N. K. Jemisin Quotes

N. K. Jemisin

Profession : Writer

Birth : September 19, 1972

Within the sphere of steampunk, there seems to be a rapidly growing subsphere of gadgetless 'neo-Victorian' novels, most of which attempt to recapture the romance of the era without all the sociopolitical ugliness.

N. K. Jemisin

Actual Victorian mores and politics were a reaction to a specific series of historical events, technological and scientific developments, and ethical trends in which the commodification of people was de rigueur.

N. K. Jemisin

This is magic we're talking about. It's supposed to go places science can't, defy logic, wink at technology, fill us all with the sensawunda that comes of gazing upon a fictional world and seeing something truly different from our own.

N. K. Jemisin

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

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

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

Reactionary movements can't sustain themselves unless they find something new to catch and burn on.

N. K. Jemisin

I write what feels real. I write things that are informed both by my own experience and by actual history.

N. K. Jemisin

I read a lot of history for fun.

N. K. Jemisin

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

I tend to like writing characters that are not typical heroes.

N. K. Jemisin

I am a linear thinker in a lot of ways.

N. K. Jemisin

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

When I start a new novel, I often write 'test chapters' in different tenses and from different points of view in order to figure out which is best to tell the tale.

N. K. Jemisin

I write for myself - but it is nice when other people like it, too!

N. K. Jemisin

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

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

I've been very happy with Orbit and am thrilled that they're giving me more chances to explore my creative visions.

N. K. Jemisin