Walter Jon Williams
Nebula Award Nominee

Moderator: Walter, George just threatened to beat up and steal the award from the winner if he doesn't win...

Moderator: (just thought we'd warn you)

WalterJon: Umm, I'm sure he's welcome to try.

Moderator: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your work?

WalterJon: Of course, George could hit me with his MANUSCRIPT.

Moderator: (please send messages for Walter Jon Williams to me, /msg Moderator)

Moderator: (java users can just click on "Moderator")

WalterJon: Like George, I live in New Mexico, and have been here for thirty years. I've published 19 novels, most of them science fiction. My last two novels, METROPOLITAN and CITY ON FIRE, have both been nominated for Nebulas.

WalterJon: .

Moderator: 

Moderator: <Scrub> to <Moderator>: I was looking over the "Velter Jon Villiems Veb Pege" and saw the bit about the confrontation with Wired magazine...any resolution of that yet?

WalterJon: (Hi, George. Hi, Parris. Hi, Vonda.)

Moderator: <Scrub> to <Moderator>: Oh, page is at http://www.thuntek.net/~walter/index.htm in case anyone else wants to see it now.

WalterJon: Are you-all reading this? Give me a sign.

WalterJon: .

Moderator: The chat is moderated, Walter, so questions are being filtered via the Moderator.

Moderator: (me)

Moderator: <Scrub> to <Moderator>: I was looking over the "Velter Jon Villiems Veb Pege" and saw the bit about the confrontation with Wired magazine...any resolution of that yet?

WalterJon: I have a feeling I'm stuck here in limbo. Can anyone read this?

WalterJon: .

WalterJon: .

Moderator: Walter, are you reading us?

Vonda: Heya, looks like we lost WJ.

Vonda: There he is!

Moderator: We are experiencing some technical difficulties.

WalterJon: Can anyone read this?

Moderator: Walter, we can read everything with no problem. Can you read our messages?

WalterJon: I can read your stuff okay.

WalterJon: .

Moderator: Great! Ok, we'll go ahead and resend the first question and we'll pick it up from there.

WalterJon: Okey dokey

Moderator: <Scrub> to <Moderator>: I was looking over the "Velter Jon Villiems Veb Pege" and saw the bit about the confrontation with Wired magazine...any resolution of that yet?

WalterJon: To recapitulate, Wired magazine and I are involved in a complex trademark battle over the word "Hardwired," which they wish to control . . .

WalterJon: There's really nothing new on the case. Legal matters take time . . .

WalterJon: One encouraging news is that the Science Fiction Writers of America have entered the battle on my side.

WalterJon: .

WalterJon: "piece of news," that should be.

WalterJon: .

Moderator: <SFWeekly> to <Moderator>: Walter, can you tell us a bit about the two books?

WalterJon: The two books arose from a colossal piece of arrogance on my part . . .

WalterJon: Which was that I decided that fantasy was broken, and that I knew how to fix it . . .

WalterJon: What I wanted to do was reinvent the whole genre, from the bottom up. So what I did was try to remove fantasy from its twinkly faux-medieval William Morris roots, and put it in a completely different setting . . .

WalterJon: Retain the magic, but change the scenery . . .

WalterJon: So I set the books in a city scaled to the size of a planet, held together by a magical system based on the urban environment . . .

WalterJon: Instead of elves and dwarfs inhabiting dark forests, I've got denizens more appropriate to a world full of power conduits, subways, and computers.

WalterJon: .

Moderator: <pointman> to <Moderator>: How old were you when you wrote you first piece of work?

WalterJon: I've been writing as long as I could remember. I was writing before I could WRITE. When I was very small I would dictate stories to my parents, who would write them down.

WalterJon: .

Moderator: (To send a question to Walter Jon Williams, send it in a private message to me, the moderator)

Moderator: <SFWeekly> to <Moderator>: Walter, of the two books (METROPOLITAN and CITY) which would want to win the Nebula (if only one could)

WalterJon: Since METROPOLITAN LOST the Nebula last year, I guess I'd have to say that I'd prefer CITY to win.

WalterJon: .

Moderator: <Augenblick> to <Moderator>: Any plans to follow Aristoi?

WalterJon: I have ideas for a sequel to ARISTOI, but it hasn't cohered yet. And there are more practical difficulties in the way of a sequel, because I've changed publishers, and my current publisher probably wouldn't want to publish the sequel to another publisher's book. . .

WalterJon: These annoying business decisions can really mess with your muse.

WalterJon: .

Moderator: <Minerva> to <Moderator>: What are your next projects?

WalterJon: I will eventually write a third book in the METROPOLITAN sequence, but not yet. The first two were, quite simply, hard to write: I had to invent everything from the ground up . . .

WalterJon: So in the meantime, I'm working on a huge mega-disaster book called THE RIFT. I get to knock the mid-USA back into the Stone Age. . .

WalterJon: HarperCollins is very excited about it. Stomping large sections of the planet is something everyone understands.

WalterJon: .

Moderator: <EdTeach> to <Moderator>: Which of the two (in the Metropolitan series) was more difficult to write?

WalterJon: CITY ON FIRE was tougher, because it was more complex. (and longer) . . .

WalterJon: I started out just writing one book, but when I finished the first, I realized the story wasn't over yet. I had the same appalling feeling at the end of CITY. So although I've decided to Commit Trilogy, it wasn't anything I set out to do at the start.

WalterJon: .

Moderator: <SFWeekly> to <Moderator>: Any plans to take out New Mexico in THE RIFT? Gotta destroy the town you live ini, right?

WalterJon: I already destroyed Albuquerque in HARDWIRED, though it happened before the book opened. But since I now live in an extremely rural part of the state, I don't think anyone would NOTICE if I destroyed the place.

WalterJon: .

Moderator: <Vash> to <Moderator>: What other authors do you read? Do you still enjoy the same ones you read growing up?

WalterJon: I still like a lot of the books I read when I was a kid. I like Heinlein, I like Tolkien, I like Eddison . . .

WalterJon: Except now that I'm writing myself, I'm better at analyzing the old classics and understanding how the magic works . . .

WalterJon: Unfortunately I'm much more analytical when it comes to more contemporary works. It's very hard to read a piece of fiction without mentally copy-editing it. There are very few writers who can take me out of copy-edit mode . . .

WalterJon: Patricia Anthony and Tim Powers come to mind.

WalterJon: .

Moderator: <Aenea> to <Moderator>: has Harlan Ellison been of any influence to your writing?

Moderator: (We only have five more minutes with Walter Jon Williams, so please send in your questions. Vonda McIntyre will be chatting with us next.)

WalterJon: I've read a lot of Harlan, but he's sui generis. The things that work for him aren't things that would work for other people. (Like Phil Dick, say.) I wish I could as consistently conjure up that feeling of energy I see in Harlan.

WalterJon: .

Moderator: <SheDragon> to <Moderator>: What would you suggest to a new writer looking to be published. Is an agent important really?

WalterJon: Agents aren't as important in SF as in other areas. But I'd say that they eventually will earn their pay . . .

WalterJon: When I was starting out, it was a truism that if you sold a book on your own, you could then find an agent who would represent it (and get you a better deal) . . .

WalterJon: Unfortunately that isn't true. I've known a couple beginning writers who have sold books and discovered that they STILL couldn't get an agent.

WalterJon: .

Moderator: Thanks for joining us online tonight. Good luck this weekend!

Moderator: Any final thoughts for the room?

WalterJon: Thanks! Thanks, everyone.

Vonda: Good Luck, Walter Jon!

WalterJon: Same to you, Vonda.

Vonda: Thanks.

Vonda: 6-way tie?

WalterJon: I'm looking forward to seeing Vonda and at least SOME of you this weekend, at the Nebula awards.

WalterJon: Let's just keep it between you and me, Vonda.