Fostering Science Fiction: Alan Dean Foster interviewed
01/08/2002 . Source: Stephen Hunt 

Superstar author ADF on the differences between creating science fiction and fantasy, the life of Flinx, and the sad tale of how Alan wept openly for what the big screen did to James Gurney's Dinotopia. Stephen Hunt shines the piercing spotlight of editorial independence deep into Mr Foster's eyes.

Are you currently writing full time now, or are you fitting in the odd day-job for variety?

I've been writing full-time since 1978.

When and why did you begin writing? When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I started in high school, just for fun. I've always been a facile writer. I suspect I was the only student in my entire school who preferred essay tests to multiple choice. First thought of myself as a writer when August Derleth bought a long, fantasizing letter of mine and published it as a story (Some Notes Concerning a Green Box...Lovecraftian pastiche).

How has becoming a published author impacted your lifestyle?

Most importantly, it 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.

Do you tend to read the work of many other SF/F authors, and what are you reading now?

I used to read voraciously within the field, but over the past 15 years my eyes have grown bad for reading. Consequently, I have to conserve my reading time for non-fiction: research, natural history, biography, current events, and the like. I regret the loss enormously.

Currently I'm reading several books on South Africa and Mauritius, both places from which I just returned. Also books on Northern India and Pompeii, locates I hope to visit within the next year (eruptions both geologic and human permitting). Recent reads include Peter Tyson's THE EIGHTH CONTINENT (about Madagascar), Mel Kernahan's WHITE SAVAGES IN THE SOUTH SEAS (about "blackbirding" in the 19th century), and Sven Kirsten's THE BOOK OF TIKI (nostalgia).

What's your favourite SF/F movies and TV at the moment?

At the moment? There's nothing on TV...I wept openly for what was done to James Gurney's DINOTOPIA. As for film, ATTACK OF THE CLONES was a welcome improvement. It's much easier to rubbish Lucas than to give him credit for doing something good. I'm looking forward very much to Disney's LILO & STITCH and Spielberg's MINORITY REPORT. In re the latter, someone should do an interview with producer Ron Schusett...notice how many big SF projects he's been associated with? Besides REPORT, there's TOTAL RECALL, ALIEN, and many others.

Do you use an agent?

I have two agencies: Virginia Kidd, my sole literary agent since the beginning of my career, and Marti Blumenthal of Writers and Artists Agency in Beverly Hills, for media.

How long did you spend in rejection letter hell before you were first published?

I wrote twelve short stories before Derleth bought that letter, though my first published story was bought by John W. Campbell for Analog. Both editors died soon after publishing me...hence my considerable anxiety when Betty Ballantine purchased my first attempt at a novel. I am happy to report that both Betty and the novel (THE TAR-AIYM KRANG) are still around.

Did you always want to be a writer?

No. 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. I was going to be a lawyer (solicitor), but I got saved. As I said earlier, writing was always easy for me. The idea that I could maybe make a living at it, other than by writing legal briefs and arguments, never occurred to me until my final year at university.

Where, when, and how do you write?

In my study, which is a separate building on our property. Everything in it is a record of me. I write early in the morning, usually after reading portions of at least half a dozen newspapers on the web (NY Times, LA Times, News24 out of South Africa, Sydney Morning Bulletin, Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, The Namibian, etc.).

Originally, I dictated all my rough drafts. With the advent of the computer, I found I could get an extra draft simply by working directly on it. I try to do at least one page a day, but usually end up doing 2-4. Nearing the end of a book, I will sometimes write all day long and turn out as much as 20 pages. Short stories usually take a day or two.

Did you come up through the writing short-stories route, or did you get published in novel-form first?

I sold several short stories first; to Derleth, to Analog, then to Worlds of If, Galaxy, and other magazines, before Ballantine bought the first novel.

How would you quickly summarise your Commonwealth series for someone who hasn't read any of the books yet?

When we finally get Out There, we find out that the galaxy and its other inhabitants are just as beautiful, fascinating, and dangerous as we expected them to be, except that nothing is ever quite as it seems. Or if Gilbert and Sullivan were writing space opera, topsy-turvey.

If your Flinx series of novels were going to be made into a film, who would be your dream producers/actors for the movie?

Spielberg or Ridley Scott to direct, ILM and Lightstorm for the effects, an unknown youth to play the young Flinx. Someone like Johnny Depp. Jodie Foster in any role.

Do you ever attend SF-cons, and what has your experience with them been?

I used to attend a fair number. Over the last twenty years, because of my world travels and my wife's deteriorated health, I've cut way down. 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. My experiences have been generally, though not always, good. There are a few bad apples in any field, business, endeavor, etc.

Would you ever consider writing in a different genre, or are you content with SF/F?

PRIMAL SHADOWS, just out in paperback, is a novel set in contemporary Papua New Guinea. I've also written mysteries, horror, western (the novelization of Eastwood's PALE RIDER), poetry, film reviews, nonfiction articles on science, scuba diving, and travel. I co-produced, directed, and wrote a video game that sadly was never finished and released (company ran out of financing). I'm currently writing scenes for the U.S. Army for a game called SOLDIERS. Like Olivier said, it's the work that's important.

What are your hobbies?

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.

What advice would you give to budding SF writers?

Read as much within the field as you can, including early work dating back to the '30's (your brilliant new idea may not be). Remember that a good story is at the heart of nearly every successful sale. Be true to your own vision, whatever that may be, and don't try to write to the trend of the moment.

Do you think your extensive world travelling has made you a better author?

Unquestionably. It's much easier to describe an alien rainforest when you've spent time in one of ours. Much easier to invent an alien culture when you've spent time among others than your own.

We had a nerdy argument here at the 'Nest the other day about whether the producer, Howie Horwitz (Batman etc), was a relative of yours. Can you settle that one for us?

Howie Horwitz was my Uncle...married to my father's sister. His three daughters are my first cousins. Howie loved SF and in the 1950's collaborated on a proposed time-travel series for TV to be called THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY...with none other than Robert Heinlein. One of my first serious efforts at writing was a two-part Batman episode, that he politely declined. I wrote it solely for the purpose of being able to have Robin say the line, "Holy holy cow, Batman!" (it involved Hindus and cattle).

Are you from the 'writing tightly against a full outline school' or the 'make it up as you go along' school?

I used to be of the outline school, but after thirty years I find it's no longer necessary. However, I don't entirely make it up as I go along. I start out with a couple of pages and expand the "outline" as I progress.

How much do you base your characters against people you actually know?

Some are invented entirely of whole cloth. A considerable number are composites: combinations of bits and and pieces of many people I have met melded with characteristics I would like to encounter...or avoid. In one book, CACHALOT, just for my own amusement, every character is based directly on someone I have known.

When it comes to your drafts, how much do you tend to re-write?

I do one thorough rewrite Small but often significant changes are then made in the galleys. 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 (and write) something new.

Of the work you've penned, what's your favourite novel to date been?

Always a tough question to answer. Among the novels, I have a particular fondness for MIDWORLD, PRIMAL SHADOWS, CYBERWAY, INTO THE OUT OF, THE MAN WHO USED THE UNIVERSE, and the first SPELLSINGER.

What was it like to study karate with Chuck Norris? Did you ever totally kick his arse?

Actually, Chuck used to rotate between his several studios in the Los Angeles area. I did spent a lot of time learning under his brother Aaron. The thing that impressed me about Chuck, besides how low-key a personality he was, was that while he was actually quite modest in size and not at all particularly muscular, he was the solidest human being I've ever come into physical contact with.

Fighting him must have been sort of like trying to fight a cast-iron stove. A very fast cast-iron stove. As to "kicking his arse" (interviewer tongue-in-cheek noted), I think I'd have better luck against a shark.

What do you think makes for a realistic villain in a novel?

Motivation beyond the need to wreak havoc and do evil. Ming the Merciless, for example, would have been more than a cardboard cutout if we'd been given to understand exactly why he was always so pissed off against Flash. It's why I have trouble with Sauron...it's not enough to just be pure evil.

You have to have a motivation. That's why Jaffar in the 1939 Thief of Bagdad is such a great villain. He's desperately in love with the princess, but she'll only love another. Also ambiguity. Is Charles Foster Kane of CITIZEN KANE a tragic hero or a tragic villain? Or does he shift between the conditions?

Spellsinger was an obvious thrust into fantasy for you. How did you found the rules of the writing game differ with fantasy vs SF.

You have far more freedom. While the internal rules must still be consistent, you have much more flexibility. And of course, no scientific background is required.

Of all your books, what's been your best-selling work to date?

Discounting the film tie-ins like STAR WARS, ALIEN, and the like, I'd have to say...I really don't know. Honestly. I just write 'em. I can tell you that THE TAR-AIYM KRANG and some others have gone through more than twenty printings. But without knowing the print runs, that means nothing.

What kinds of manuscript changes have been made to your published works?

Usually very few. The one big change I did have to make was in CACHALOT, where Judy-Lynn del Rey insisted I take about ten thousand words out of the middle. She felt they slowed the story down. I disagreed, but complied. Perhaps in a future printing they can be restored.

SPELLSINGER and THE HOUR OF THE GATE were originally written as one big book, SPELLSINGER AT THE GATE. It was too big for Warner, though, so I had to cobble together an ending for the first half and an opening for the second volume. Phantasia Press issued the only one-volume edition as originally written.

Of the feedback people have sent back to you about your novels, what's your favourite been to date?

Besides the mistakes that are pointed out, I love the way readers become involved with the characters. Flinx, for example, seems to have hundreds of people looking over his shoulder as well as mine. 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.

What amount of research do you do for your books? Does the science part of the fiction come easy to you?

The science never comes easy for me. How much research I have to do depends on the nature of the story. For DROWNING WORLD (upcoming) or SENTENCED TO PRISM, considerable research is required. For fantasy, none at all.

You've written a number of SF movie & TV tie-in novels - everything from Trek to Aliens and Star Wars. Do you enjoy writing them, as much as the original universes you get to create that remain TM of ol' Alan Dean Foster?

I much prefer writing my own original stories, as would any author. I do enjoy some of the tie-ins...it all depends on how good the source material is.

How long does it take you to write a novel?

3-5 months, generally, depending on whether I'm overseas in the interim or not. I did once do an original tie-in novel in two weeks.

As an LA-raised chappie (we believe), what do you like about living in Arizona?

Peace and quiet, the wildlife around my home (coyotes, chipmunks, roadrunners, hawks and owls, interesting birds), less traffic, less crime, the opportunity to own some land.

How much of your working day do you devote to SF/F fiction these days?

Of the working day? Except for email, nearly all of it.

What are you working on at the moment?

STAR BRAKE, the Flinx and Pip novel that follows REUNION. The army video project SOLDIERS, that I mentioned earlier. Some short work. My monthly media review column THE WHITE HOLE for SF Chronicle. An occasional travel article.

As an old hand at the SF/F 'game', what changes have you noticed along the way, and do you think SF is in a better or worse state today than when you started writing?

In twenty words or less? The overwhelming triumph of the international multimedia conglomerate has resulted in less diversity within the field and has made it much harder for newer writers not only to break in, but to make any kind of a living while doing so. Most notable has been the explosion in film, tv, and video-game tie-ins.

What publishers want now, as do film producers, is to create a franchise, be it under a universe (the Dune spin-offs, for example), a name (Asimov, Clarke, etc.), or through a media connection (Star Wars, Star Trek,). There's certainly more new SF available than when I started writing. That means there's also more bad SF available. Whether there is also more good is a matter for future historians of the field.