Writing about what you know is a wonderful line for teachers. Everybody who's taught 11th grade - and I did - uses it to avoid reading a lot of bad science fiction. There's always these ardent science-fiction writers in the 11th grade who write about the planet Dwingor-what you end up getting is a lot of other people's experiences. Start at home. Start at the kitchen table. Start with the mother and son washing the dishes. You start with what you know, and if you stay close-this is one of the great paradoxes of writing fiction-if you stay close and vivid and particular, then you'll be able to write your way into the other room. But if you start with the planet Dwingor, with, you know, translucent gases, you're gonna have trouble getting back.


Ron Carlson - New Times, June 19-25, 1997. p.66