Peter Hodges

Below the cut is the continuation of our interview with Patrick Rothfuss. Our questions are a bit more whimsical in this section as we loosened up during the course of the discussion.

One final note: The first question in this interview was asked before the Hugo nominations were announced. Like several bloggers in the industry (including John Scalzi), we were surprised that Patrick was not nominated for a Hugo award. In my opinion, this is a travesty. I’m not taking away anything from the folks who were nominated, but I think that the best fantasy novel in a long time deserves the nod.

With no further ado, here are the rest of Pat’s answers.

PH: Will your head explode if you are nominated for a Hugo?

Patrick Rothfuss: Explode? Probably not. But I would be very, very pleasantly surprised. A nomination would be really flattering.

Now if I *won* the Hugo…. that would be a whole different thing. I think my reaction would be a lot like Gaiman’s now-legendary acceptance speech: “Fuck me. I won a Hugo.” I’d probably just start laughing maniacally.

KB: What do you think of the early buzz building around your work?

Patrick Rothfuss: I don’t know if I like the word “buzz.” It sounds unpleasantly trendy. Like something that marketing executives say while sitting around big tables in a boardroom.

But I am happy that people like the book enough to talk about it and tell their friends. That’s how I find most of the books that I read–good old fashioned word of mouth.

 KB: You’ve written poetry in the past. Is there any interest from your agent or publisher in a book of poetry?

Patrick Rothfuss: I’m guessing not. From what I understand, there’s not a really big market for poetry. I suppose if I ever do a “collected works” thing I’ll include some of my poetry in it, like Gaiman did in Fragile Things. I laughed at his comment in the introduction when he said that the book would cost the same with the poems included or excluded, so he put them in and if people didn’t want to read them, they didn’t have to.

PH: Have you considered venturing into other genres of fiction? If so, is there a particular genre of fiction that appeals to you?

Patrick Rothfuss: Does urban fantasy count as a different genre?

PH: Sure. Are you thinking along the lines of the Dresden Files or more along the lines of a Stephen King work? Or are you thinking of something so original that it defies categorization?

Patrick Rothfuss: I’m thinking of satirical urban fantasy set in a college town. Sex. Violence. Vampires. Lesbian unicorns. Crazy shit. I think I’d have a ton of fun writing that.

PH: Lesbian unicorns? As odd as this may sound, I think that might work for the unicorns since it eliminates the need for additional hardware. Have you gotten past the planning stages, or is this an idea percolating in your head?

Patrick Rothfuss: It’s been percolating for a long time. But right now I’m focusing all my writing on book two of the trilogy: The Wise Man’s Fear.

PH: Where and when did you realize that you were destined for geekdom? Was it an epiphany or a gradual awakening?

Patrick Rothfuss: Nowadays, “geek” is actually a pretty friendly term. A person can refer to themselves as a geek with a certain amount of pride.

But back when I was growing up, there weren’t any geeks. Just unpopular kids. I knew I was one of those when the people who played D&D didn’t want to hang out with me. You know you’re pretty low on the social ladder when the outcasts don’t want you around.

PH: As an aside, no matter what people thought of you in the cruel days of yore, Kate and I think you are wicked cool.

Patrick Rothfuss: Well thank you kindly. I appreciate that.

I don’t mean to imply that my childhood was a miserable experience. It really wasn’t. Parts of it were rough, but it built character and all that. Plus, when you don’t have many friends you learn how to really cherish them.

Later on, when I made it to college, I met up with a bunch of people who were just like me. In my experience, the less you fit in high-school, the more you find your niche in college.

PH: That’s really true. I barely keep track of people from my high school days, but the people I met in college have been friends for life. It was also in college that I managed to shed some of the desire to fit in and started openly enjoying the things that I love-science fiction, RPGs, and “Lesbian Unicorns.”

Patrick Rothfuss: See? It’s a great idea. I’d make a million dollars off that book. Copyright! Copyright!

KB: If you had phenomenal cosmic power over a movie adaptation of The Name of the Wind, who would play Kvothe? Denna?

Patrick Rothfuss: I can’t think of a good actor for Kvothe. But I’d love to see Natalie Portman play Denna. She has the right look for Denna, and more importantly, she’s an incredible actress. Denna is probably going to be one of the most difficult characters to play, so we’ll need someone with some serious chops.

KB: What does Pat Rothfuss do on a Saturday night?

Patrick Rothfuss: Well, last Saturday night I had dinner with ten Librarians over in St. Paul. If you don’t think that’s a wild time, then you obviously don’t know many librarians…

PH: For a wild time, date a librarian? I think I saw that on a bumper sticker once.

Truer words have never been spoken.

PH: Pick one: A boisterous dinner with several friends or a snowy evening with a good book and a warm fire. What do you think this says about your personality?

I pick a snowy evening with boisterous friends, followed by dinner and a bookburning.

This reveals a several fundamental aspects of my personality.

1. I have a contrary nature.
2. I have a profound resistance to being led around by the nose or forced into anything. Even something as a harmless either/or fallacy in an interview.
3. I dislike being labeled or categorized.

KB: Your photograph on your Web site depicts you in a black T-shirt that says “Joss Whedon is my master now.” If you had to pick a character in a Whedon universe, who would you be? Are you Malcolm Reynolds or Spike? Perhaps you’re Jayne Cobb? Giles?

Patrick Rothfuss: Wesley Windom-Price. Which season of Wesley is probably open to some debate… 

PH: Who would win a cage match between Buffy and River? (Mud, of course, would be optional in that scenario.) Justify your response.

Patrick Rothfuss: Oooh. Good question.

Which season Buffy? And would River be from the Firefly or Serenity?

KB: Let’s say the River from Serenity and Buffy in the beginning of the seventh season.

Patrick Rothfuss: Boy. You know…. I think it really depends on what world you’re in.

A while back someone did some fanart that showed Harry Potter and Kvothe together. I posted it up in my blog for people to see, and someone asked who would win in a fight: Harry Potter at 13 or Kvothe at 13.

There was some speculation back and forth in the comments people posted on the blog, a lot of them pretty funny. But what I realized is that ultimately, the result of the fight would depend on which world it was happening in.

The Harry Potter universe is (despite Rowling’s attempts to make it gritty in the last couple books) a pretty g-rated place. It’s a place where three plucky adolescents can defeat the ultimate evil. Your bones get disappeared? No worries, there’s a potion that will fix it. If you commit a felony, Dumbledore will work it all out for you. Nobody is ever in any real danger. That’s the tone of the world.

That means if 13-year-old Kvothe and Harry had a fight in Harry’s world, Harry would win through some sort of fortunate accident rather than through his own cleverness or skill. There would probably be a comic magical side-effect that would stop things before they got too serious, and, at worst, someone would need to go to the infirmary for a bit of a lay down.

If the fight happened in some back alley in the streets of Tarbean, young Kvothe would probably win by being a vicious, pragmatic little bastard. I’m guessing Kvothe would clip him in the head with a rock, then steal Harry’s shoes.

Similarly, in the Buffyverse, Buffy wins. But the two girls become friends and eventually fight evil together. That’s the tone of the show.

In the Firefly universe, River would win. The aftermath is trickier. They might still end up as friends, or they might end up as bitter rivals. I’d say it’s a 50/50 shot.

PH: Which author(s) influenced you the most? What did you find striking about their writing?

Patrick Rothfuss: I never know how to answer questions when people ask me what authors “influenced” me or “inspired” me. I’m not being dodgy, I’ve just read a lot of books. I mean, a *lot* of books.

I don’t doubt that all of them influenced me to some degree. But it’s not like I ever set out to be like other authors. While I might be really impressed with Terry Pratchett’s dialogue, or Peter S. Beagle’s turn of phrase, I never set out to do their thing, I set out to do my own thing.

To put it another way, I never thought, “I wasn’t to write something just like this.” I thought, “I want to write something as good as this.”

PH: Name your favorite three novels of all time. Why are they your favorites?

Patrick Rothfuss: I can give you my favorite three novels of right now. The list is subject to change depending on my whimsy though: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.

The reasons are pretty much the same for all three. Good story, good language, good characters. That’s a hat trick not many authors can pull off.

PH: Do you base your work off of an outline, or do you prefer to write “by the seat of your pants?”

Patrick Rothfuss: Seat of the pants.

That said, I do take notes and make bulleted lists. But that is more of a memory aid than a vital part of my storytelling process.

KB: How do you write? What is your environment like? Do you prefer quiet or do you like music? Are you a neat freak or a clutter pig?

Patrick Rothfuss: I like it quiet. I don’t understand people who write while listening to music. I think it’s unnatural. It goes against all laws of god and man.

I also tend towards clutter, but that’s more of a lifestyle choice than an aesthetic one. If someone came in and tidied my office every day while I was sleeping, my production would probably go up, not down…

PH: What advice can you give to an aspiring writer?

Patrick Rothfuss:

1. Read a lot.

I always thought this would go without saying, but in the last couple years I’ve met people….

Well, for example. I once had someone come to me for advice on how to write a fantasy novel for kids. After talking about his plans for maybe half an hour, I asked who his favorite authors were. He threw out a few names I didn’t recognize, so I asked him about his favorite fantasy authors.

He said, “I don’t read fantasy.”

I said, “Why do you want to write a fantasy book?”

He shrugged. “Kids read fantasy, don’t they? I want to get my message across to kids. Besides, It’s easier to write fantasy. You don’t have to know about things, you just make stuff up.”

*Sigh*

But that wasn’t the worst. I once met a guy who wanted to write his life story as a novel. And, truthfully, the guy had lived a hell of a life. We were sitting around, and he was talking about his project. How he was planning on getting a cool cover for the book. How he was going to print, advertise, and sell it all on his own. (So he didn’t have to share the money with the publisher.)

I told him that I bought a *lot* of books over the years, but I’d never bought one because I’d seen it advertised. Then I asked him how he picked the books he decided to buy.

He told me that he had never actually bought a book.

Further questioning revealed the fact that he had never actually read a book.

Never. Read. A. Book.

This leads me tidily into my next piece of advice.

2. Think a lot.

I really hope I don’t have to explain this….

3. Write a lot.

Whatever writing you do, it will probably improve your writing skills to some degree. Poetry teaches you about language, sound, and form. Writing for the local paper teaches you about deadlines and brevity. Writing on bathroom walls will improve your… um… penmanship?

Okay, maybe not all types of writing are beneficial. But still, if you want to write, then get your ass in the chair and write. Quit talking about writing and write. Get out of the coffee shop and write. Quit doing interviews and write….

Wait… That last bit of advice was for me. I should really get back to work on my second book now…

PH: Of course you should! We’ve taken up too much of your time, already. Do you have any final words for us?

Umm….. Nope. I guess I must have used up all my words already.