Interview with Patrick Rothfuss

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- According to your Web site, Kvothe told his story to you over seven years. Were there any major changes from what the story you set out to tell to the story you actually told?

Who boy. Yeah. The original plot arc I had envisioned was nothing like what actually developed. Which is for the best, really. A lot of those original ideas... well... to be completely frank with you, they sucked.

I think one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a writer is to follow your initial plan too stringently. A story needs room to grow and evolve. So many of my original ideas were either cliche or boring. So I cut them out, kept the good stuff, and moved on.

- What writer, living or dead, would you feel most honored to have read your book?

Wow. Wow that's hard.

I've already been really lucky with the writers been able to have read it, especially considering the fact that I'm a total nobody.
Still, if I had to pick someone new to read it ....

[Long pause]

Peter S. Beagle, Neil Gaiman, or Joss Whedon. Do I have to pick between them?

It's like asking a kid which parent he likes better. It's not really a fair question. I love them all, just in different ways.

- Again, according to your website the second and third books are complete. Which of the three was most difficult, or did you approach the trilogy more as one story?

I wrote the whole thing as a single story. The hard part has been reshaping it slightly so that each novel is... well... novel shaped.

Each book needs a good beginning and a good ending. People get pissed off when you don't close things off properly at the end. There's a big difference in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie and the second one. The end of the first movie was complete, everything was pretty much resolved. Sure there were a few threads left dangling: Jack was at large and there was a devil monkey on the loose, but that's okay. People like knowing that the characters they love might come back for a sequel later.

But the ending of the second Pirates movie was mostly irritating. Cliffhangers are an acquired taste, and not many people find them satisfying these days.

That's what I'm trying to do. Stay true to my overall story, while still making sure the reader walks away satisfied after each book. It's tricky.

- Both music and acting are integral aspects of Kvothe's character, and his story. Are you a big film buff and did/do you have a passion for music?

Whoo boy. Modern music and movies have so little to do with music and acting.

- What do you mean? How does modern music have little do with music, outside of boy bands where no members actually play an instrument?

85% of modern music doesn't have a damn thing to do with music. It has to do with looking good. Name me one woman on the top ten right now who isn't absolutely smoking hot. You think that's a coincidence?

Now don't get me wrong. There are a few folks up there who are brilliant. Pink writes awesome stuff, but if she wasn't hot, you bet your ass she wouldn't be on MTV. For every Tracy Chapman out there you've got fifty spice girls.

And forget instruments. Did you know they have machines that take your voice and modulate it sounds like you're in key? It's called a pitchshifter. So now you don't even have to be able to carry a tune. If you have perky tits and can dance, congratulations, you're a music superstar.

Now don't get me wrong, I know that performance and music are inexorably tied together. And hell, I'll watch Brittany's Toxic music video all day. But there's a difference between that and listening to Leo Kottke play guitar. One is entertainment. The other is Music.

- Fair enough. What do you like, artistically? What are some of the albums and films/plays you find yourself being drawn to?

Hmmmm.... My favorite play I've already mentioned: Cyrano De Bergerac. The close second place is Midsummer Night's Dream.

Movies: Fight Club. The Crow. Princess Bride. Labyrinth. American Beauty.

Musically I'm all over the place. I love Paul Simon, Barenaked Ladies, Parliament Funkadelic. And lately, Imogen Heap.

Let's move on before this starts looking like a myspace profile....

- Not only do you have the full support of DAW Books, but the entire Penguin Books family is behind you. As a new author, you must be thrilled to have them backing the novel in such a manner. And yet, with a first printing of about 45,000 copies, you are aware that The Name of the Wind is expected to do very well indeed. Given the fact that sales are something on which you have no control, is a part of you anxious about the expectations that the book must meet?

Well now I am.... [laughs]

Honestly though. I'm not worried. Why fret about something that I have no control over? What a waste of energy that would be.

Also, I've spent years refining this story into the best book it can be. I've had hundreds of people read it and help me improve it. I trust the book. There's no more for me to do at this point. People will either love it, or not. My worrying won't tip the scales.

- Given the choice, would you take a New York Times bestseller, or a World Fantasy Award? Why, exactly?

Can I pick the Pulitzer instead?

- No. But seriously, would you rather have commercial success or recognition from your peers?

My peers? I think you have a strange perception of who my peers are. I've been a reader and a fantasy geek my whole life. My peers are fellow fantasy readers.

If those folks read my book, and enjoy it enough to talk to their friends about it, I'll have all the commercial success and recognition I want.

- I know that you turned down an offer from another publisher for more money and elected to go with DAW Books instead. What prompted you make that decision?

There were a lot of reasons.

First, Betsy was really excited about the book. Really really excited. She called my agent and begged to talk to me. When we were on the phone she said, "I loved your book from the first page. This is the best heroic fantasy I've read in 30 years." Her enthusiasm was palpable.

Second, I knew if I signed on with DAW, my editor was going to be the owner and president of the company. I wouldn't have to worry her getting a job at different publisher halfway through my second book. I also didn't have to worry about my editor's boss not getting behind the project. At DAW, my editor *is* the boss.

Lastly, DAW has a reputation of really sticking by its authors. Everyone I talked to said that. They don't abandon you. They keep you in print. One author I trusted said to me, "If this trilogy is all you've got, take the money and run. But if you want to start a career, go with DAW. They'll help you make that happen."

- Honestly, do you believe that the fantasy genre will ever come to be recognized as veritable literature? Truth be told, in my opinion there has never been this many good books/series as we have right now, and yet there is still very little respect (not to say none) associated with the genre.

The lion's share of old-school literature IS fantasy, they just pretend it isn't. The Odyssey is full of gods and spells. Oedipus Rex has a sphinx and a prophecy. There are witches in Macbeth, faeries in Midsummer Night's Dream, and a ghost in Hamlet. Dante's Inferno? Beowulf? All looks like fantasy to me....

I think a lot of people read and respect fantasy storytelling. A lot of the more forward-thinking colleges offer classes studying it, though they usually call it speculative fiction or magical realism to make themselves feel better. We all know the truth though: it's fantasy.

As far as having my book recognized as literature? [Pat shrugs] Why would I want that? I mean, have you read Great Expectations? Gech. Why would I want to invited into their little club? Give me Tim Powers and Phillip K Dick. Give me Le Guin, Gaiman, and Pratchett. Give me McKillip and Whedon. These are the storytellers. These are our modern mythmakers. Our oracles. Our dreamers. I want to be on that team.