
    Posted September 1, 2010 at 2:53 AM | Permalink

    Re: Transformers 2

    There is a continuation of MST3K called “Rifftrax” which sells MP3 riff files to be played alongside such horrible movies as Transformers 2. They are fun stuff, and I think anyone reading this (including Pat) might like them.

    http://www.rifftrax.com/

    • Posted September 2, 2010 at 10:56 PM | Permalink

      Rifftrax are awesome….

  35. Posted September 1, 2010 at 4:21 AM | Permalink

    I write kids’ literature and I always think how I’ll be totally useless when the zombie apocalypse comes. “Oh, I can tell three synonimes for almost every word… and tweak any text so it’s understable and neat, want me in your survival team?”.
    Also, as a spanish humorist says, and I think all of us should think about this, if the zombies happen to revive in summer, it will be much worse, because you can’t run properly with flipflops…
    Just wanted to share random thougths…

  36. Constance
    Posted September 1, 2010 at 9:10 AM | Permalink

    I firmly believe that the SCA, larpers (the kind who run around and beat people up, not the talky kind) and reenactors will probably fare well during the coming zombie apocalypse. Fortunately I fall into those catagories, and I know Pat has said he’s larped before.

    Unfortunately the crazy survivalists gun-nuts will also survive. Maybe we can trade them for wool and tobacco?

    And sheep. All hail the sheep.

    • justajenjen
      Posted September 2, 2010 at 12:12 PM | Permalink

      I double dog dare you to find one of those survivalist gun-nuts and open negotiations with “I’ve got wood for sheep.”

      • Mickey
        Posted September 2, 2010 at 12:31 PM | Permalink

        Before or after the zombie war ?

        • justajenjen
          Posted September 2, 2010 at 2:24 PM | Permalink

          Anytime. :)

  37. babblefish
    Posted September 1, 2010 at 10:44 AM | Permalink

    When you refer to “move on”, are you saying you’re going to die, or are you referring to a Stephen King, the world is going to mutate into something horrible, move on?

  38. Robin the Acolyte
    Posted September 1, 2010 at 11:25 AM | Permalink

    Living just outside of first Washington, DC and now Ft Bragg, I always assumed when the world comes to end I’d be among the first up against the wall. Being a Librarian and Keeper of the Twin Flames of Knowledge and Culture, also makes me a prime target.

    Now I guess I’ll have to build a post-zombie-apocolypse shelter and stay underground for two or three years. That way I’ll be ready when My Personal Writing Deity reemerges into the light of a new literary dawn. With everyone else either out of the picture or ravening over the bleached bones of society, I’ll here and ready to volunteer for beta reading the newest Sacred Tome, Book Three.

    Hooray!

  39. lys
    Posted September 1, 2010 at 1:42 PM | Permalink

    Dear Mr. Rothfuss,
    After an embarrassingly loud squeal of laughter escaped me while reading this particular, I shall have to swear off reading your blog when I’m at work.
    Unless you publish a boss-safe version.
    Which would be boring, so don’t.
    Lys
    p.s…If you’re still writing after the zombie apocalypse, find me. I’ll edit your stuff and you can edit mine. As an added bonus, I promise not to feast on your brains if you’ll return the same courtesy to me.

  40. lys
    Posted September 1, 2010 at 1:43 PM | Permalink

    The word ‘blog’ is clearly missing from one of my sentences in the previous post. Cursed un-editable postings!

  41. AP
    Posted September 1, 2010 at 2:02 PM | Permalink

    Move on? Interesting…lets fast forward into the future, shall we? When the day comes that you finish ALL the books, what will you move on to?

  42. Skoivan
    Posted September 1, 2010 at 4:22 PM | Permalink

    We love you Pat, and your strange obsession with your book and your revisions. It’s what makes your writing fabulous! <3

  43. blue_chan
    Posted September 1, 2010 at 6:24 PM | Permalink

    Well, I know where i’m going when the zombie apocalypse hits. I told my friends about this post, and we all decided that, when the time comes, we’ll have a great pilgrimage to Wisconsin. Because, of course, when the world ends all we’ll be thinking about is Kvothe’s story.

    I honestly don’t think I could live with myself if I knew it was out there, somewhere, but I /wasn’t reading it/.

  44. Posted September 1, 2010 at 8:58 PM | Permalink

    It is cool that if I hadn’t read and obsessed over TNoTW, after reading that post I would then go out of my way t’do so. Zombies or no.

    Tha’s cool. As is you’re realisation. I am happy for you. As I will make/repair watches for a living after Uni, I know I’ll get bored of it sometimes; but perhaps reading things like this will remind me that I love fiddly daft work like that.

    As usual Pat; you’ve brought a small lemon-flavoured ray of sun to my [presently 3am] day.
    Thanks!

  45. Posted September 1, 2010 at 10:59 PM | Permalink

    EZ fix for all that time wasted on revisions. The whole series was finished years ago, right? So, all you have to do is finish polishing the 2nd one, then immediately release the 3rd one like 6 months later just hacking off the end of the old book that was “finished” years ago. You’ll use all the goodwill you’ve earned from the 1st one (plus the 2nd) and cash in on the 3rd without having to do the work.

    I’ll let you know where to send the check for my services.

  46. Mickey
    Posted September 2, 2010 at 4:30 AM | Permalink

    Dear Pat,

    Have you raed ‘ World War Z’ by Max Brooks ? If not you should definitely get a copy. No one does zombie apocalypse better. Unless of course your next novel features Kvothe in camouflage and tooled up with assault weaponery ? No ? Bugger…I thought it sounded good…

  47. Posted September 2, 2010 at 3:53 PM | Permalink

    Arrrgggghhhhhh…..I hate you for linking that. Because now I have to go back and read….every….single….post!

    And I have work to do!

    Mean….you are entirely too mean to live.

    Not that that will keep me from buying your next book when it comes out, but I’ll hate you while I read it.

    Really!

    • Joshua_Guess
      Posted September 3, 2010 at 11:31 AM | Permalink

      muhahaha! READ EVERY SINGLE POST! And I write one almost every day, so my hooks are all up in yer BRAINZ now!

  48. Posted September 2, 2010 at 5:10 PM | Permalink

    “But for all that, I have to say, I’m going to be really glad when it’s finished and I can move on….”

    … to the next book.

    Does it pain you to know that you’ve got another book left in the series to go through this entire process with again?

  49. Posted September 2, 2010 at 5:57 PM | Permalink

    Dear Pat,

    Sanderson just finished Towers of Midnight. It’s going to be on bookshelves 2 months from now. How is this possible?

  50. skymnolf
    Posted September 2, 2010 at 9:39 PM | Permalink

    Bit off topic (maybe can’t remember been a couple days since I read the actuall post). I just finished watching Firefly. Thanks for your unceasing recomendations of it. It is tottally awesome. Joss will certainly enter my pantheon of godlike men (membership of which you already possess for your epic beard and of course your even more epic tome). thanks for all this type of recomendation I am afraid I would miss much of this if you did not provide links. :)

  51. Catherine56
    Posted September 3, 2010 at 12:14 AM | Permalink

    I liked Transformers II :( but when you mention anything to do with Joss Whedon you are forgiven. (Hmmm, spellcheck doesn’t approve of “Whedon” either… it must be mistaken).

    • surfingtheorist
      Posted September 6, 2010 at 8:26 AM | Permalink

      I also liked Transformers 2, although Pat’s right that it was utterly incoherent. I liked it because the explosions, chases, and fight were awesome. The (lack of) story and geographical considerations stayed out of the way of the special effects – the very reason I go see action movies.

  52. guessingo
    Posted September 3, 2010 at 6:32 AM | Permalink

    The dream of being a full time writer. Sitting alone, all day in front of your computer. Re-reading the same story over and over again for months or years in an effort to make it absolutely perfect. Being neurotic and hating it, then re-writing again. Then the next day, sitting alone in front of a computer…

    I think Patrick would become a LaMon in a zombie apocalypse. Want to know what that means? Read World War Z. It is the Zombie book to end all Zombie books. It is far better than any of the zombie movies as well.

    • Mickey
      Posted September 3, 2010 at 7:57 AM | Permalink

      Spoiler Alert !!

      Last Man on Earth.

    • Posted September 3, 2010 at 5:13 PM | Permalink

      Best zombie fiction? Hmm, I’ve yet to read anything better than Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead. I’ll have to give this book a try. Not that I want to find something better than TWD… I just want to readthe competition.

  53. bookworm
    Posted September 3, 2010 at 9:21 PM | Permalink

    TOTALLY off subject, but if you were trapped on a deserted island with only thirty-seven other people and you were only allowed to pack a single backpack, what would you bring?

  54. FrogSqrl
    Posted September 5, 2010 at 8:22 PM | Permalink

    I read another author duo that has the same “must write” approach. Steve Miller and Sharon Lee got dropped in the late 80’s by Ace books but they kept writing; for 10 years. After this new internet thingy got them in touch with fans that wanted to read the rest of the story, they were picked up for a 4-5 book run and then the new publisher went out of business. To cover the gap while they tried to find another new publisher 1200 fans sent in money to purchase the new book even though it might not get printed. Baen picked them up and is publishing their back list as well. I have a very nice thank you letter as well as the promised new book. I proposed the same upfront money idea to my friends in the Brown Coats to get Josh Whedon to do another FireFly movie. We estimated we could raise 4-6 million. Josh shot the idea down due to the difficulty of getting the actors together again. He was intrigued at the idea though.

  55. FrogSqrl
    Posted September 5, 2010 at 8:23 PM | Permalink

    Correction : Dropped by DelRey books not by ACE

  56. bsuhl
    Posted September 22, 2010 at 1:24 PM | Permalink

    damn…I learned a lot and my “perspective” has grown and my “respect” multiplied.
    Seriously, to a non writer, that was eye-opening and effectively whine-squelching. wow.

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