Writing can be taken up at any point. But you need to remember that the arts are fundamentally unfair. Hard work and diligence won't necessarily take you all the way. Talent, nepotism, influence, and pure luck play a huge part.
David BrinRead
There's no doubt that scientific training helps many authors to write better science fiction. And yet, several of the very best were English majors who could not parse a differential equation to save their lives.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Scientific training can enhance writing skills, but creativity is crucial regardless of one's academic background.
David Brin's quote reflects on the relationship between scientific knowledge and writing, particularly in the genre of science fiction. He suggests that while a background in science may improve an author's ability to craft believable narratives, a strong literary foundation and creativity are equally important for producing exceptional work. This highlights the value of diverse skills and perspectives in the creative process.
Themes
ScienceFictionWritingCreativityTraining
In practice
Example use cases
During a writing workshop, an instructor might use this quote to explain the importance of both science and creativity in writing.
More from David Brin
All quotes →Competition, by itself, always leads to cheating by the powerful, who try to establish pyramids of power, like feudalism. Yet, competition is the great creative force! So how do we save it from its own contradictions? By cooperation! By cooperating with each other, via politics, to make rules and prevent cheating, so that competition can thrive!
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Change is the principal feature of our age and literature should explore how people deal with it. The best science fiction does that, head-on.
David BrinRead
It's how creativity works. Especially in humans. For every good idea, ten thousand idiotic ones must first be posed, sifted, tried out, and discarded. A mind that's afraid to toy with the ridiculous will never come up with the brilliantly original.
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When it comes to privacy and accountability, people always demand the former for themselves and the latter for everyone else.
David BrinRead
Human beings are inherently misled into subjective fantasies, but there's a saving grace. We all have different delusions. Other people don't necessarily share yours, and hence they will help you penetrate yours through the miracle of criticism!
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