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Writing allows me the time to travel and see the world, which is what I always wanted to do. I'd really like to have been Sir Richard Francis Burton, but it's the wrong century.

Alan Dean Foster

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Alan Dean Foster
Age: 77
Born: 1946
Born: November 18
Author
Novelist
Science Fiction Writer
Screenwriter
Writer
New York City
New York
James Lawson
Like
Travel
World
Century
Wrong
Wanted
Writing
Burton
Really
Francis
Always
Richard
Time
Allows

More quotes by Alan Dean Foster

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How much research I have to do depends on the nature of the story. For fantasy, none at all.
Alan Dean Foster
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I try to challenge myself as much as possible, as often as possible.
Alan Dean Foster
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I've been writing full-time since 1978.
Alan Dean Foster
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Besides the mistakes that are pointed out, I love the way readers become involved with the characters. When readers start asking about character motivations instead of concentrating on the special effects, it means you're connecting with them on a personal level.
Alan Dean Foster
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In one book, CACHALOT, just for my own amusement, every character is based directly on someone I have known.
Alan Dean Foster
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Growing up, I never gave a thought to being a writer. All I ever wanted to be was a traveler and explorer. Science-fiction allowed me to go places that were otherwise inaccessible, which is why I started reading it.
Alan Dean Foster
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Where lies the line between sorcery and science? It is only a matter of terminology, my friend.
Alan Dean Foster
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Don't try to write to the trend of the moment.
Alan Dean Foster
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Getting inside the mind of a terrorist wasn't difficult at all. Even as children, human beings fabricate elaborate revenge fantasies. We're not a particular species. Check out popular video games.
Alan Dean Foster
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I have a bad tendency to get rapidly bored with my own material, so rewriting is hard for me. I mean, I already know the story and would rather read something new.
Alan Dean Foster
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I usually do one con a year as a GoH and try to make the World Fantasy Convention for business purposes. Last year I went to a worldcon for the first time in two decades. I may go again this year.
Alan Dean Foster
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In loquaciousness lay insanity.
Alan Dean Foster
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Keep writing. Try to do a little bit every day, even if the result looks like crap. Getting from page four to page five is more important than spending three weeks getting page four perfect.
Alan Dean Foster
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Spontaneity is one of the joys of existence, especially if you prepare for it in advance.
Alan Dean Foster
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Advances have fallen, generally, for everything except the biggest potential bestsellers. Given all the changes, both economic and technological, SF hasn't done too badly.
Alan Dean Foster
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Living gives you a better understanding of life. I would hope that my characters have become deeper and more rounded personalities. Wider travels have given me considerably greater insight into how cultural differences affect not only people, but politics and art.
Alan Dean Foster
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The storm hit with all the fury of a woman who’d been dieting for six months, only to discover she’d gained four pounds.
Alan Dean Foster
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The universe is full of dead people who lived by assumption.
Alan Dean Foster
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We're all nothing but unified arrangements of atoms and particles, drifting around, enjoying consciousness every now and then for a second or so before splitting up to become bits and pieces of trees and stars and french fries.
Alan Dean Foster
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I enjoy listening to classical music and heavy metal. I play basketball and try to go diving at least once a year. I don't really have hobbies in the traditional sense... I engage in too many activities already through the actions of my characters.
Alan Dean Foster