I think a lot of writers are tempted to add complexity by over-complicating things, but always remember that most natural rules/laws are, at their core, simple. Start simple, and build from there, or you risk getting yourself and your readers tangled. Victoria Elizabeth Schwab
Young people like to think they're invincible. They don't like to face any situation where they've gotten weaker instead of stronger. Victoria Elizabeth Schwab
Fencing is a game of living chess, a match where reflexes only work in combination with intent, and mind and body must work together at every moment. Victoria Elizabeth Schwab
I love being new places and hate getting there, and have been known to say on multiple occasions that I would give anything from a piece of my soul to a limb to a portion of my life savings to teleport. Especially when bad weather keeps me off planes. Victoria Elizabeth Schwab
I'd grown up an athletic child, a competitive soccer player since age 4, with stints ranging from months to years in gymnastics, softball, volleyball. Victoria Elizabeth Schwab
It's always hard, when introducing readers to a new world/set of rules, not to lay it all out manual-style in the opening chapters but make sure to put the action and the characters at the front. If people don't become invested in them and in the story, the world in which it's set will become a burden. Victoria Elizabeth Schwab
So many people think that if you're writing fantasy, it means you can just make everything up as you go. Want to add a dragon? Add a dragon! Want some magic? Throw it in. But the thing is, regardless of whether you're dealing with realism or fantasy, every world has rules. Make sure to establish a natural order. Victoria Elizabeth Schwab
I almost always start with setting! I have to know the world before I know how to populate it. I have a tendency to play with doors – between life and death, human and monster, mundane and magic – and with 'ADSOM,' I knew I wanted to play with the physical doors between worlds. Victoria Elizabeth Schwab
I still get rejections – frequently – and my goal isn't to never fail, to never be turned down, but simply to succeed more often than I don't. And in order to do that, I have to constantly put myself out there, to judgment, critique, and rejection. Victoria Elizabeth Schwab
In 1995, Russia virtually gave Chechnya de facto statehood and independence even though, de jure, it didn't recognize Chechnya as an independent state. And I would like to emphasize strongly that Russia withdrew all of its troops, we moved the prosecutors, we moved all the police, dismantled all the courts, completely, 100 percent. Vladimir Putin
I was quite ready to accept certain restrictions on the United States. After all, there was a great dollar shortage. It was quite clear that the more prosperous Europe became, the more business there would be in the United States. W. Averell Harriman
To some degree, as I move outside of the exclusive genre audience, the exclusive genre issues don't bother me as much. Maybe that's just speculation. Nora K. Jemisin