Does anyone agree with me that this guy takes himself too seriously?
Terry Goodkind, author of the (in my opinion) fairly good series
Sword of Truth:
Since I will be going on tour for Faith of the Fallen and will have the opportunity to meet some of you and have a chance to answer many of your questions in a variety of other forums, including a chat on the prophets-inc page. I would like to take this opportunity, ahead of time, to address the general issue of questions. I sincerely appreciate your passion for the characters and the story and I enjoy answering questions. In that regard, it's important to me that you grasp some of the fundamentals of my writing so that you will know the kinds of questions I can answer and understand why I must decline to answer a specific type of question.
Make no mistake, I write novels; I most emphatically stress that I do not write world-building books. There is a vast gulf between the two, which I don't have the space or time to address here at length, but I must clarify one aspect of the difference.
A good novel consists of four central elements: theme, plot, characterization, and style. To the extent which an author holding valid ethical values understands these elements and is able to properly integrate them, the book will be enjoyable because it presents a sense of life that many readers intuitively recognize as valid. This is completely unlike world-building, which is a form of a saga, which by its very nature can at best offer only a feeble sense of life. Although many people also enjoy that form of writing, it is less than a novel, less than an integrated story and has almost nothing at all to do with what or how I write.
A novel puts certain kinds of questions outside the scope of the integrated story as it was created and as it exists. Answering such questions would open the unified construction of the story to whim. Once opened to whim. There could be no reasoned place to draw the line. For example, I cannot answer questions such as: "Did Zedd ever have a second cousin on his mothers side? If I presume to answer such a question, what even more irrelevant question will be thought of next, and by what criteria could I then decline to answer that one? Reason, not whim, can be my only standard, and reason does not allow me to wander off down such immaterial paths.
Once you exit the written story, you are outside that thing that has been created which you enjoy so much because it is integrated, logical, and complete. Were I world building, I would be able to answer such questions because such books are not integrated, cohesive concepts, but simply a collection of bricks, as it were, and one more brick here and there does not change the nature of the brick wall. I am not world building, however, not building one dimensional brick walls that can run off in either direction forever with the simple addition of more bricks, but writing novels about important human themes. My books are not intended to be expanded upon through free-wheeling, off the cuff, extemporaneous comments, observations, or answers to any question someone might be able to dream up. It is a violation of my basic beliefs as a writer to allow such exterior events -innocent though they may be -to expand the finite Story as it was written. I have not worked out if Zedd has a second cousin on his mother's side, because it is irrelevant to the theme, plot, characterization, and style of the story as it is presented. To attempt to do so after the fact would be a violation of the integrity of the story, and a gross breach of reason.
In no way do I intend this to deride any questions asked, but merely to explain in as clear a fashion as possible why I can't answer certain types of questions. I really do understand and appreciate the spirit of honest enthusiasm in which all questions are asked, and do enjoy answering those I can, which are basically those dealing with the story as written, or my intent as a writer, or to clarify something. I look forward to meeting many of you on the tour and to answering your questions through various forums.
The real irony is that one of the things that the Fantasy press and his fans praise him for is his ability at world-building.
In my opinion, he's created for himself a false dichotomy, a division that exists only in his mind so he can feel superior to other writers.
Your opinion? (Note I'm not interested in whether or not you like his books; that's subjective. I'm only looking for your opinion of his statement I've quoted.)
Me, I'll just chalk him up to another in the list of writers whose stuff I will enjoy, but have no interest in meeting.
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