Always speak politely to an enraged dragon.

— Steven Brust

And all the late, late-night talks, when you're not stoned, but you're so tired you might as well be, when you just sit there glowing with warmth, and all of those things that you really hope for come out, and you connect with each other on such deep levels that, when you think about it the next day, you wonder if it was real - if the others felt it too.

— Steven Brust

A novel, in which all is created by the author's whim, must strike a more profound level of truth, or it is worthless."" And yet, I have heard you say that any novel that relieves your ennui for an hour has proved its usefulness."" You have a good memory. It must have been ten thousand years ago that I uttered those words."" And if it was?"" In another ten thousand, perhaps I will agree with them again."" In my opinion, the proper way to judge a novel is this: Does it give one an accurate reflection of the moods and characteristics of a particular group of people in a particular place at a particular time? If so, it has value. Otherwise, it has none."" You do not find this rather narrow?"" Madam—""Well?"" I was quoting you.

— Steven Brust

Because here’s the thing: No matter how much one tells stories of magical beasts or impossible worlds, in the end, it is always the world of here and now one is writing about. The better one understands that world, the more powerful the stories will be.

— Steven Brust

Can you be serious for two words?"" Not without effort.

— Steven Brust

I have something to tell you."" How, you have something to tell me?"" You have understood me exactly."" Well, I am listening."" Listening? Then, you wish me to tell you?"" Yes, that is it. I am listening, and therefore I wish you to tell me."" Shall I tell you now?"" No.

— Steven Brust

I'm told I'm very charming when people do what I want.

— Steven Brust

The Cool Stuff Theory of Literature is as follows: All literature consists of whatever the writer thinks is cool. The reader will like the book to the degree that he agrees with the writer about what's cool. And that works all the way from the external trappings to the level of metaphor, subtext, and the way one uses words. In other words, I happen not to think that full-plate armor and great big honking great swords are cool. I don't like 'em. I like cloaks and rapiers. So I write stories with a lot of cloaks and rapiers in 'em, 'cause that's cool. Guys who like military hardware, who think advanced military hardware is cool, are not going to jump all over my books, because they have other ideas about what's cool. The novel should be understood as a structure built to accommodate the greatest possible amount of cool stuff.

— Steven Brust

There was a sergeant at a desk. I knew he was a sergeant because I recognized the marks on his uniform, and I knew it was a desk because it's always a desk. There's always someone at a desk, except when it's a table that functions as a desk. You sit behind a desk, and everyone knows you're supposed to be there, and that you're doing something that involves your brain. It's an odd, special kind of importance. I think everyone should get a desk; you can sit behind it when you feel like you don't matter.

— Steven Brust

The tools are real. The viewer is real, you, the artist, is real and a part of everything you paint. You connect yourself to the viewer by sharing something that is inside of you that connects with something inside of him. All you have as your guide is that you know what moves you. All you have to do it with is a brush, some chemical and canvas, and technique.

— Steven Brust