I agree that Lois is a great writer. It has been a joy to work with her, and she has taught me so much.
I do understand your feelings of awe entirely. I started as a fan, remember. I went to conventions for years hoping to meet writers because I wanted to become a writer myself, and I felt that same awe, that feeling that whenever I approached a writer I was approaching a demi-god. It was nerve-wracking at times. I'd wonder will he think I'm a geek? Do I have a piece of spinach stuck between my teeth? But I wanted so much to learn that I overcame my shyness, and I discovered, to my surprise, that writers are pretty much like other people. Yeah, some (a very few) are rich and famous, but for the most part, they're simply a pretty friendly bunch of uncomplicated people who like to talk about literature, yeah, but also talk about their kids and dogs and mortgages and politics too, and they have to get up and put on their underwear in the morning just like everyone else. And as I was discovering this, I was becoming a writer myself. It has been a very strange feeling at times, particularly since finishing my first novel, to realize that people are starting to look at me that way--my words take on added weight for them because I've had a book published. It feels extremely surreal when I discover that someone is nervous about approaching me because I've written and published books.
So don't worry that your posts are silly, because they aren't at all. I understand why you feel that way; I've felt that way myself when I started out talking to writers. But I'll tell you something: I've always found that writers in the science fiction/fantasy field in particular are extremely gracious about answering questions and talking with fans, and particularly about helping other writers all they can, because they all remember that they were helped by other writers before them, too, when they started out. So they practice pay-it-forward. It's a great field for mentoring.
I assure you--I have to get up and put on my underwear in the morning, just like everyone else.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Re: OMG! You read Miles too!
Date: 2003-03-10 07:24 pm (UTC)I do understand your feelings of awe entirely. I started as a fan, remember. I went to conventions for years hoping to meet writers because I wanted to become a writer myself, and I felt that same awe, that feeling that whenever I approached a writer I was approaching a demi-god. It was nerve-wracking at times. I'd wonder will he think I'm a geek? Do I have a piece of spinach stuck between my teeth? But I wanted so much to learn that I overcame my shyness, and I discovered, to my surprise, that writers are pretty much like other people. Yeah, some (a very few) are rich and famous, but for the most part, they're simply a pretty friendly bunch of uncomplicated people who like to talk about literature, yeah, but also talk about their kids and dogs and mortgages and politics too, and they have to get up and put on their underwear in the morning just like everyone else. And as I was discovering this, I was becoming a writer myself. It has been a very strange feeling at times, particularly since finishing my first novel, to realize that people are starting to look at me that way--my words take on added weight for them because I've had a book published. It feels extremely surreal when I discover that someone is nervous about approaching me because I've written and published books.
So don't worry that your posts are silly, because they aren't at all. I understand why you feel that way; I've felt that way myself when I started out talking to writers. But I'll tell you something: I've always found that writers in the science fiction/fantasy field in particular are extremely gracious about answering questions and talking with fans, and particularly about helping other writers all they can, because they all remember that they were helped by other writers before them, too, when they started out. So they practice pay-it-forward. It's a great field for mentoring.
I assure you--I have to get up and put on my underwear in the morning, just like everyone else.
Cheers,
Peg