For all of you cephalopodites out there, here is a special treat.

Was the first thing I thought.

Via William Gibson’s blog, a quote about a quote about obsessive worldbuilding:

M John Harrison, absolutely brilliantly, as quoted by Warren Ellis :

“Every moment of a science fiction story must represent the triumph of writing over worldbuilding.

Worldbuilding is dull. Worldbuilding literalises the urge to invent. Worldbuilding gives an unnecessary permission for acts of writing (indeed, for acts of reading). Worldbuilding numbs the reader’s ability to fulfil their part of the bargain, because it believes that it has to do everything around here if anything is going to get done.

Above all, worldbuilding is not technically necessary. It is the great clomping foot of nerdism. It is the attempt to exhaustively survey a place that isn’t there. A good writer would never try to do that, even with a place that is there. It isn’t possible, & if it was the results wouldn’t be readable: they would constitute not a book but the biggest library ever built, a hallowed place of dedication & lifelong study. This gives us a clue to the psychological type of the worldbuilder & the worldbuilder’s victim, & makes us very afraid.”

Every time I go to The Fossil, I wind up snagging the “craziest person of the day” spot. Go figure.

Sometimes I hear things that make me smile. Heard in line at Tim’s: “Could you describe the ruckus?”