David Gerrold

answers the Usual Questions

Subject: some questions for you...
Date: 18-Nov-94 at 04:39
From: David Gerrold

Author David Gerrold, photo courtesy of the author; 170x253

Science fiction author David Gerrold is well known for his Star Trek television episode The Trouble With Tribbles. He has several popular science fiction series in publication, and his relationship with his son inspired the book (later a movie) The Martian Child.

Has your interaction with fans, for example, at conventions, affected your work?

Yes. In general, for the better. Every so often a fan will ask a question that is so insightful and so profound that it's like getting a slap upside the head. It really forces a shift in thinking and that results in a better or even a different story. That's the reason I love going to conventions. I keep listening for those kinds of questions.

Is there any particular incident (a letter, a meeting, a comment that stands out?

There are too many to remember. I particularly like the story about "nurse Enterprise" who gave a child in an iron lung a tribble and told her that she had to do her breathing exercises to keep the tribble alive. I'm told that tribble got passed from child to child for a long time.

Overall, I've always been impressed with the mutual goodwill and supportiveness of the fannish community and how it leaks out to the rest of the world too.

Do you have a favourite author or book (or writer or film or series) that has influenced you or that you return to?

authors: Heinlein, Sturgeon, Clarke, Bester, Dickens, Twain, Kipling, and Victor Hugo.

films: War of the Worlds, Forbidden Planet, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Them, King Kong, Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, The Thing From Another World.

Who is the person you would most like to be trapped in a lift with? or a spaceship?

Superman.

Who is the person you would most DISlike to be trapped in a lift with? Or a spaceship?

Luxwana Troi.

What would you pack for space? (Is there a food, beverage, book, teddy bear, etc that you couldn't do without?)

Beethoven. And Coca-Cola. No vegemite.

What is the most important thing you would like to get/achieve from your work?

The most important THINK? I assume this was a typo, but it's a great one. I would like to think that my work has contributed in some way to the quality of other people's lives.

What is the special satisfaction of your work?

Aside from the royalty checks, I know that I am doing something that no one else can do as well. I write the best David Gerrold novels in the world; no one else can make that statement. Maybe that's a little immodest, but every storyteller is unique. I feel good about my stories because I know that they are the best that I can do.