Paul S. Kemp quotes

The human mind has infinite capacity to rationalize, and evil characters just push that boundary a bit. Whatever they're doing, they think it makes sense to do it, and they think they have a good reason to do it. In short, they feel justified. (Paul S. Kemp)
My favorite class as an undergraduate was a political theory class on justice. Now, 'justice' is hardly a self-defining term, and much smarter men than I have developed various definitions over the centuries. The class put Plato at one end and Nietzsche at the other, and off we went. View quote
Paul S. Kemp
I don't do 'political correctness,' whatever that means. I write the stories I want to write, featuring the characters I want to feature. I don't touch demographic bases to appease this group or that. I write what I want. Full stop. View quote
Paul S. Kemp
I don't actually do anything special to get in the proper frame of mind for creepy/heinous scenes. View quote
Paul S. Kemp
I think my best quality as a writer is the ability to craft complicated, nuanced, interesting characters. View quote
Paul S. Kemp
I'm a transactional lawyer, which involves a lot of negotiation. If nothing else, that's given me a good eye for human motivation and frequent case studies in peculiar psychological quirks. I think that's served me fairly well as a writer. View quote
Paul S. Kemp
I suppose the textbook definition of an anti-hero is pretty straightforward - a protagonist who embodies not only heroic characteristics but also some characteristics typically deemed non-heroic, even villainous. View quote
Paul S. Kemp
The anti-hero walks the morally gray path and constantly flirts with redemption, and that flirtation is just a blast to write. View quote
Paul S. Kemp
For me, 'The Hobbit' is an object lesson in storytelling, both in terms of characterization and story structure. It is an exemplar of storytelling in that regard. View quote
Paul S. Kemp
My favorite film is 'The Empire Strikes Back.' My writing, and my personal taste in movies and books, tends toward works with a darker tone, and 'Empire' fits that the best of all the movies. View quote
Paul S. Kemp
I like to keep the world, to some degree, an implied setting. (Paul S. Kemp)
Original work has no floor and no ceiling. You can reach essentially zero readers or millions. View quote
Paul S. Kemp
The Sundering is a world spanning event that creates ripples all across the Realms. The books in the series are connected in that they take place against that backdrop, showing different aspects of it. The stories, however, are not sequels or intertwined, though there are some Easter Eggs across books. View quote
Paul S. Kemp
I always work from outline and almost always write out of sequence. It just works for me. View quote
Paul S. Kemp
With young kids (I have four including the newborn) times passes weirdly for me. View quote
Paul S. Kemp
[Writing] is harder than you think. You'll be rejected often. If you do it for money, you'll quit. Love it or don't do it. View quote
Paul S. Kemp