Orson Scott Card Giddiness

A note to my readers: I actually wrote this post earlier, but was unable to post it right away because of an internet crash. I'm a little embarassed it took me this long to rediscover it. Enjoy it anyway, just be aware that it's older than today's date. :-)


I met Orson Scott Card.

No really, I did.

I’m still a little in shock.

He was at my school for a forum (“Heroism as a Career Choice”) and the Pre-professional Conference we had here on November 17th. I got to hear him speak three times. Once for a panel entitled “How to Get Published” (very enlightening, by the way), once for the above-mentioned forum, and once for a Q & A session afterwards.

And look! He signed my book: (my first personalized signature ever!)


So here’s my impressions about that day.
1. He is extremely well-grounded.
2. He is very funny.
3. He knows what he’s talking about. I got a lot of good tips about the publishing industry, and I’m not doing the writing side of it at all. But he still had great advice for us aspiring editiors. So yeah, he knows what he’s talking about. After all he’s probably one of the most successful writers, at least in his own lifetime.

Funny story (in a sad sort of way): I asked my roommate if she wanted to come with me to the Orson Scott Card forum. Her reply? “Who?” So I said “You know, they guy who wrote Ender’s Game” Blank look. So I added “One of the most successful writers of all time?” Nothing. So I left. She honestly had never even heard of him. GAG ME! (And she calls herself a book lover…)

One other bit of news: if you’re waiting on the Ender’s Game movie, you’re going to be waiting a while. But good luck on that front!

To conclude, these are a few quotes I wrote down during the forum session. This was stuff from his new book, but I learned really quickly that he goes off on tangents occasionally. :-) Some of them are funny, some of them are profound. Some are just random. But I enjoyed them, so take it for what it’s worth. (These were scribbled down from notes. I hope I got them verbatim, but please don’t quote me because there is no guarantees here):

On the idea of the dominant male: “With gorillas only the strongest males get to reproduce. In the human species, it’s the wimps that get to date.”

“The more you trust others to help you, the more you will reach out and help others.”

On being at college: “You are here to be trained to make money… well, maybe not the English majors. But not me. Oh no, I had a real career path, I was studying theater!”

“There is no career that is a substitute for family.” *I love this one*

“I don’t know of any other art that takes more interaction from the audience than fiction.”