live inside the book

I like Tanith Lee. She knows that things can be beautiful because of their mystery, and does not patronize her readers with all the answers. She skates along the edge of mystery and darkness; sometimes her work falls over the line and I can't quite follow. But when she hits that balance of mystery and beauty and humanity (Silver Metal Lover, When the Lights Go Out, The Claidi Collection) she gets it.

I think this quote is beautiful. It makes me want to spend more time writing--and not just the grinding-away-for-money kind of writing.

"When I write, I go to live inside the book. By which I mean, mentally I can experience everything I'm writing about. I can see it, hear its sounds, fee its heat or rain. The characters become better known to me than the closest family or friends. This makes the writing-down part very simple most of the time. I only need to describe what's already there in front of me. That said, it won't be a surprise if I add that the imagined worlds quickly become entangled with the so-called reality of this one.

Since I write almost every day, and I think (and dream) constantly about my work, it occurs to me I must spend more time in all those other places than here."

-Tanith Lee