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" I write what feels real. I write things that are informed both by my own experience and by actual history. "
N. K. Jemisin
Experience
Real
Own
Related Quotes:
" In the 'Dreamblood' books, I'm focusing more on what I like about epic fantasy: the layering and depth of tension; the chance to really delve into the minutia of an alternate society and its politics; a large cast of characters to love and hate. "
N. K. Jemisin
Love
Hate
Chance
" With epic fantasy, there is a tendency for it to be quintessentially conservative in that its job is to restore what is perceived to be out of whack. "
N. K. Jemisin
Fantasy
Conservative
Out
" Magic is the mysteries into which not everyone is so lucky, or unlucky, as to be initiated. It can be affected by belief, the whims of the unseen, harsh language. And it is not. Supposed. To make. Sense. In fact, I think it's coolest when it doesn't. "
N. K. Jemisin
Belief
Think
Magic
" I think the people who believe that works can and always should be divorced from the context are people who have the privilege to do so. "
N. K. Jemisin
People
Think
Who
" Knowing about authors' beliefs helps you understand how those beliefs influence their writing, and things you thought meant one thing, once you've got enough information about that writer, you suddenly realize mean an entirely different thing. That makes a difference. "
N. K. Jemisin
Thought
Writing
Influence
" Readers seem to really like the fact that what I'm writing is not traditional fantasy. "
N. K. Jemisin
Fact
Seem
Like
" It's human nature that we come in our own flavours, and it doesn't make any sense to write a monochromatic or monocultural story unless you're doing something extremely small - a locked room-style story. "
N. K. Jemisin
You
Story
Small
" A fantasy novel set in something other than medieval Europe, featuring an almost entirely black cast, is considered risky. "
N. K. Jemisin
Almost
Black
Fantasy
" It's hard out here for a fantasy writer, after all; there's all these 'rules' I'm supposed to follow, or the Fantasy Police might come and make me do hard labor in the Cold Iron Mines. "
N. K. Jemisin
Rules
Cold
Fantasy
" Reconciliations are for after the violence has ended. "
N. K. Jemisin
After
Violence
Ended
" I don't really understand why so many fantasy writers choose to focus on worlds that just seem strangely denuded. But to them, I guess it doesn't seem strange. And I guess that's their privilege. It isn't mine. "
N. K. Jemisin
Strange
Choose
Focus
" I think most fiction focuses on uncomfortable settings because that's interesting. "
N. K. Jemisin
Most
Interesting
Uncomfortable
" I would love to just write and not have everything I say or do turn into a political battle. "
N. K. Jemisin
Battle
Turn
Just
" Reactionary movements can't sustain themselves unless they find something new to catch and burn on. "
N. K. Jemisin
Find
Burn
Catch
" Reconciliation is a part of the healing process, but how can there be healing when the wounds are still being inflicted? "
N. K. Jemisin
Healing
Wounds
Reconciliation
" There's a thriving field of self-published stuff in, particularly, black fiction. I don't know that other groups of people of color have that same recourse. "
N. K. Jemisin
Black
Same
People
" I write for myself - but it is nice when other people like it, too! "
N. K. Jemisin
Write
People
Other
" To some degree, as I move outside of the exclusive genre audience, the exclusive genre issues don't bother me as much. Maybe that's just speculation. "
N. K. Jemisin
Me
Audience
Move
" Any writer kind of who knows what they're doing goes forth and grabs a copy of an issue of something that they want to be published in, or they skim it online. They read what that market has been doing. They see a particular flavor of fiction. "
N. K. Jemisin
See
Flavor
Doing
" It's the way the human brain works: when enough events occur in a pattern, we stop thinking and go into macro mode. "
N. K. Jemisin
Thinking
Events
Enough
" If you can imagine something, it will be. "
N. K. Jemisin
You
Will
Imagine
" There's a tendency in American thought - maybe elsewhere, but that's the culture I know best - to default to social Darwinism, even though even Darwin noted that's a misapplication of his ideas. "
N. K. Jemisin
Ideas
American
Culture
" I tend to like writing characters that are not typical heroes. "
N. K. Jemisin
Like
Heroes
Characters
" Fantasy is fantasy. It's fiction. It's not meant to be a textbook. I don't believe in letting research overwhelm the fiction. That's a danger of science fiction in particular, as opposed to fantasy. A lot of writers forget that what they're doing is supposed to be art. "
N. K. Jemisin
Research
Art
Believe
" I've always believed that as an artist, as a writer, you need a lot of contact with other people to make your art good. "
N. K. Jemisin
You
Need
People
" I tend to write society as I see and understand it. "
N. K. Jemisin
See
Understand
Write
" I am a linear thinker in a lot of ways. "
N. K. Jemisin
Ways
Am
I Am
" As a black woman, I have no particular interest in maintaining the status quo. Why would I? The status quo is harmful; the status quo is significantly racist and sexist and a whole bunch of other things that I think need to change. "
N. K. Jemisin
Woman
Need
Black
" All people who grew up with science fiction and fantasy and horror went through the whole acculturation process of the genre. We were all told to read the golden age writers. We were all told Heinlein and Asimov and all these straight, white males, although some of them were Jewish. "
N. K. Jemisin
Horror
Age
Science
" I was raised to be very wary of the police. I was raised to stay away from them unless you absolutely have to. Because they're dangerous. "
N. K. Jemisin
Stay
Police
Away