--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I worked out a book which I thought was…" description: "\"I worked out a book which I thought was just straight science fiction -- with everything pretty much explained, and suddenly I got an idea which I thou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e3/roger-zelazny-1604_angle_i-worked-out-a-book-which-i-thought-was_2750660.png" --- # I worked out a book which I thought was just straight… ![“I worked out a book which I thought was just straight science fiction -- with everything pretty much explained, and suddenly I got an idea which I thought was kind of neat for working in a mythological angle. I'm really struggling with myself. It would probably be a better book if I include it…” quote by Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e3/roger-zelazny-1604_angle_i-worked-out-a-book-which-i-thought-was_2750660.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e3/roger-zelazny-1604_angle_i-worked-out-a-book-which-i-thought-was_2750660.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e3/roger-zelazny-1604_angle_i-worked-out-a-book-which-i-thought-was_2750660.png) > “I worked out a book which I thought was just straight science fiction -- with everything pretty much explained, and suddenly I got an idea which I thought was kind of neat for working in a mythological angle. I'm really struggling with myself. It would probably be a better book if I include it, but on the other hand I don't always like to keep reverting to it. I think what I'm going to do is vary my output, do some straight science fiction and some straight fantasy that doesn't involve mythology, and composites.” [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author struggles between sci‑fi and myth, debating whether to blend them. **In simple terms:** Balancing genres is challenging. Key Takeaway Decide on a clear creative direction. Themes creativity genre conflict Mood uncertain thoughtful Type creative strategic When to use this quote - novel writing - world‑building - publishing Key Concepts narrative design authorial voice Questions to Reflect On - What genre serves your story best? - How can you integrate myth without losing sci‑fi? A Different Perspective Blending may dilute focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Mythology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mythology/) [Reverting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reverting/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“Take away memory—the sense of who we are—and human beings revert to animal behavior," Ryter says. "And animals are easier to exterminate than humans.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodman-philbrick/take-away-memory-the-sense-of-who-we-are-and-human-beings-revert-to/) [Rodman Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodman-philbrick/) > [The mythos-over-logos argument points to the fact that each child is born as ignorant as any caveman. What keeps the world from reverting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-mythos-over-logos-argument-points-to-the-fact-that-each-child-is/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [An ongoing challenge for Australia is ensuring equity of access to technology. Since the decline in federal funding, many schools are reverting to bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-mann/an-ongoing-challenge-for-australia-is-ensuring-equity-of-access-to/) [Susan Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-mann/) > [The evil which assails us is not in the localities we inhabit but in ourselves. We lack strength to endure the least task, being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/the-evil-which-assails-us-is-not-in-the-localities-we-inhabit-but-in/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [When you completely extract yourself from anything familiar, you start reverting back to that state of mind where you're having conversations with yourself, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-palomo/when-you-completely-extract-yourself-from-anything-familiar-you-start/) [Alan Palomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-palomo/) > [It's funny; as I get older I'm reverting to my roots - I want to plant stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-mccarthy/it-s-funny-as-i-get-older-i-m-reverting-to-my-roots-i-want-to-plant/) [Melissa McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-mccarthy/) > [Since the police department is becoming more and more militarized we're stuck in a position where we're reverting to that sort of behaviour that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immortal-technique/since-the-police-department-is-becoming-more-and-more-militarized-we/) [Immortal Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immortal-technique/) > [Profit margins are probably the most mean-reverting series in finance, and if profit margins do not mean-revert, then something has gone badly wrong with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-grantham/profit-margins-are-probably-the-most-mean-reverting-series-in-finance/) [Jeremy Grantham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-grantham/) > [“Her reverting to this tone, as if our association were forced upon us and we were mere puppets, gave me pain; but everything in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/her-reverting-to-this-tone-as-if-our-association-were-forced-upon-us/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I keep reverting (to Duke Ellington), he to me is the greatest ever and my favorite jazz philosopher, as such.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cannonball-adderley/i-keep-reverting-to-duke-ellington-he-to-me-is-the-greatest-ever-and/) [Cannonball Adderley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cannonball-adderley/) > [I don't know how you bridge that contradiction, but I felt that Barack Obama was sincere. It didn't feel like a line to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/i-don-t-know-how-you-bridge-that-contradiction-but-i-felt-that-barack/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“What keeps the world from reverting to the Neanderthal with each generation is the continuing, ongoing mythos... the huge body of common knowledge that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/what-keeps-the-world-from-reverting-to-the-neanderthal-with-each/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Wellness that is being allowed - or the wellness that is being denied - is all about the mindset, the mood, the attitude, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/wellness-that-is-being-allowed-or-the-wellness-that-is-being-denied/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [ It took the love of a good man \[to heal\]. When I was reverting back into my, let's say, perversions, he would say: 'Let's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/it-took-the-love-of-a-good-man-to-heal-when-i-was-reverting-back-into/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [“of having nothing to do. Once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-kretschmer/of-having-nothing-to-do-once-or-twice-she-had-peeped-into-the-book/) Dan Kretschmer ## More by Roger Zelazny > [“I was willing to die fighting, but it was senseless for all these men to go down with me. Perhaps my blood was tainted,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/i-was-willing-to-die-fighting-but-it-was-senseless-for-all-these-men/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [I know, too, that death is the only god who comes when you call.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/i-know-too-that-death-is-the-only-god-who-comes-when-you-call/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [There's no such thing as civilization. The word just means the art of living in cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/there-s-no-such-thing-as-civilization-the-word-just-means-the-art-of/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [“Time, too, is a function of Shadow, and even Dworkin did not know all of its ins and outs. Or perhaps he did. Maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/time-too-is-a-function-of-shadow-and-even-dworkin-did-not-know-all-of/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [I've always been impulsive. My thinking is usually pretty good, but I always seem to do it after I do my talking — by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/i-ve-always-been-impulsive-my-thinking-is-usually-pretty-good-but-i/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [“And again, damn. Of troubles I considered myself amply possessed. But those who have do seem to get. Some spiritual form of compound interest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/and-again-damn-of-troubles-i-considered-myself-amply-possessed-but/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [“Far below, the ocean was a bluegray rug being pulled out from beneath us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/far-below-the-ocean-was-a-bluegray-rug-being-pulled-out-from-beneath/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [A powerful flight of the imagination . . . an entirely enjoyable reading experience, wrought by a pair of writers noted for excellence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/a-powerful-flight-of-the-imagination-an-entirely-enjoyable-reading/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [The function of criticism should not be confused with the function of reform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/the-function-of-criticism-should-not-be-confused-with-the-function-of/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [I always wanted to write, ever since I was a kid. I started writing at the age of 11. All I wanted to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/i-always-wanted-to-write-ever-since-i-was-a-kid-i-started-writing-at/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [While I had often said that I wanted to die in bed, what I really meant was that in my old age I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/while-i-had-often-said-that-i-wanted-to-die-in-bed-what-i-really/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [“That was the first time in my life that I knew the meaning of despair. I read, I worked, I drank, I whored, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/that-was-the-first-time-in-my-life-that-i-knew-the-meaning-of-despair/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [“I watched until the sizzlecloud drew its legs up into itself, hung like a burning cocoon, then died like an ember retreating into ash.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/i-watched-until-the-sizzlecloud-drew-its-legs-up-into-itself-hung/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [To waste! You are unknown and unwanted, save by me. This, because you are fairly adept at the various embalming arts and you occasionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/to-waste-you-are-unknown-and-unwanted-save-by-me-this-because-you-are/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [I watched the spinning stars, grateful, sad and proud, as only a man who has outlived his destiny and realizes he might yet forge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/i-watched-the-spinning-stars-grateful-sad-and-proud-as-only-a-man-who/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) [Explore all 220 Roger Zelazny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) ## More Angle quotes > [Well, you can certainly teach free-throwing. And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/) [Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/) > [I like small things, I like small moments that are almost elliptical, that are not necessarily linear; they're natural things that happen in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-carter/i-like-small-things-i-like-small-moments-that-are-almost-elliptical/) [Keith Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-carter/) > [Los Angles to me seems to be a little bit more forgiving. They're just as rowdy and they're just as excited but they understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-cole/los-angles-to-me-seems-to-be-a-little-bit-more-forgiving-they-re-just/) [Adam Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-cole/) > [Our mind is a flowing something. It oscillates. Concentration is merely the continuous return to the same problem from a million angles… So my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-laubach/our-mind-is-a-flowing-something-it-oscillates-concentration-is-merely/) [Frank Laubach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-laubach/) > [There's only a very small representation of girls among you. Too little. Women have much to tell us in today’s society. Sometimes we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/there-s-only-a-very-small-representation-of-girls-among-you-too/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [The genius is a genius by the first look he casts on any object. Is his eye creative? Does he not rest in angles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-genius-is-a-genius-by-the-first-look-he-casts-on-any-object-is/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Once I'd worked out that I couldn't possibly expect people to enjoy a monstrous, 3000-page book, I realised I could in fact create a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/once-i-d-worked-out-that-i-couldn-t-possibly-expect-people-to-enjoy-a/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Writing is a intensely personal activity. I can pen down my best thoughts when I'm alone. But when one is elevated into the stature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/writing-is-a-intensely-personal-activity-i-can-pen-down-my-best/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [I have known a very good, fisher angle diligently four or six hours for a river carp, and not have a bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/i-have-known-a-very-good-fisher-angle-diligently-four-or-six-hours/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [“Distribution of weight is preferable to balancing everything on the head of a pin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psixaristw/distribution-of-weight-is-preferable-to-balancing-everything-on-the/) Psixaristw > [He was not as soft as when I'd first met him, not as young, but the angles of his face, his quick gestures, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/he-was-not-as-soft-as-when-i-d-first-met-him-not-as-young-but-the/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [If somebody is really trying to take your head off with a baseball bat - I don't know how long you're supposed to stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-somebody-is-really-trying-to-take-your-head-off-with-a-baseball/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sometimes I sit and look at life from a different angle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/sometimes-i-sit-and-look-at-life-from-a-different-angle/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [Teaching, like any truly human activity, emerges from one's inwardness, for better or worse. As I teach I project the condition of my soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-j-palmer/teaching-like-any-truly-human-activity-emerges-from-one-s-inwardness/) [Parker J. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/) > [The divisions of science are not like different lines that meet in one angle, but rather like the branches of trees that join in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-divisions-of-science-are-not-like-different-lines-that-meet-in/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) Browse all 645 Angle quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I worked out a book which I thought was just straight science fiction -- with everything pretty much explained, and suddenly I got an idea which I thought was kind of neat for working in a mythological angle. I'm really struggling with myself. 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