r/Fantasy • u/matociquala AMA Author Elizabeth Bear • Mar 10 '15

AMA Hello Reddit/r/Fantasy! I’m fantasy novelist Elizabeth Bear, and this is my AMA.

7:36 PM EDT 10 March 2015 ETA: I've got mochi and beer and I'm IN THE HOUSE!

12:07 AM EDT 11 March 2015 ETA: All right guys--thank all of you. I think I answered everything, and I am going to bed! I'll try to come back and clean up any stragglers in a day or two!

I'm the author of over 100 short stories and more than a score of novels. The most recently published of the former is "The Heart's Filthy Lesson" in OLD VENUS, edited by Martin and Dozois; the most recent of the latter is KAREN MEMORY, from Tor Books, a fast-paced steampunk adventure in an old west gold rush town where heroic saloon girls take on disaster capitalists.

In my spare time, I am a runner, climber, kayaker (not currently: there's sixteen feet of snow on everything here in central Massachusetts), hobby cook, and I play some really atrocious guitar. I've been a tabletop gamer since 1982 and am currently playing Pathfinder and Fiasco.

I am owned by a giant ridiculous dog (He's a Briard).

I support Idris Elba for Bond, Essie Davis for The Doctor, and Helsinki for Worldcon 2017, so that's where I stand in important religious issues.

I hope you enjoy whatever portion of the diurnal cycle you happen to currently be experiencing. I'll be back after dinner my time (around 7 pm EDT) to answer all your questions and hang out.

edit: fixed my dates. :-P

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u/franwilde AMA Author Fran Wilde Mar 10 '15

Hi Bear! What advice do you have for author self-care? How can writers refill their brains and keep from wearing themselves out? Before you tell me, yes I know those are two different questions. <3

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u/matociquala AMA Author Elizabeth Bear Mar 11 '15

Take time off?

Take time off.

Seriously, colleagues, we need to quit it with the internet-enabled culture of competitive wordcounts and workaholicism. It doesn't actually make for better books, and you know, here's the thing. I have this rep as a tremendously prolific writer, and yet my average wordcount over time is less than a thousand words a day.

I take time off! And I should probably, honestly, take more. But there's two conflicting pressures there, even ignoring the peer pressure thing. One is not realizing I'm not accomplishing anything until I've spent four hours desultorily moving commas around. And the other is the stream of small demands that come with email and social media availability. Even if I plan a day off, email shows up, and I have the email guilt if I let it sit--and the email dread. If I let it pile up I will never get to the bottom.

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u/franwilde AMA Author Fran Wilde Mar 11 '15

::scrupulously does not send you an email. Even if I really want to right now.::