The L-Space Web: Interviews

WFC IRC Chat
Transcript of IRC interview with Terry Pratchett at the World Fantasy Convention by James Webley.


The chat was run by The Dominion and The Sci-Fi Channel.
You can visit their website at http://www.scifi.com/worldcon/

[17:01] *** Joins: TerryPratchett (MichaelMoorcock@1Cust26.tnt6.hou3.da.uu.net)
[17:01] <mikebo> hello, mr. pratchett
[17:02] <Gurney> LOL
[17:02] <TwoFlower> Hello!
[17:02] <Gurney> "Michael Moorcock"?!
[17:02] <TerryPratchett> Hi, guys. Go easy on me...:-)
[17:02] <shred> he's using the same laptop as Moorcock did yesterday, Gurney.
[17:02] <Gurney> I see.
[17:02] <shred> but he's really Terry Pratchett, I swear.
[17:02] <mikebo> how was you weekend, mr. pratchett?
[17:02] <Gurney> OK, NP. It just caught me off-guard. :-)
[17:03] <Gurney> ("Michael Moorcock is masquerading as Terry Pratchett!")
[17:03] <Dryzkul> harhar :P
[17:03] <TerryPratchett> It's been a pretty good con. I've eaten more ribs than is good for me, I expect.
[17:03] <Dryzkul> my wife is chanting "More books!"
[17:03] <Gurney> hehehe
[17:03] <Gurney> Is the SFC going to moderate this or will it be a free- for-all?
[17:03] <mikebo> baby back or prime rib? :)
[17:04] <IceDragon> why's that Dryzkul ?
[17:04] <Dryzkul> uh, she wants... (dramatic pause)
[17:04] <Dryzkul> More books! :)
[17:04] <TwoFlower> Yeah, MORE BOOKS!
[17:04] * Orion agrees
[17:04] <TerryPratchett> Yeah, but right now I'm chanting 'more time'. The days of two books a year are coming to an end Too many tours, too many letters to answer...it all adds up.
[17:04] <Dryzkul> hehehehe
[17:04] <IceDragon> so get her MORe books!
[17:05] <palmin> PTerry, any chance of seeing you here in germany?
[17:05] <Dryzkul> I wish they'd release them sooner in the US :) the latest that is.
[17:05] <TerryPratchett> Right now there's three titles I want to write...I'm jujst looking for time.
[17:05] <shred> Terry, in case anyone here is unfamiliar with your work, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your writing?
[17:05] <mikebo> anything other than books in the works?
[17:05] <Severian> Do you know why your books are not longer published in Spain?
[17:06] <TerryPratchett> A Germany tour is planned for ...er...October, I think. Eight cities. I'm post them on alt.fan.prATCHETT soon.
[17:06] <IceDragon> who is the celaberty in here ?
[17:06] <palmin> great news!
[17:06] <Gurney> What made you want to write a book (indeed, a series) about Death?
[17:06] <Dryzkul> ack! that caps lock key is trying to get the letter a's spotlight again! watch out Pterry!
[17:06] <mikebo> check the topic IceDragon
[17:06] <TerryPratchett> Spain's a problem all round with fantasy. Some places are good, some are bad, who knows why?
[17:07] <IceDragon> y thank you for helping mike
[17:07] <mikebo> how's the turnout for the con?
[17:07] <TerryPratchett> Death's just a great chracter to write for. He's got good dialogue and always gets the girtl in the end.
[17:07] <Gurney> LOL
[17:07] <palmin> ;)
[17:07] <mikebo> hehe
[17:07] <Dryzkul> he always gets everyone in the end, cept Rincewind :P
[17:08] <Orion> In the end, he'll get Rincewind, I expect
[17:08] <TerryPratchett> I think there's about 4,000 people at the con.
[17:08] <mikebo> right, well then :)
[17:08] <RayHeuer> Are you worried that Death will "take over" the series?
[17:08] <Kwicker> hi
[17:08] <Razh> lo ppl
[17:08] <TerryPratchett> He's having difficulty with Rincewind. I'm finishing The Last Continent right now and Death hasn't managed to catch him yet.
[17:08] <Dryzkul> hehe
[17:09] <Gurney> Do you work out your plots before you begin writing, or do you just start writing and let it come?
[17:09] <mikebo> any colaborations in the works? Good Omens was great
[17:09] <TerryPratchett> Actually, I'm less worried about Death taking over than the City Watch. I like crime novels and nearly every plot I'm coming up with these days suits Commander Vimes and co.
[17:10] <RayHeuer> Well, you can always have Commander Vimes meet Death ;-)
[17:10] <Dryzkul> those guys are pretty unique... each of em..
[17:10] <IceDragon> and have a fight to the finish!
[17:10] <Orion> Maybe he can figure out who is holding Death for ransom
[17:10] <Dryzkul> Vimes met Death at a party! don't forget :)
[17:10] <TwoFlower> Orion: hehe, I like that
[17:11] <Dryzkul> I think, at least.
[17:11] <TwoFlower> Dryzkul: When was that?
[17:11] <Dryzkul> that's where the "I think" comes in :)
[17:11] <TerryPratchett> I tend to think up a sort of 50 word outline and a couple of keys scenes. Then I write draft 0 just to see if it's going to work. Often the final book bears no resemblance to the original idea. It's there as a seed, really.
[17:11] <IceDragon> or have them kill eachother that would be a pretty cool ending
[17:11] <Dryzkul> bah :)
[17:11] <Gurney> How big is draft 0?
[17:11] <IceDragon> umbug ?
[17:11] <TerryPratchett> I suppose Vimes could arrest Death for being an accessory to murder:-)
[17:12] <IceDragon> =)
[17:12] <Dryzkul> hehehe
[17:12] * Orion laughs
[17:12] <Kwicker> terry, do you work out the finish before writing the details of the story?
[17:12] <RayHeuer> I dunno, other writers have established that if you kill Death, you take his job!
[17:12] <mikebo> How did you decide that Discworld would ultimately be atop a flying tortoise? what was the inspiration? :)
[17:12] <Kwicker> or do you let the details of the story determine the end?
[17:12] <TerryPratchett> Draft 0 is sometimes as longas the final novel...
[17:12] <RayHeuer> LOL
[17:12] <Gurney> Wow.
[17:12] <Gurney> How much revision do you do, typically?
[17:13] <Kwicker> mike, discworld on flying tortoise seems like a variation on ancient myth
[17:13] <TerryPratchett> The DW's shape is based on a fairly common world myth. I just polished it up a little...
[17:13] <Orion> Do you think exposure to Nuclear Radiation can cause people to think and write stange things?
[17:13] <IceDragon> how long does it take for you write a novil ??????
[17:13] <mikebo> if draft 0 bears no resemblance to the final version - i see an easy way to get that second novel out each year ;-)
[17:14] <mikebo> i see
[17:14] <shred> please, let's give Terry a moment to answer each question before sending more...
[17:14] <Gurney> shred: Good luck with that one. :-)
[17:14] <IceDragon> yesem =)
[17:14] <TerryPratchett> Okay, this is how I write. It's like wood carving. You know the shape you want to make, but sometimes it's wise to let the grain of the wood play a part. That's the role of draft 0. No one else will see it, so I can try all kinds of things to see if they fit.
[17:14] <Kwicker> shred, oops, sorry
[17:15] <mikebo> sorry, i was only kidding
[17:15] <IceDragon> how long does it take to write one of your books ?
[17:15] <Kwicker> terry, ah, you get to experiment with draft 0
[17:15] <Dryzkul> I'm sure it varies, depending on the book and whatnot;
[17:15] <IceDragon> ah ok cool
[17:15] <TerryPratchett> In fact sometimes I try a different take on the same idea. Interesting Times was going to be called Unclear Physics, and changed very early on. I've still got that original idea to go back to, and now I know how to make it work...
[17:16] <PlasmaRifle> was that CJ?
[17:16] <mikebo> Any desire to work with Neil Gaiman again? Or other authors for that matter?
[17:16] <Gurney> PR: Don't think so.
[17:16] <IceDragon> how long have you been writing ??????
[17:16] <TerryPratchett> A book can take 5 or 6 months, depending on what else I'm doing. The last quarter tends to get written very fast.
[17:16] <Orion> Are you currently doing anything with Hex?
[17:16] <Annakie> Not our CJ, PR
[17:17] <TwoFlower> HEX Rules!
[17:17] <shred> slow down, everyone...
[17:17] <IceDragon> ok
[17:17] <IceDragon> well i'me going bye all
[17:17] <Kwicker> mike, ah, but neil gaiman's version of death is a female
[17:17] <Kwicker> a bitg of a gender conflict with terry's version
[17:18] <mikebo> very true, but who says death need be involved :)
[17:18] <Orion> Might be Susan
[17:18] <Gurney> Do you read a lot of myths and things, or do your ideas of (whispers) elves and Death just spring to mind?
[17:18] <TerryPratchett> Neil and I don't want to do a sequel to Good Omens,. Frankly, it was a fun holiday job back when both of us were building our careers...a sequel would be a lot heavier, because we'd start out knowing that it was going to sell for a lot of money and that might get in the way. Two guys wrote a book, shared the money, and have sowrn never to do it again.
[17:18] <Gurney> (Oh, whoops. Sorry)
[17:19] <mikebo> that makes Good Omens all the more special
[17:19] <Dryzkul> hehe, yep.. read about that in either Inquest or the Duelist..
[17:19] <Dryzkul> in an article about Neil, he basically said the same thing :)
[17:20] <TerryPratchett> I've just read loads and loads of stuff over the years. Don't read so much fantasy now, but I do read of lot of history and myth. Neil has a good take on Death, but since the DW Death now has a family I've got the best of both worlds, I think.
[17:20] <Dryzkul> <what Terry said that is> :)
[17:20] <Kwicker> terry, how do you decide to do fantasy vs sf?
[17:20] <mikebo> How about a third Discworld game? And does anyone have any idea where I could get the text game from awhile back?
[17:21] <TerryPratchett> Fantasy v sf...I don't have a problem with either, but with fnantasy it is easier to bend the universe around the story.
[17:21] <RayHeuer> There's very little funny SF that deserves a sequel, IMHO
[17:21] * Gurney agrees with RayHeuer.
[17:22] <TerryPratchett> We're talking about a third game, but it will be a lot different from the first two. the technology has moved on.. The text game is still around...as far as I'm concerned, it's more or less PD. I mean, it's ten years old and written for comouters that don't exist any more:-)
[17:22] <Kwicker> terry, i know, how do you decide on the limits of "physics" of fantasy world?
[17:23] <mikebo> Are you working on anything other than the Discworld books currently?
[17:23] <RayHeuer> Are there limits on the physics of a fantasy world?
[17:23] <mikebo> good question Kwicker
[17:23] <Gurney> (Slow down, please, folks)
[17:23] <Dryzkul> I would think the physics would take the backseat.. the story take the priority :)
[17:23] <TwoFlower> Are there going to be any more "Johnny" Books?
[17:24] <TerryPratchett> The key thing is consistency. You can play with known physics, but you can't swtitch natural laws on and off in the same story. Yes, there have to be limits...if anything csan happen, nothing is surprising.
[17:24] <Dryzkul> <agrees>
[17:24] <RayHeuer> <nods>
[17:24] <Gurney> Yeah, you can't really "expect the unexpected."
[17:24] <TerryPratchett> I think Johnny Maxwell will get another airing and I plan a fourth Truckers book.
[17:24] <Gurney> (not all the time, at least)
[17:25] <Dryzkul> well, if you expected the unexpected, it wouldn't be unexpected, eh? hehehe
[17:25] <Gurney> How much creative control do you have over the Discworld games?
[17:25] <mikebo> quite alot i would think?
[17:25] <TerryPratchett> There are some plans now to bring the Johnny books out in the US, as theoretical YA books but marketted for adults.
[17:25] <Dryzkul> not necessarily.
[17:26] <RayHeuer> "Ghosts dispelled, curses lifted, unexpected expected, satisfaction guaranteed!"
[17:26] <Gurney> hehehe
[17:26] <mikebo> hehe
[17:26] <Dryzkul> hehe
[17:26] <TerryPratchett> I had quite a lot of control over the scripts, although when Eric Idle got involved in DWII things got a little...snakey...
[17:26] <Orion> As a US reader, I would like to see the Johnny books finally
[17:26] <palmin> did eric idle have influence on the game
[17:26] <palmin> ?
[17:26] <Dryzkul> I don't even know about the Johnny books and my wife and I have read all of the discworld books :)
[17:27] <TerryPratchett> I think that when Eirc was on board the team felt we could 'pardoy' Python, which is not the same as stealing, oh no indeedy...
[17:28] <Dryzkul> ah...
[17:28] <mikebo> Any interest in writing screenplays? :)
[17:28] <Dryzkul> shame on them!
[17:28] <mikebo> spam
[17:29] <Dryzkul> so how do you like Texas, Terry?
[17:29] <RayHeuer> Imitation in the sincerest form of plagerism
[17:29] <TerryPratchett> The Johnny Maxwell books are YA stories about a kid with an extremely active imagination. Two of them get shortlisted for the Carnegie, I think, but didn't win because they weren't about drugs and inner-city deprivation.
[17:29] <Gurney> LOL
[17:30] <Dryzkul> ah ok :)
[17:30] <palmin> ;-)
[17:30] <mikebo> hehe
[17:30] <TerryPratchett> You've got to remember I've seen a few square miles of Texas. I hope to see the rest of it this afternoon.
[17:30] <Orion> That's one fast car you'll be in :)
[17:30] <Gurney> hehehe
[17:30] <Dryzkul> oh! hehe, of course..
[17:30] <mikebo> where else have you visited in the US?
[17:30] <Gurney> What got you started writing books in the first place?
[17:31] <RayHeuer> He'll be riding Binky! :-)
[17:31] <Dryzkul> hehehe
[17:31] <TerryPratchett> Screenplays don't interest me. I've been approached about contributing to existing series, but writing is someone else's universe donesn't appeal.
[17:31] <Cricket> Just a comment... The Luggage is one of the greatest characters in Western literature!
[17:32] <TerryPratchett> I've visited the US a lot, but when I've got spare time I like to be out in the country. Wyoming is favourite...
[17:32] <Razh> Are you comeing to Sweden this year ?
[17:32] <TwoFlower> Yeah, I forget.... what sex is the luggage?
[17:32] <Dryzkul> <is in Colorado>
[17:32] <TerryPratchett> The Luggage has no sex, just preferences.
[17:32] <TwoFlower> hehe
[17:32] <Dryzkul> hehe
[17:32] * palmin laughs
[17:32] * Gurney grins wide.
[17:32] <mikebo> have you thought about contributing your talents to the graphic novel format?
[17:32] <mikebo> Wyoming is beautiful
[17:33] <TerryPratchett> Sweden isn't planned...basically, it's up to publishers to invite me, and they all want me to tour at the same times. I need a year with ten Octobers in it.
[17:33] <Gurney> What got you started writing books in the first place?
[17:33] <Dryzkul> heh
[17:33] <Razh> =)
[17:33] <RayHeuer> There was a Discworld comic some years ago. Kinda disappointing, IMHO
[17:33] <TerryPratchett> There have been three dw comic adapations, but I think graphic novels are a dead end. I like to write for people wha can read without their lips moving.
[17:34] <Dryzkul> hahahaha
[17:34] <Roach> LOL
[17:34] <Orion> haha
[17:34] <TwoFlower> hehe
[17:34] <mikebo> really? i was unaware.. who published it?
[17:34] <Dryzkul> Hrun!
[17:34] <Gurney> LOL
[17:34] <mikebo> hehehe
[17:34] <RayHeuer> ROTFL
[17:34] <Dryzkul> poor Hrun :P
[17:34] <RayHeuer> Eclipse, wasn't it?
[17:35] <Orion> Detrirus would like the comic book, if one of them were to appear on the Discworld itself :)
[17:35] <TerryPratchett> I starting writing because in fandom there is a general air of encouragement to write. It worked for me. I know of no other field where you can so easily meet and talk to authors -- and learn that authors are human beings.
[17:35] <Gurney> You mean.....you're a human being?!
[17:35] <Orion> Not what I expected
[17:35] <RayHeuer> They are???? :-)
[17:35] <Gurney> ;-)
[17:35] * palmin is astonished
[17:35] <TerryPratchett> Detritus would find graphic novels a bit simple for his tastes.
[17:35] <TwoFlower> Huh?
[17:36] <TerryPratchett> Why is palmin astonished?
[17:36] <Roach> Give him a fridge to keep his head in - and a regular DW book
[17:36] <TwoFlower> Oh yeah.....
[17:36] <palmin> because you are human!
[17:36] <palmin> ;)
[17:36] <Dryzkul> sheesh :P
[17:37] <TerryPratchett> I'm mostly human.
[17:37] <Orion> Like, "I'll take a fridge and a good book anyday"?
[17:37] <Gurney> Do you have any interest in writing outside the Fantasy genre?
[17:37] <Dryzkul> hehe
[17:37] <Gurney> For example, just a plain comedy?
[17:37] <Orion> You mean Discworld is a fantasy?
[17:37] <palmin> how can fandom be an encouragement to writing when yoo have no fans in the first place?
[17:37] <Gurney> hehehehe
[17:37] <Dryzkul> plain? Plain?! never!
[17:37] <mikebo> what is your favorite work of your own? and who's work do you read?
[17:38] <shred> (slow down there...)
[17:38] <TerryPratchett> It's debateable whether I write fantasy or simply light novels set in a fantasy univserse. What I'd really like the write about (cue music) is...lumberjacks...
[17:38] <Swooop> What do you think about the saturation of new writers in the field?
[17:38] <Passive> why is your user name - Michael Moorcock? are you a fan?
[17:38] <palmin> ;-)
[17:38] <Gurney> ('Cause I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK!)
[17:39] <Swooop> lol gurn
[17:39] <palmin> (I work all night and I sleep all day)
[17:39] <mikebo> hahaha
[17:39] <TerryPratchett> Comedy has to be about something. Fantasy covers so mucvh stuff.
[17:39] <Cricket> Terry... When you see the cover art for your works... Does it match your mental pictures of the characters?
[17:39] <TerryPratchett> In fact MM and TP are one and the same. Don't believe all that stuff about this being a hangover from yesterday's interview.
[17:39] <mikebo> along that same line.. the design of the characters in the games?
[17:40] <Gurney> LOL
[17:40] <mikebo> hehe
[17:40] <Dryzkul> heh
[17:40] <Passive> hehe
[17:40] * palmin doesn't believe that MM is TP
[17:40] <palmin> because I don't like MM that much...
[17:40] <Orion> Maybe TP is MM
[17:40] <Rayr> What -- haven't you noticed that Vimes *is* The Eternal Champion?
[17:41] <Swooop> Terry...what do you think about the new contests that seem to be exploding everywhere for new writers, such as the ST Strange New Worlds writings?
[17:41] <TerryPratchett> No, Josh's cover art is good as cover art but not as a graphic representaion of the characters. If you've seen any of the Paul Kidby stuff...now that IS how I see the DW people.
[17:41] <TreeBandit> Actually, both ar4e Fritz Lieber...
[17:41] <mikebo> what is your favorite work of your own? and who's work do you read?
[17:41] <TerryPratchett> No, Vimes is the Eternal Policemen. It's like the Eternal Champion but the pay isn't as good and your feet hurt more.
[17:42] <Orion> hehe
[17:42] <Passive> hehe
[17:42] * Swooop hrms.
[17:42] <Dryzkul> hehhe
[17:42] <TerryPratchett> Out of interest, folks...if the choice of the next book was between the Wtiches and the Watch, what would be your vote?
[17:42] <Orion> The Watch
[17:42] <Razh> Watch
[17:42] <Severian> watch
[17:42] <mikebo> the watch
[17:42] <noe> the watch..
[17:42] <Rayr> Witches
[17:42] <TreeBandit> Oooo. Tough one.
[17:42] <Roach> The Lost CXhapter
[17:42] <Cricket> Witches
[17:42] <Undine> Witches
[17:42] <palmin> watch
[17:42] <TreeBandit> You mean after the XXX novel?
[17:43] <noe> actually both...
[17:43] <Maryim> Witches
[17:43] <Orion> XXXX, I hope you mean
[17:43] <Cybercat> watch
[17:43] <Maryim> but I'd love to read a book about either one :)
[17:43] <TerryPratchett> Yep, the XXXX novbel is nearly done.
[17:43] <TreeBandit> Vimes meeting Granny? That would be an interesting one...
[17:43] <Roach> Either - or both in one...
[17:43] <Kwicker> terry, what unexpected challange and benefits have come from your doing writing?
[17:43] <Maryim> how about Granny meeting the Patrician then?
[17:43] <TerryPratchett> Okay...it'll be one or the other, it's just that right now two plots are clamouring for my atttention.
[17:44] <palmin> any more info on that???
[17:44] <TreeBandit> It's been longer since a Witch book, hasn't it?
[17:44] <palmin> maybe we could help (hehehe)
[17:44] <RayHeuer> Something tells me that Granny and the Patrician would get along famously
[17:44] <Roach> Any way to mix up the two plots?
[17:44] <TerryPratchett> Er...it's not a good idea to have major characters meeting. This is DW, not the Legion of Super Heroes.
[17:44] <Gurney> LOL
[17:44] <noe> hehe
[17:44] <TreeBandit> If you used both hands, you could write both.
[17:44] <noe> rotflol
[17:44] <Gurney> What do you write on?
[17:44] <Maryim> *chuckle*
[17:44] <mikebo> hehehe
[17:45] <TreeBandit> Good point.
[17:45] <Gurney> Typewriter? Computer?
[17:45] <Cybercat> Paper?
[17:45] <Cricket> Terry, gotta run. Thanks for the conversation. Now I'm an even MORE devoted fan! In fact, I think it's time for a trip to the bookstore.
[17:45] <TerryPratchett> My family are voting for the Witches. I want to considering vampies, and that's a plot that'll work with Granny.
[17:45] <TreeBandit> Visit alt.fan.pratchett, Cricket. We have fun there too
[17:45] <TerryPratchett> Bye, Cricket.
[17:45] <Cybercat> Ah, finally the long awaited Vamire book...
[17:45] <Roach> afp is fun? Since when?
[17:45] <Gurney> Do you intend on writing series out of particular characters, or do they just take over?
[17:46] <TreeBandit> Well, it takes a little weeding at times...
[17:46] <mikebo> do any of your storylines resemble things that have happened to you?
[17:46] <morta> just gotta ask.. u going on a signing tour to Norway in the furure??
[17:46] <Kwicker> terry, were you inmvolved in the discworld that malibu comics did a few years ago?
[17:46] <TerryPratchett> I always use a keyboard and tend to buy a new PC every year. For writing, of course -- you *need* MMX, a 24speed cd- rom and a big sound card for writing, as everyone knows.
[17:46] <shred> (patience, everyone...)
[17:46] <Gurney> LOL
[17:47] <palmin> ;-)
[17:47] <TwoFlower> hehe
[17:47] <mikebo> heh
[17:47] <morta> ;->
[17:47] <Roach> Of course...
[17:47] <Razh> hehe
[17:47] <TerryPratchett> Malibu comics? What DW?
[17:47] <TreeBandit> Wouldn't expect anything less.
[17:47] <RayHeuer> LOL, But I agree completely
[17:47] <Kwicker> terry, dont forget theater surround sound speakers!
[17:47] <TreeBandit> Malibu... that was that really awful rendering of tlf, right?
[17:47] <TwoFlower> And HUGE joysticks
[17:47] <TerryPratchett> Resemble things that happen to me? Er...no.
[17:47] <mikebo> and a subwoofer
[17:48] <RayHeuer> a small dog?
[17:48] <TerryPratchett> Oh, yeah. I don't recall the Malibu name, though.
[17:48] <WorldConFan2> Hooray! I'm at Worldcon!
[17:48] <palmin> ;-)
[17:48] <Swooop> Yes you are G :)
[17:48] <Gurney> Of course! Terry Pratchett is constantly cutting people's lifelines with scythes and riding through the sky on black horses named Binky.
[17:48] * Artist wishes he was at WorldCon
[17:48] <TerryPratchett> Norway...it's up to publishers,like I said.
[17:48] <Swooop> This is the first I have missed in a WHILE
[17:48] <Maryim> black, umm white? :)
[17:48] <morta> i know...
[17:49] <Gurney> Do you intend on writing series out of particular characters, or do they just take over?
[17:49] <palmin> terry: do you have influence on the translations?
[17:49] <TreeBandit> Since I got here late, I may have missed it... any plans for the US in the next year?
[17:49] <Roach> What about a signing tour in illiterate Netherlands?
[17:49] <morta> hehe
[17:49] <palmin> 'caus I think the german translations are awful
[17:49] <TreeBandit> When should we start bugging our favorite bookshops to bug your publisher into coming to our town?
[17:49] <OrcishSpy> how bout testing if the snack bars in Helsinki are still as crappy as before?`;)
[17:49] <TerryPratchett> I tend to go to worldcons if they're in places I want to see. Now I've seen San Antonio, and I know I'll always remember the...the...you know, that church thing I saw the other day, forget my own head next...
[17:50] <shred> We've got about five more minutes of Terry's time.
[17:50] <WorldConFan2> Mr. Pratchett, why does it take so long for your books to come to the US?
[17:50] <Swooop> Aulstralia is coming up ;)
[17:50] <shred> but please slow down...
[17:50] <morta> or to norway, for that sake
[17:50] * Gurney envisions 10 questions at once....
[17:50] <RayHeuer> The Alamo, you mean?
[17:51] <TerryPratchett> Okay...translations. I can drop the H bomb if they are really bad. German sales are huge, so how can I tell publishers that the translator is doing a bad job?
[17:51] <G0nT> TERRY PRATCHETT!!!
[17:51] <TreeBandit> Yes, we know
[17:51] <Maryim> ooh, where?
[17:51] <palmin> Too bad, but I understand enough english to read the originals...
[17:51] <morta> I do have to argue that english ought to be the prefferred language to read the books in
[17:51] <RayHeuer> How about: "Dear Publisher - The German translator is doing a bad job!"
[17:51] * palmin agrees with morta
[17:52] <Roach> IMHO, the germ(an) translations aren't too bad - but the titles sometimes...
[17:52] <Artist> TerryPratchett, do you have a say so in your cover artists?
[17:52] <TerryPratchett> Tours: there's no shortage of approaches, just a shortsge of time. Oz seems to get me a lot and I like going...my publishers are talking about another US tour next year, probably late in the year.
[17:52] <palmin> I think compared to the originals, there's lost a lot...
[17:52] <morta> is DW II for PSX finished soon??
[17:52] <TreeBandit> Pterry, why did you refer to ppint. as the guerilla bookshop owner in the Hf dedication?
[17:52] <WorldConFan2> What's the next Discworld planned out in the US?
[17:52] <morta> if u know..
[17:52] <TerryPratchett> You can always write to the publishers!
[17:53] * morta agrees with palmin
[17:53] <TerryPratchett> Ppint...well, you have to look at pprint's shop. it's not a bookshop, it's a Zen experience.
[17:53] <WorldConFan2> Oh, yeah, they'll really respond to us.
[17:53] <mikebo> or so the germans would have us believe
[17:53] <mikebo> :P
[17:53] <TreeBandit> Rocky said it was probably a part inspiration of l- space...
[17:54] <Kwicker> terry, how about working with the makers of myst?
[17:54] <TreeBandit> And I definitely plan to make a trip to Lans whenever I get over to visit my sister.
[17:54] <TerryPratchett> I can only repeat -- most publishers want me in the spring and fall, and the first ones to ask get me if there is a gap in the schedule (and pople wonder why the books are slowing down,,,)
[17:54] <Kwicker> myst was a game to explore, but there was a definite story
[17:54] <Maryim> *shiver* myst?
[17:54] <WorldConFan2> I just wish the Disworld games were available for macs
[17:54] <shred> Thanks for stopping by and chatting with us Terry.
[17:54] <TreeBandit> I think Pyst would be more up Pterry's alley...
[17:54] <Maryim> I just wish I could still find the first DW game somewhere :)
[17:54] * morta agrees with WorldConFan2
[17:54] <TerryPratchett> Okay...it's been a slice.
[17:55] <Razh> thanks TP
[17:55] <TreeBandit> Awww. Thanks Pterry!
[17:55] <Orion> Thanks
[17:55] <Gurney> Thanks so much!
[17:55] <Roach> Thank you Pterry
[17:55] <Kwicker> thansx terry
[17:55] <Gurney> Keep writing!
[17:55] <morta> thanx terry
[17:55] <Maryim> thank you :)
[17:55] <Dryzkul> Thanks! :)
[17:55] <TwoFlower> Thanx Terry!
[17:55] <RayHeuer> Hope to speak with you again, Terry! Tahnks!
[17:55] <TerryPratchett> Thanks to everyone...see you on afp, I expect...
[17:55] <RayHeuer> er ... Thanks
[17:55] <morta> we love your books..
[17:55] <OrcishSpy> bore
[17:55] *** Parts: TerryPratchett (MichaelMoorcock@1Cust26.tnt6.hou3.da. uu.net)


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