Obsessive hobbies such as video games can kill the ability of a writer to produce their books because they’re so addictive, fantasy master Robin Hobb has warned in a new interview.

The author is one of fantasy’s most beloved writers, due primarily to her nine-book Realm of the Elderlings Saga commenced with Assassin’s Apprentice. Hobb is the pen name of the author, who has also written other fantasy books under the pseudonym Megan Lindholm, which is derived from her real name Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden.

But, in an interview with gaming blog Grinding to Valhalla, Hobb said her novels might never have appeared if she had gotten into gaming:

“I think that early on I realized that gaming, online worlds and even the Internet connection presented a very real danger to me as a writer! Seriously. I can handle one obsession at a time, and writing is a career where the obsessive parts of it are actually very helpful to me.

Online gaming presents a very strong lure to me. After a couple of very small trials, I realized that it would be an ‘all or nothing’ occupation for me. And I do mean an ‘occupation’ as in something that would occupy all my life and time.”

Her children have played and do play video games, Hobb says, but she stays away.

Online bookseller Amazon recently made Hobb’s next book Dragon Haven available for pre-order. It is expected to ship in May 2010.

The book is the next in Hobb’s series The Rain Wild Chronicles, which follows on from her Liveship Traders series (itself a part of her larger Realm of the Elderlings saga that was initiated with Assassin’s Apprentice).

Commentary
There is no doubt that Robin Hobb is right! Anyone who has played addictive games like World of Warcraft or Diablo II will testify as to the amount of time they can take away from your life.

From what I’ve seen as a critic and journalist, good writers are obsessive about their work, and rightly so. Writing is an art form, and you need all your concentration to keep it at the sort of level that Robin Hobb writes at (that would be the highest level).