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A Few Words With Patrick Rothfuss
(as featured in OG’s Speculative Fiction Issue 11)
Patrick, your first novel, The Name of the Wind, has come out to much acclaim, brisk sales and a quickly growing readership. But your own path to becoming a writer is a great story in itself. Many people are familiar (or can be through your web site) with how you broke out with your debut novel after winning first place in the Writers of the Future contest, an advantageous meeting with Kevin J. Anderson where your book finally had the chance it needed, before landing in the lap of an incredibly diligent and enthusiastic editor.
How would you define your story of becoming a writer? Was it luck, years of hard work that finally paid off, fate, or God’s design?
Becoming a writer is easy, all you do for that is write. Becoming a published writer is something else entirely....
I think anyone who gets published will admit that luck plays a part in the process. Maybe you meet someone at a convention and impress them. Maybe your book is the one that the editor takes on vacation with them. Maybe you end up sitting next to Steven King on a plane and he forgot the book he was reading back in the terminal...
But the lucky break is only half of it. When you finally get your lucky break, if you don’t have the goods, it won’t do you any good.
The Name of the Wind is my debut novel, and a lot of folks out there are really enjoying it. But I’ve been working on my writing for a long, long time. When people tell me I’m really lucky about the reception it’s been getting, I joke and say, “Yeah, it only took me fifteen years to become an overnight success.”
Your first book is finished, but I understand the whole series has more or less been written. How long did it take you to write, including rewriting?
Fourteen years, give or take. That’s not working on it consistently, obviously. I did a lot of other things...like going to grad school and learning to rollerblade.
Fourteen years! Were there ever times you wanted to give up and become a professional rollerblader?
Not really. The reason I was writing was because I loved working on the story. Have you ever heard of someone quitting their hobby because it was taking too long? “Ah hell Earl, I’ve been fishing for twenty years now and I’m not a pro yet. I think I’m going to pack it in...”
Generally speaking, people fish because they like fishing. If you’re writing because you think it’ll make you rich and famous, you’re probably doing it for the wrong reason...
You’ve called yourself obsessive when it comes to writing. In what way?
After talking with editors and writers over these last couple years, I realize I don’t do things the ordinary way. A lot of authors write a draft, revise it once or twice, then send it to their editor. They get the editor’s feedback, make changes, then it gets copy edited, proofed and printed. That’s somewhere between 3 and 6 revisions, depending on how you count them.
Me? Well...I must have read The Name of the Wind over two hundred times with a red pen in my hand, making notes and corrections. Tightening dialogue and description. Tweaking the language, threading in new plots, adding and removing characters. Combining scenes and moving around chapters...
Plus I probably had over 100 people read it and give me feedback over the years in its different versions.
So yeah. Compared to the norm, I’m obsessive. But I’m happy. That’s how I make sure when my book comes out, it is as good as it can possibly be.
You know what it’s like when you’re reading a book and you hit a patch that doesn’t seem to make sense? Or it’s a little confusing? Or boring? Or logically inconsistent? I don’t ever want those little bits in my book. I want to fix ALL of those before it gets into print. I want people to pick it up, read it, and have it blow the top of their heads off with how good it is...
Figuratively speaking of course...
Can you tell us three books, or writers, that have blown your head off?
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.
Something Wicked This Way Comes By Ray Bradbury.
Declare by Tim Powers.
Before your success, you claim you were rejected by every agent in North America. What did it feel like to finally get that phone call, “We want your book!”
It would have been great if that had been the case, but the process was much more gradual than that. I wasn’t like suddenly Ed McMahon showed up at my house with a publishing contract and a giant novelty check for a billion dollars.
I won an award, and six months went by. Then I went to the workshop connected with the award and met Kevin Anderson. He introduced me to his agent, and a couple months went by. The agent says he might be interested in representing the book, but that it needs work. So I work on the story and six months go by. I send it to the agent and another month goes by. Then he says it’s better, but it still needs more work, so I work on it for a few more months...
You see? It didn’t all happen like a thunderbolt. Starting in 2001 it was a lot of little pieces of good news all spaced out over a long period of time. This year the good news has been a little more tightly packed, admittedly: awards, foreign translation deals, graphic novel adaptation, movie talk...
But still, the long gradual start to the process has helped keep me on an even keel. That way, I can avoid being a spaz when something else cool happens.
Since your book has come out, have you met any cool famous people as a result?
Yeah. I had dinner with Tad Williams about a year ago. He’s an incredibly nice person, and we share an editor and agent, so we’re practically related. I met Orson Scott Card online after he wrote a terribly flattering review of my book. I’ve only emailed with him, but he’s also been very gracious and cool. He invited me to participate in series of online articles with him talking about the Harry Potter series over at Belief.net.
And I met Neil Gaiman. I didn’t get to hang out with him very long, but he was very easygoing too. That one I was nervous about. I was trying hard not to be a spaz when I met him.
I know very little about chemistry and physics, but the depth of believable detail (or imagination) you include throughout the book, from Ben’s lessons, to Master Kilvin’s Fishery, to Sympathy is impressive. Were you always interested in this subject or was it the product of research?
I’m a science geek from way back. I used to be a chemistry lab assistant back in high school, and if things had gone a little differently I’d probably be a chemical engineer right now. I love the hard sciences. A couple weeks ago I spent two hours talking to a physics student about how magnets work.
Generally speaking, I’m interested in everything. Physics, astronomy, sociology, philosophy, psychology, geology... That’s the reason it took me 9 years to get my B.A. I liked learning about all that stuff. I’d still be going to school if they hadn’t kicked me out...
You could always try another school... Does this mean you are from the camp of “write what you know?”
No. I think that’s mostly crap. If you ask writers to write what they know, you mostly get a bunch of boring stories written about writers who are all emo about not being able to write. *Sigh.*
“Write what you know” gets a lot of airtime because it’s quotable and it sounds good. Like Decarte’s: “I think, therefore I am.” It’s catchy and clever sounding, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t logically flawed crap.
Before you became a novelist what did you do? Your worst job?
I’ve done all sorts of things. Bus boy. Parking lot attendant. Math tutor. Taco Bell employee. Professional mover. Delivery driver.
As for the worst job... Well... Some people probably would have hated those jobs...but I didn’t mind any of them very much. Generally speaking I kind of enjoyed them. I tend to make my own fun, and you can learn a lot as a parking lot attendant if you keep your eyes open...
What was the sweetest ride you got to park as an attendant?
I didn’t get to drive the cars. I just pointed to the parking ramp they were supposed to park in. Still, it wasn’t a bad job. I had a lot of time to think...
You used to teach at your old university. Why did you stop teaching?
I don’t like to think that I’ve stopped, really. I’m just taking a break to focus on my writing for now. That way I can be obsessive and still meet my deadlines.
Hopefully I’ll go back and teach some creative writing classes before too long. Or maybe a class on science fiction and fantasy literature. That would be awesome...
Can you tell us what we can expect in Book 2?
More sex. More violence. More Kvothe. More Bast.
But not all in the same scene. I’ll leave that particular combination for the fanfic writers.
I don’t really know what to say about the second book. I suck at summarizing my own stuff. Kvothe grows up a bit, and because he knows more, he has the ability to get into more serious trouble. He gets involved in politics a bit, and he heads into the Fae...
I think that’s all I’ll say. I’m not big into spoilers or teasers. Sorry.
Sounds good. When can we expect the next installment? Anything else you are working on that might come out in the meantime?
Book two is currently planned for spring of 2009. I’ve also got a few projects coming out with Subterranean Press before that.
You have been published. The reviews have been great. What dreams do you have now?
Man. I had this really weird dream where I was having a three-way with a sumo wrestler and my ex-roommate. That was a trip.
Ooh!. And there was another one where I was being threatened by this ambulatory gas can with a set of clicky teeth. That freaked me right out. Seriously.
Uh...that is interesting and slightly scary, Pat. I should have said, what goals have you set for yourself now that you’ve been published?
Oh. I see. This is one of the perils of inexact phraseology.
I’d like to have the next book be at least as good as this first one. That’s a major goal. I’d also like to teach a writing class in the not-too distant future. I think I’d be pretty good at that.
What is your favorite writing snack food?
Is coffee food? If yes, then coffee.
If no, it’s still coffee.
You are very active on your web site, and respond to many of the emails you receive. What is the coolest thing a reader has written in? Have any of the emails made you tear up?
I actually wrote a blog that contained one of my coolest fan mails ever while I was answering a question. You can find it over here:
http://www.patrickrothfuss.com/blog/2007/10/ask-author-3-what-good-is-fantsay.html
Patrick, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer of few of our questions. We appreciate it and wish you the best of luck with your writing. We can’t wait for the next book!
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