This past weekend, I finished reading Elantris by Brandon Sanderson, and I have to say, I was pretty darn impressed with the work from start to finish. Elantris is Sanderson's first published novel and unlike most of his other works, it is a stand alone story. It is an amazingly solid first entry and after reading it I am not even a little bit surprised that Sanderson wound up being tagged by Robert Jordan to finish the Wheel of Time series after his death. I have really enjoyed his entries into that particular series and they made me very interested to check out his own original work. I settled on Elantris as my starting point because I had heard some pretty good buzz about it, and I'll admit, I am keeping up with enough series at the moment that jumping into another one seemed a bit daunting.
Sanderson is quite lauded by the fantasy community for his extremely well-developed and detailed systems of magic. Elantris is certainly no exception to this, which is all the more impressive because the most notable thing about magic in this book is its absence.
The story takes place about ten years after the fall of the eponymous city of Elantris. The Elantrians once ruled the nation of Arelon more or less benevolently, godlike beings with vast stores of magic at their very fingertips. Despite their amazing power and superiority to the mere humans of Arelon, they did not demand to be worshipped. In fact, they were quite content to let the humans practice their own varying religions without interference. Perhaps this is because every Elantrian was once a human. The beings were not born, but rather, one night a human would go to bed and the next morning he or she would wake up transformed into an Elantrian.
Under Elantris' rule, Arelon was a very powerful and prosperous nation until something went horribly awry. In an event called the Reod, the magic of Elantris suddenly stopped working. The Elantrians, without their power, became horribly disfigured but unable to die. Their hearts stopped beating, but their bodies went on, skin shriveling up and hair falling out. Hurts and injuries could not kill them, but nor would they heal, and the pain of those hurts endured, driving those who continued under their newly cursed existence mad. When the Reod came, the servants of Elantris rose up in revolt against their transformed masters. The merchant class stepped in, taking over and organizing a new government, declaring themselves the new nobility. The city of Elantris was locked up tight, its surviving citizens left to wallow in their never-ending misery. The Shaod, or transformation from human to Elantrian, did not stop occurring, however. Now, instead of being a blessing, it had become a curse. Those poor damned souls who changed were thrown into Elantris with a single basket of food and considered dead by the rest of the world.
The story begins with Arelon's prince, Raoden, finding that the Shaod has come upon him. He is not immune to the fate of the cursed and his father wastes no time in throwing him into Elantris. Raoden must find a way to survive his new circumstances and to avoid the madness that takes his new people. On that same day, two people arrive in the city of Kae, heart of Arelon since Elantris' fall. The first, Princess Sarene of Teod, was engaged to Prince Raoden, a political match to ally her nation with Arelon. She reaches her new home to learn that she is now a widow, the stipulations of her marriage contract declaring death by either party before the wedding the same as a wedding itself. She never had the chance to meet her husband and now she must find her place in her new home without him. She is quickly given purpose by the other newcomer to the city, however. Hrathen is a gyorn, or high priest, of Fjordell, an enemy nation to both Teod and Arelon. He has been sent to convert Arelon to his religion of Shu-Dereth within three months. Otherwise, Fjordell will invade and force conversion upon Arelon in the bloodiest manner possible.
Elantris rotates fairly smoothly between the perspectives of Raoden, Sarene, and Hrathen and tells the tale of each individual's struggle to fulfill a purpose. These three characters are absolute powerhouses of charisma and the reader is quickly swept into their world, eager to find out who will succeed and who will fail, and how each person's machinations will influence the other's.
For as much as religion is a key component to the story, I felt like its touch was astoundingly subtle throughout. There were, to me, very clear parallels to the state of organized religion in our world, and its influence on the citizens and nations, but I felt like Sanderson used that more as an inspiration to this work rather than using this work as a way to preach some personal message. The characters are the true center of this tale and Sanderson has done an amazing job of giving each believable motivations and actions. None are without their flaws, but those flaws are put to masterful use in weaving these three disparate threads together. As the story progresses, those three threads do become one steady piece of fabric, too. I never felt cheated by convenient coincidences, everything felt very natural.
There is something of the traditional "hero's quest" in this story, but Sanderson manages to make it feel fresh and new. The romance and intrigue and action and friendships and journeys of discovery all manage to come across as very true. Nothing feels forced, nothing feels trite. I also appreciate that Sanderson has clear and simple answers for most of this book's mysteries by the story's end. Yet, that being said, he didn't hesitate to introduce a few new loose ends for our characters in the process of providing them with the answers they sought. I am satisfied with the loose ends, however. To me, they suggest that these characters are only just starting out as the story is ending. I am free to imagine them continuing to go on and solve their new mysteries.
The ending is still an ending, however. There is no sense that Sanderson was trying to leave the back door open for a sequel, and I am glad of it. As I told my husband, I don't think this is a book that needs to be a series. Everyone (that survived, of course) ended on pretty high note, and I was happy with how things turned out. That being said, I would love to read another story set in this universe in some other time period, before or after the events of Elantris, dealing with other characters. I suspect that there are many interesting stories to be told about Arelon and its neighbors.
This is the kind of book that makes me excited about writing. It is so amazingly well done. I was lucky enough to meet Sanderson last year when he did a tour for the most recent Wheel of Time book's release, and I hadn't yet read any of his own stories (that was actually when I picked this book up--I am super proud to have an autographed copy). I hope he does another tour for the last book and that I might get a chance to meet him again and thank him for this amazing story. Assuming I can actually get over my fangirl shyness and form coherent words, that is.
Anyhoo, fans of fantasy and magic and well-developed worlds and characters: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. Check it out. I doubt you'll regret doing so.
Showing posts with label The Wheel of Time. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Wheel of Time. Show all posts
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Mostly Worth The Lack Of Sleep
You may remember that a while back I mentioned that I had ordered a new desk, one meant to eventually become my daughter's homework desk. Well, it arrived some time last week, but unfortunately the perils of shipping had caught up with me (I order so much freaking stuff online it really isn't a wonder), and when I opened up the box and started pulling out the pieces to make sure they were all there and intact, well...yeah, not so much.
...and I think that's it. Refinishing the chair should be extra awesome, as I discovered when I finally got it down from the shelf in the garage where it has been living. I had forgotten that when my brother-in-law and his wife repainted some of our house's exterior while I was pregnant, I had let one of them stand on the chair, knowing I was going to be overhauling it anyway. So now there's big blotches of blue paint all over it that I get to sand off. Whee.
Everything was there, certainly. The problem was the top of the desk, the big huge massive piece that everything else attaches to. It was cracked in multiple places, including one very large line right down the middle. Sigh. Thankfully the company that made the desk gets that damage does occur during shipping and has a really efficient (and free) parts replacement department. So I went online to tell them I needed a new top as mine arrived mangled and the next day they shipped it out. Of course, now I have a big broken plank taking up space in my garage until the start of next month, but there are worse problems, I will grant you.
The replacement piece arrived on Tuesday and I decided to put the desk together that night once my daughter had gone to bed. Normally I don't mind, and even often enjoy, when she "helps" me, but I get, um, cranky sometimes when doing things like assembling my furniture, so I figured it would be best for both of us if I did that while she wasn't around. My poor husband wasn't so fortunate. He was gracious enough to allow me to totally disrupt his evening by making him help me by holding up various pieces as I put them together (and reattaching the feet after I put them on the wrong end of the legs). Once we had the basic desk put together and upright, I let him loose and he called it a night. I stayed up for another hour and a half or so getting the various drawers and sliding bits assembled. Was up until two-thirty in the morning getting it done, but I've got to say, I am pretty happy with how it turned out.
 |
| I even managed to pick one that doesn't cover the oversized vent on the wall, go me! |
 |
| Let's see, we've got an alien from Toy Story, a Lego alien from Toy Story, Zeke from Ctrl+Alt+Del, Lego Indiana Jones, coloring supplies, a box of notecards... |
 |
| ...a Lego TIE Fighter complete with Darth Vader, R2-D2, and my daughter's Spongebob Squarepants coloring books. |
 |
| The kiddo checks out her new domain. |
Now it just needs a chair. Speaking of which...
My updated to-do list for around the house is now as follows:
- Figure out how to refinish a wooden item.
- Refinish the chair that will go at this desk.
- Frame the various maps and convention art that needs to go on the walls (frames already purchased).
- Hang up said maps and art.
- Hang up the awesome Firefly, Star Trek, and Wheel of Time stuff we had professionally framed once it is ready to be picked up.
- Hang up that blasted sconce my husband randomly brought home from the office.
- Convert my daughter's crib to a toddler bed.
...and I think that's it. Refinishing the chair should be extra awesome, as I discovered when I finally got it down from the shelf in the garage where it has been living. I had forgotten that when my brother-in-law and his wife repainted some of our house's exterior while I was pregnant, I had let one of them stand on the chair, knowing I was going to be overhauling it anyway. So now there's big blotches of blue paint all over it that I get to sand off. Whee.
Oh, for those wondering, I know I mentioned that I was going to try to revamp a lamp that had belonged to my grandparents, but the lamp on the desk is not that lamp. I tried taking apart the old lamp and realized that I would need to tinker with the wiring to actually get all of the pieces separate, so I eighty-sixed that idea and just caved in and bought a new base. I will just tuck the old lamp in a corner in my closet for now until I either decide to send it to Goodwill or find a use for it elsewhere.
I wish you all a fantabulous weekend! If you'll excuse me, I'm off to do some research on wood refinishing...
Thursday, May 19, 2011
I Know What I Think It Looks Like, How About You
It seems clear to me from all of the internet chatter I have been mostly trying to avoid on the subject (in an effort to prevent spoilers), that HBO's Game of Thrones series has thus far been a huge success. That is awesome. I honestly can't wait until I am able to watch it. I am happy for George R. R. Martin, for fans of the series (book and television), and even for HBO. It sounds like Game of Thrones is setting the gold standard for adaptations of fantasy series to television in the same way that The Lord of the Rings films did for movies. Kudos to all involved.
An interesting (and not really unexpected) result of this success has been renewed chatter about getting a favorite series of mine adapted to television. Fans of The Wheel of Time have long wanted to see Jordan's creations brought to life on screen. Mostly the general consensus has been that it has to be done via a television series rather than a movie or set of movies, because that would be the only way to do it justice. WoT supporters have been keeping a watchful eye on HBO's venture with the adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, hoping that if done right, and successful, it would be the evidence needed to bring forth the long-desired WoT series. With only one book left to go, it is an easy thought to get excited about, I'll grant you.
I'll admit, my husband and I love to play the WoT casting game with each other. One of us is frequently pointing an actor or actress out to each other and saying, "Wouldn't (s)he make a perfect _______ (insert character's name here)?!?" Between the two of us, we have a fair chunk of the series' cast picked out, hypothetically of course. The fun part about this game is you can pick anyone, which includes people who are no longer with us or a certain person twenty years ago. But we've never been able to settle on a Rand, or an Egwene or Nynaeve. That's...telling, I think.
The more people start to talk about how awesome it will be to see WoT brought to the screen, the more I begin to think that it would be better if it didn't happen. At least...well. Let me explain.
I don't think the world needs a live-action WoT series. I think that if we were to get a television adaptation, we would be best served for it to be an animated one. Yes, that's right, I would prefer a cartoon.
Okay, wait, wait, hear me out here, okay?
Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson filling in his shoes) has always been extremely descriptive of people, places, clothing, buildings, everything in this world. WoT fans are notoriously prickly about attention to detail. These two facts, coupled together, mean that anyone trying to make a live version of this series is going to be going up against a huge challenge to get everything right. I'm talking about casting--from hair color and eye color and height and age--to costuming to the sets to the props themselves. Not to mention some serious makeup challenges. With casting alone, any network is going to apply pressure to get a few big names in there, and even with everyone's dream casting games, just shoe-horning a celebrity into a role has the chance of ruffling a lot of feathers and could easily ruin the whole project for a lot of people.
The effects budget on a live-action series would be insane. Think about all of the magic that happens in this series, and think about how Jordan describes it. Even if the VFX crew managed to capture the feel of that action just right, they would have to replicate it how many times in each episode? Also, think of all of the creatures in this series. Trollocs. Myrddraal. Grolm. Draghkar. Gholams. Maybe, maybe, they could pull off the Trollocs with some guys in heavy prosthetics, but...there's a lot more going on there than Trollocs. Then there's the Aes Sedai appearance of agelessness. I don't think that will be achievable through makeup alone. That's gonna take some CGI to get right.
Forget getting the sets exactly right, for a moment. The sheer volume of different sets and locations, indoor, outdoor, cities, country, desert, blight, that also would be a huge challenge budget-wise.
When it comes down to it, despite fans' continued dream casting, casting this series will be a bitch. It is going to be almost impossible to find the perfect people to play the primary characters. Not to mention the number of people who are in it, who play important roles but only pop up once every two or three books? Someone is going to be hard-pressed to resist the urge to cut characters, combine others, and change around plot lines to reduce the number of recurring roles. That ticked me off enough in the Harry Potter movies, and that was only seven books, and nobody they glossed over was my favorite random character or anything. Actually, I take that back. I am still pretty miffed that there was no Charlie in the movies dangit. They try doing that with WoT and I promise you there will be an uproar.
Also, I don't think there is a horse in existence capable of portraying the sheer awesomeness of Bela. Just ain't gonna happen.
I suppose that it could be done completely green-screen a la Sanctuary. But look, as much as I love Sanctuary, and I really do, there is a level of cheesiness to that show due in large parts to the CGI. It works for what it is, but for WoT, that would not go over well at all. It just wouldn't.
So, yeah, I would like to see an animated version if we get WoT on our televisions at all. I'm not talking the kind of animation of regular cartoons. I am thinking more the modern video game style of animation. Have you seen the cut scenes of some of today's video games? They are beautiful, and gritty, and real, and fantastic, and perfect for Jordan's imagined universe.
With an animated series, there would be no need to try to find people or places to fit Jordan's descriptions. The artists could just render them faithfully from the books themselves. Sure, everyone sees the characters a little bit differently in their heads, but I guarantee you this way would be much much more satisfying across the board than trying to find real people to fit the fantasy. Also, voice casting with the required big-names will ruffle a lot less feathers as well.
You know what I would love to see? I would love to see an animation pioneering powerhouse like Pixar and a gaming animation master like Bioware sit down and animate up the prologue. I bet that would be enough to convince the masses.
I'll be honest, I have no idea how cost effective an animated series would be, but something tells me that in the long term, and when it comes to satisfying fans and getting The Wheel of Time world right, it would be more than worth it overall. Think about how absolutely groundbreaking such a series could be for the world of animation as well! There isn't anything animated out there like what a WoT series has the potential to be.
Maybe I am wrong, maybe there's someone out there who can bring us a live version of this series that will be as satisfying as Game of Thrones. If it happens I'll be the first person to apologize for saying it couldn't be done. But until then, I'm gonna stick with hoping that it's an animated series if anything. I'm also going to wish really hard that people will direct their ideas about the next big fantasy series to make the jump to television elsewhere. Nothing will kill the idea of a WoT series faster than a badly done WoT series.
An interesting (and not really unexpected) result of this success has been renewed chatter about getting a favorite series of mine adapted to television. Fans of The Wheel of Time have long wanted to see Jordan's creations brought to life on screen. Mostly the general consensus has been that it has to be done via a television series rather than a movie or set of movies, because that would be the only way to do it justice. WoT supporters have been keeping a watchful eye on HBO's venture with the adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, hoping that if done right, and successful, it would be the evidence needed to bring forth the long-desired WoT series. With only one book left to go, it is an easy thought to get excited about, I'll grant you.
I'll admit, my husband and I love to play the WoT casting game with each other. One of us is frequently pointing an actor or actress out to each other and saying, "Wouldn't (s)he make a perfect _______ (insert character's name here)?!?" Between the two of us, we have a fair chunk of the series' cast picked out, hypothetically of course. The fun part about this game is you can pick anyone, which includes people who are no longer with us or a certain person twenty years ago. But we've never been able to settle on a Rand, or an Egwene or Nynaeve. That's...telling, I think.
The more people start to talk about how awesome it will be to see WoT brought to the screen, the more I begin to think that it would be better if it didn't happen. At least...well. Let me explain.
I don't think the world needs a live-action WoT series. I think that if we were to get a television adaptation, we would be best served for it to be an animated one. Yes, that's right, I would prefer a cartoon.
Okay, wait, wait, hear me out here, okay?
Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson filling in his shoes) has always been extremely descriptive of people, places, clothing, buildings, everything in this world. WoT fans are notoriously prickly about attention to detail. These two facts, coupled together, mean that anyone trying to make a live version of this series is going to be going up against a huge challenge to get everything right. I'm talking about casting--from hair color and eye color and height and age--to costuming to the sets to the props themselves. Not to mention some serious makeup challenges. With casting alone, any network is going to apply pressure to get a few big names in there, and even with everyone's dream casting games, just shoe-horning a celebrity into a role has the chance of ruffling a lot of feathers and could easily ruin the whole project for a lot of people.
The effects budget on a live-action series would be insane. Think about all of the magic that happens in this series, and think about how Jordan describes it. Even if the VFX crew managed to capture the feel of that action just right, they would have to replicate it how many times in each episode? Also, think of all of the creatures in this series. Trollocs. Myrddraal. Grolm. Draghkar. Gholams. Maybe, maybe, they could pull off the Trollocs with some guys in heavy prosthetics, but...there's a lot more going on there than Trollocs. Then there's the Aes Sedai appearance of agelessness. I don't think that will be achievable through makeup alone. That's gonna take some CGI to get right.
Forget getting the sets exactly right, for a moment. The sheer volume of different sets and locations, indoor, outdoor, cities, country, desert, blight, that also would be a huge challenge budget-wise.
When it comes down to it, despite fans' continued dream casting, casting this series will be a bitch. It is going to be almost impossible to find the perfect people to play the primary characters. Not to mention the number of people who are in it, who play important roles but only pop up once every two or three books? Someone is going to be hard-pressed to resist the urge to cut characters, combine others, and change around plot lines to reduce the number of recurring roles. That ticked me off enough in the Harry Potter movies, and that was only seven books, and nobody they glossed over was my favorite random character or anything. Actually, I take that back. I am still pretty miffed that there was no Charlie in the movies dangit. They try doing that with WoT and I promise you there will be an uproar.
Also, I don't think there is a horse in existence capable of portraying the sheer awesomeness of Bela. Just ain't gonna happen.
I suppose that it could be done completely green-screen a la Sanctuary. But look, as much as I love Sanctuary, and I really do, there is a level of cheesiness to that show due in large parts to the CGI. It works for what it is, but for WoT, that would not go over well at all. It just wouldn't.
So, yeah, I would like to see an animated version if we get WoT on our televisions at all. I'm not talking the kind of animation of regular cartoons. I am thinking more the modern video game style of animation. Have you seen the cut scenes of some of today's video games? They are beautiful, and gritty, and real, and fantastic, and perfect for Jordan's imagined universe.
With an animated series, there would be no need to try to find people or places to fit Jordan's descriptions. The artists could just render them faithfully from the books themselves. Sure, everyone sees the characters a little bit differently in their heads, but I guarantee you this way would be much much more satisfying across the board than trying to find real people to fit the fantasy. Also, voice casting with the required big-names will ruffle a lot less feathers as well.
You know what I would love to see? I would love to see an animation pioneering powerhouse like Pixar and a gaming animation master like Bioware sit down and animate up the prologue. I bet that would be enough to convince the masses.
I'll be honest, I have no idea how cost effective an animated series would be, but something tells me that in the long term, and when it comes to satisfying fans and getting The Wheel of Time world right, it would be more than worth it overall. Think about how absolutely groundbreaking such a series could be for the world of animation as well! There isn't anything animated out there like what a WoT series has the potential to be.
Maybe I am wrong, maybe there's someone out there who can bring us a live version of this series that will be as satisfying as Game of Thrones. If it happens I'll be the first person to apologize for saying it couldn't be done. But until then, I'm gonna stick with hoping that it's an animated series if anything. I'm also going to wish really hard that people will direct their ideas about the next big fantasy series to make the jump to television elsewhere. Nothing will kill the idea of a WoT series faster than a badly done WoT series.
Monday, May 2, 2011
I Really Don't See The Point In Being So Mean
So it was announced last week that George R. R. Martin is finally, officially, done with the next book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series. The manuscript is by all accounts massive but it is still on track to be ready on time for the scheduled July 12 release date by all accounts.
This announcement was of course met with much joy and celebration, but for every article I saw reveling in the news, the comments were full of people bitterly stating that they would believe it when they held the book in their hands, and not until then. Lots and lots of bitter, angry, and often mean comments. From people professing to love this series and claiming to be eager for the release of the next book.
I don't get it. I really, really don't.
Okay, yeah, it's been six years since the last one came out, and (the hypothetical) you has been waiting (clearly not patiently). You feel (with arguable levels of justification) that you've been burned about this before.
But, well, so what?
The book is actually finally coming out. That's a good thing, right? You've probably already preordered your copy and/or are planning to attend a midnight release party at your local bookstore (you know there are gonna be some of those). So, shouldn't you be, at the very least, cautiously optimistic rather than cranky and disbelieving?
I mean, come on, it is just a book series. Seriously.
I remember at last fall's Brandon Sanderson signing for the latest The Wheel of Time book meeting a guy in line who was decrying his desire to get into any new book series' that weren't finished in case the author "pulled a Martin." (He was also more than a little cavalier about Robert Jordan having the audacity to die before he had completed his book series, despite the fact that the man managed to make arrangements to see the series finished after he had passed on.) His attitude about the situation kind of made him lose all credibility in my eyes (and made me think, at least a little bit, that he was kind of a terrible person).
I am given to conclude two things about this vocal subset of George R. R. Martin "fans" from their behavior regarding this series. The first is that they must not have read any other book series before every volume was published. More on that in a moment. The second is that they really don't have any grasp on how the publishing industry works. If the first book in a new series doesn't sell well because people are waiting for the second book to come out before they start it...there will be no second book, and so on down the line. The publishing house is under no obligation to pay the writer to complete the series if people stop buying the books halfway through just because they feel it is taking too long in between releases. Duh. I could list three or four series off the top of my head that I have read which will likely never get concluded because they just didn't sell that well. I am not happy about that, but they are just stories, my life goes on. Sure I am curious about what might have happened if the story had been completed (as I am when a television show I like gets canceled before it is given a proper conclusion), but that's what my imagination is for.
But seriously, six years? That's the gripe? That's really nothing. It is a little high, but not unheard of. Let's look at another series for example, shall we? A wildly popular one (arguably more popular than Martin's series), even.
Stephen King's The Dark Tower Series
The Gunslinger was released in 1982.
The Drawing of the Three was released in 1987.
The Wastelands was released in 1991.
Wizard and Glass was released in 1997.
Wolves of the Calla was released in 2003.
Song of Susannah was released in 2004.
The Dark Tower was released in 2004.
Five years, four years, six years, six years, one year, less than one year. That's an average of a little over three years between books, sure, but the average doesn't really mean anything when you are waiting for the next book, does it? And two of the books had a six year wait. Those last three, I will also note, came after King had his near-death-hit-by-a-van experience, after which his writing output increased exponentially. Meanwhile, from 1982 to 2004 he put out, not including The Dark Tower books, something like 43 other books and short story/novella collections. Forty. Three. Even if you haven't read anything by King, I'm sure you've seen his books in the store--those suckers aren't short.
I've been a fan of King since before I stopped reading The Babysitter Club books, and even though that well predates my awareness of the internet, I don't recall any sort of fan outcry at the delay between books in the series or at the fact that King was writing any books other than those in the series. Except, of course, for when he was hit by that van, when the collective fandom was going ohgodohgodohgodhe'sgonnadieandwwe'renevergonnafindoutwhathappens but well, that's sort of understandable, isn't it? Even then, most of the concern was for King's health more than for, you know, the books he might or might not have written.
But when George R. R. Martin blogs about working on a project that is not A Song of Ice and Fire, or about doing something that isn't writing at all, his "fans" cry out in anger. They seem to feel like because they have started reading his series and want to know what happens next, he is somehow obligated to keep doing nothing else but write that series until it is finished to their satisfaction. Look, that's just not how the creative process works. But higher authorities than myself have already spoken to this subject and how ridiculous that mindset actually is.
It seems to me as if these people could care less about Martin as a writer. They certainly don't want him to be successful, if they did, they would be pleased to see he has more in his wheelhouse than one series. They also don't seem to appreciate that this series is indeed Martin's intellectual property. He is willing to share his playground, certainly, but it is still his. The "fans" do not own the world of Westeros.
I mean, I know that this very vocal group of the "fans" are probably the minority and that the way the internet works exacerbates their presence. But I am still of the mind that if you don't have anything nice to say...well, you know. So I am really perplexed as to why this (hopefully) minority is so vocal. What do they hope to achieve with this? I mean, seriously, if I was Martin, I would be tempted just to write a short story killing EVERYONE off and call that the end of the series, just to get them to leave me alone. Geez.
It just seems to me that if (again the hypothetical) you have been moaning and groaning about how long this book has been taking to come out, you would be happy that The Powers That Be are finally confident enough to announce a release date, a "for reals this time the book is actually done" release date rather than a tentative projection based on previous experience (which should always be viewed as subject to change). Being mean about getting the news you've been wanting to get just seems counter-intuitive to me, I guess.
But hey, I've got lots of books to read while Martin writes something he thinks we (and more importantly he) will be happy with. Maybe these people just don't have anything better to do?
How sad.
This announcement was of course met with much joy and celebration, but for every article I saw reveling in the news, the comments were full of people bitterly stating that they would believe it when they held the book in their hands, and not until then. Lots and lots of bitter, angry, and often mean comments. From people professing to love this series and claiming to be eager for the release of the next book.
I don't get it. I really, really don't.
Okay, yeah, it's been six years since the last one came out, and (the hypothetical) you has been waiting (clearly not patiently). You feel (with arguable levels of justification) that you've been burned about this before.
But, well, so what?
The book is actually finally coming out. That's a good thing, right? You've probably already preordered your copy and/or are planning to attend a midnight release party at your local bookstore (you know there are gonna be some of those). So, shouldn't you be, at the very least, cautiously optimistic rather than cranky and disbelieving?
I mean, come on, it is just a book series. Seriously.
I remember at last fall's Brandon Sanderson signing for the latest The Wheel of Time book meeting a guy in line who was decrying his desire to get into any new book series' that weren't finished in case the author "pulled a Martin." (He was also more than a little cavalier about Robert Jordan having the audacity to die before he had completed his book series, despite the fact that the man managed to make arrangements to see the series finished after he had passed on.) His attitude about the situation kind of made him lose all credibility in my eyes (and made me think, at least a little bit, that he was kind of a terrible person).
I am given to conclude two things about this vocal subset of George R. R. Martin "fans" from their behavior regarding this series. The first is that they must not have read any other book series before every volume was published. More on that in a moment. The second is that they really don't have any grasp on how the publishing industry works. If the first book in a new series doesn't sell well because people are waiting for the second book to come out before they start it...there will be no second book, and so on down the line. The publishing house is under no obligation to pay the writer to complete the series if people stop buying the books halfway through just because they feel it is taking too long in between releases. Duh. I could list three or four series off the top of my head that I have read which will likely never get concluded because they just didn't sell that well. I am not happy about that, but they are just stories, my life goes on. Sure I am curious about what might have happened if the story had been completed (as I am when a television show I like gets canceled before it is given a proper conclusion), but that's what my imagination is for.
But seriously, six years? That's the gripe? That's really nothing. It is a little high, but not unheard of. Let's look at another series for example, shall we? A wildly popular one (arguably more popular than Martin's series), even.
Stephen King's The Dark Tower Series
The Gunslinger was released in 1982.
The Drawing of the Three was released in 1987.
The Wastelands was released in 1991.
Wizard and Glass was released in 1997.
Wolves of the Calla was released in 2003.
Song of Susannah was released in 2004.
The Dark Tower was released in 2004.
Five years, four years, six years, six years, one year, less than one year. That's an average of a little over three years between books, sure, but the average doesn't really mean anything when you are waiting for the next book, does it? And two of the books had a six year wait. Those last three, I will also note, came after King had his near-death-hit-by-a-van experience, after which his writing output increased exponentially. Meanwhile, from 1982 to 2004 he put out, not including The Dark Tower books, something like 43 other books and short story/novella collections. Forty. Three. Even if you haven't read anything by King, I'm sure you've seen his books in the store--those suckers aren't short.
I've been a fan of King since before I stopped reading The Babysitter Club books, and even though that well predates my awareness of the internet, I don't recall any sort of fan outcry at the delay between books in the series or at the fact that King was writing any books other than those in the series. Except, of course, for when he was hit by that van, when the collective fandom was going ohgodohgodohgodhe'sgonnadieandwwe'renevergonnafindoutwhathappens but well, that's sort of understandable, isn't it? Even then, most of the concern was for King's health more than for, you know, the books he might or might not have written.
But when George R. R. Martin blogs about working on a project that is not A Song of Ice and Fire, or about doing something that isn't writing at all, his "fans" cry out in anger. They seem to feel like because they have started reading his series and want to know what happens next, he is somehow obligated to keep doing nothing else but write that series until it is finished to their satisfaction. Look, that's just not how the creative process works. But higher authorities than myself have already spoken to this subject and how ridiculous that mindset actually is.
It seems to me as if these people could care less about Martin as a writer. They certainly don't want him to be successful, if they did, they would be pleased to see he has more in his wheelhouse than one series. They also don't seem to appreciate that this series is indeed Martin's intellectual property. He is willing to share his playground, certainly, but it is still his. The "fans" do not own the world of Westeros.
I mean, I know that this very vocal group of the "fans" are probably the minority and that the way the internet works exacerbates their presence. But I am still of the mind that if you don't have anything nice to say...well, you know. So I am really perplexed as to why this (hopefully) minority is so vocal. What do they hope to achieve with this? I mean, seriously, if I was Martin, I would be tempted just to write a short story killing EVERYONE off and call that the end of the series, just to get them to leave me alone. Geez.
It just seems to me that if (again the hypothetical) you have been moaning and groaning about how long this book has been taking to come out, you would be happy that The Powers That Be are finally confident enough to announce a release date, a "for reals this time the book is actually done" release date rather than a tentative projection based on previous experience (which should always be viewed as subject to change). Being mean about getting the news you've been wanting to get just seems counter-intuitive to me, I guess.
But hey, I've got lots of books to read while Martin writes something he thinks we (and more importantly he) will be happy with. Maybe these people just don't have anything better to do?
How sad.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
What Do Dragon Age and The Wheel of Time Have In Common?
I just read this kind of thought-provoking article by Richard Fife over on Tor's website and my mind wandered over to Dragon Age. Granted, this is not an uncommon occurrence. Many things make my mind wander over to Dragon Age. It is a game that tends to linger in the consciousness, especially when you are actually playing it.
Anyhoo, Fife's article (which you should totally go read, it is well worth it) was just a brief commentary on one of the cultures in Robert Jordan's series The Wheel of Time. Fife believes that the Seanchan culture is a dystopian one, and I have to say, I rather agree with the points he makes. I have often been irked, in fact, by the realization that the Seanchan actually have it pretty well put together except for the whole slavery and oppression of magic wielders they have going on. What the article suggests to me is that in a true dystopia, the majority of the population doesn't realize that it is in a dystopia. The regime is so completely successfully oppressive precisely because the people have willingly sacrificed their freedoms or don't realize that they have done so. All except for that select group that is the example group--the ones who are publicly put down so that the general mass knows what will happen if they do try to resist. In the case of the Seanchan, that example group is users of magic (it is actually a very specific subset of that group of people, but the Seanchan themselves don't realize the flaw in their system quite yet).
The basic history of the Seanchan is that three thousand years ago, the world was "broken" by the Aes Sedai (the users of magic). It was a huge global cataclysm. In the part of the world that became Seanchan, the Aes Sedai that survived the breaking spent the next two thousand years warring with each other. Then along came the army of Artur Hawkwing and they kind of took over everything. To protect themselves from the power of the Aes Sedai, they enslaved all of them, and over the next thousand years built an empire with the magic wielders as their servants. They did this because they were scared of what the Aes Sedai would do to them, to each other, and to the world if left unchecked. Because they were scared of that power, they found a way to control it, and to keep it from ever getting the upper hand again.
It is this history, which I had truly never really thought on very much while reading the series (there is a lot going on there, some aspects of it tend to slip through the cracks from time to time), which my mind connected to my current video game obsession.
In the world of Dragon Age, mages are widely feared by the general populace. Once upon a time, long before the games take place, the world was ruled by mages, but eventually the ungifted folk rose up and threw down their oppressors. In the era in which the games occur, mages are locked up in a Circle, which is guarded by the Templars (the army of the Chantry, the religious power in this world). The Templars have special magic-negating abilities and are thus able to keep the mages in check. While the mages are somewhat autonomous within each Circle, they are kept inside those Circles, and they are mostly kept apart from the general population. Mages who practice magic and do not submit to the Chantry rule are called apostates and are hunted down and brought back to the Circle or executed.
All of this is largely in the background in Dragon Age: Origins, but in Dragon Age II the primary conflict of the story is that between the Circle of Magi and the Templars in the city-state of Kirkwall. One of your companions is an apostate mage who is fighting not only to stay free of Chantry rule, but to see all mages with the same freedoms. To balance him out, you also have in your party a warrior who was once a slave in the Tevinter Imperium--a far off land where the mages not only still rule, but have also all given in to the use of blood magic, which is the cardinal sin a mage can commit in the eyes of the Chantry. It makes for a very interesting dichotomy. While I am not sure how well the story was carried out, or what the actual message the writers were trying to get across was in game two, the basic idea is a strong one.
In a fantasy setting with magic involved, there is always a fine line to walk. Either limitations must be put on the system of magic itself to prevent its wielders from being all-powerful, or societal rules come into play, with the users of magic either being the ruling class or the enslaved class. As a fan of fantasy, I think this might be one of my favorite aspects these days--seeing how the particular story deals with magic and keeping the scales balanced between those who have it and those who don't.
At any rate, when I play Dragon Age now, I have a feeling I will be looking at Thedas as what could be in a post-series Wheel of Time world where there was a new breaking and the Seanchan succeeded in enslaving the Aes Sedai on Rand's side of the ocean...
Anyhoo, Fife's article (which you should totally go read, it is well worth it) was just a brief commentary on one of the cultures in Robert Jordan's series The Wheel of Time. Fife believes that the Seanchan culture is a dystopian one, and I have to say, I rather agree with the points he makes. I have often been irked, in fact, by the realization that the Seanchan actually have it pretty well put together except for the whole slavery and oppression of magic wielders they have going on. What the article suggests to me is that in a true dystopia, the majority of the population doesn't realize that it is in a dystopia. The regime is so completely successfully oppressive precisely because the people have willingly sacrificed their freedoms or don't realize that they have done so. All except for that select group that is the example group--the ones who are publicly put down so that the general mass knows what will happen if they do try to resist. In the case of the Seanchan, that example group is users of magic (it is actually a very specific subset of that group of people, but the Seanchan themselves don't realize the flaw in their system quite yet).
The basic history of the Seanchan is that three thousand years ago, the world was "broken" by the Aes Sedai (the users of magic). It was a huge global cataclysm. In the part of the world that became Seanchan, the Aes Sedai that survived the breaking spent the next two thousand years warring with each other. Then along came the army of Artur Hawkwing and they kind of took over everything. To protect themselves from the power of the Aes Sedai, they enslaved all of them, and over the next thousand years built an empire with the magic wielders as their servants. They did this because they were scared of what the Aes Sedai would do to them, to each other, and to the world if left unchecked. Because they were scared of that power, they found a way to control it, and to keep it from ever getting the upper hand again.
It is this history, which I had truly never really thought on very much while reading the series (there is a lot going on there, some aspects of it tend to slip through the cracks from time to time), which my mind connected to my current video game obsession.
In the world of Dragon Age, mages are widely feared by the general populace. Once upon a time, long before the games take place, the world was ruled by mages, but eventually the ungifted folk rose up and threw down their oppressors. In the era in which the games occur, mages are locked up in a Circle, which is guarded by the Templars (the army of the Chantry, the religious power in this world). The Templars have special magic-negating abilities and are thus able to keep the mages in check. While the mages are somewhat autonomous within each Circle, they are kept inside those Circles, and they are mostly kept apart from the general population. Mages who practice magic and do not submit to the Chantry rule are called apostates and are hunted down and brought back to the Circle or executed.
All of this is largely in the background in Dragon Age: Origins, but in Dragon Age II the primary conflict of the story is that between the Circle of Magi and the Templars in the city-state of Kirkwall. One of your companions is an apostate mage who is fighting not only to stay free of Chantry rule, but to see all mages with the same freedoms. To balance him out, you also have in your party a warrior who was once a slave in the Tevinter Imperium--a far off land where the mages not only still rule, but have also all given in to the use of blood magic, which is the cardinal sin a mage can commit in the eyes of the Chantry. It makes for a very interesting dichotomy. While I am not sure how well the story was carried out, or what the actual message the writers were trying to get across was in game two, the basic idea is a strong one.
In a fantasy setting with magic involved, there is always a fine line to walk. Either limitations must be put on the system of magic itself to prevent its wielders from being all-powerful, or societal rules come into play, with the users of magic either being the ruling class or the enslaved class. As a fan of fantasy, I think this might be one of my favorite aspects these days--seeing how the particular story deals with magic and keeping the scales balanced between those who have it and those who don't.
At any rate, when I play Dragon Age now, I have a feeling I will be looking at Thedas as what could be in a post-series Wheel of Time world where there was a new breaking and the Seanchan succeeded in enslaving the Aes Sedai on Rand's side of the ocean...
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The Year of Multitasking
It all started innocently enough. I decided that 2011 would be the year that I finally jumped into the craft of knitting, in addition to my already existing mad crochet skills. I already have two completed projects (a pair of slippers and a hat) under my belt. I thought the easiest way to maintain balance would be to alternate between knitting and crochet projects. This worked for a while.
But then I started on THE project, you know the one, I've mentioned it often enough. Yes, I am talking about the Doctor Who scarf. Good lord, for such a simple and straightforward pattern, this thing managed to completely derail me. I would find myself going for a whole week without doing any knitting or crocheting, pick up the scarf for a day or two, and then more days of not doing anything. Blame it on the tediousness of the super simple pattern, blame it on February, whatever the reason, I was not happy with my crafting lethargy.
THEN I looked at a calendar and realized, holy cow, there are quite a few people in my life having babies in fairly short order! People that I actually do want to make baby blankets for. (The count is now up to five, good gravy.)
I have always preferred to just work on one project at a time, only occasionally taking a break if I had a specific very small and quick project that needed to get done, and then going right back to the main project once finished. But I finally had to face facts and admit to myself that a) if I want to ever actually finish the Doctor Who scarf, I can't just put it in a drawer until I feel like picking it back up again, I need to keep it going, and b) if I want to get all of those blankets done in a timely manner, I needed to get started on them pretty much nowish.
So, I have come up with a solution. Monday through Friday I will work on baby blankets. Saturday and Sunday I will work on the scarf. I put this plan into action a week ago, and so far I am pretty pleased with the results. This past weekend I made some decent progress on my scarf:
I felt much less pressure while working on it this weekend and once more found myself actually enjoying the project. Excellent. Goal achieved, huzzah! I have come to terms that this is a project that will get done when it gets done, and I am okay with that. Besides, it is starting to get warm here anyway, I won't need it until October at least.
I also have been plowing along with Baby Blanket Alpha:
This photo was taken Tuesday night, so I have actually made a bit more progress than what you see. It is about a third of the way done after less than a week of work. This bodes well for baby blankets!
Speaking of finished knitting projects, that hat I mentioned earlier is indeed the Jayne hat that I took with me to Seattle to work on. I started it on the plane on Friday morning and finished it as we were leaving the airport Monday night. I worked on it in between panels on Saturday and while waiting in line for our photo op on Sunday (causing me to now really want a couple of these). I am pleased as punch with how it came out, even though the entire time I was making it I worried that it would be too small. But it actually fits just right!
Pattern: Jayne by Heather Hill (inspired by Joss Whedon's Firefly)
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Bulky by Brown Sheep in Autumn Harvest, Sunburst Gold, and Rust
Needles: Size 10.5 (US) Circular and DPN
So, I have already been discovering the necessity, benefit, and possibility of multitasking in the crafting aspects of my life. If you had asked me a week ago I would have told you that was more than enough, thank you very much. I have enough going on in general without doubling up in each different area.
Then Leigh Butler announced that as of tomorrow she will be starting a new series of posts for Tor's website. I have long enjoyed her Wheel of Time re-read posts, and she has captured my interest with her writing style and turn of phrase. Tor is apparently pretty pleased with her as well, because they asked her if, in addition to her weekly Wheel of Time posts, she would be interested in doing a series of re-read posts for George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.
Here's the thing though: Leigh has never read the series. Not because she didn't want to, but because her devotion to Wheel of Time has sucked up enough of her time and energy that she didn't want to dive into another vastly epic and intricate series that is sort of taking its time to get finished. It's a testament to Martin's writing that fans are so vociferously annoyed at waiting for the next book in the series (which finally has a hard set release date for this summer), though it would be nice if they would go about expressing their desires in a more polite way. But I digress. The point is, Leigh decided she would be willing to give it ago, though instead of a re-read series, her posts will actually be a read-through. Two chapters a week.
Now I, like Leigh, have also had this series on my radar for quite some time. I too have hesitated to jump into it, though unlike Leigh this was because I already have enough other books to be reading that I don't need to jump into yet another big long addictive series (sadly, even though I have been reading at a pretty steady pace this year, my book pile has still only grown larger since last I showed you a picture). But. Two chapters a week? That really is not an unreasonable task. I read way more than that even on my slowest reading weeks.
So, I have finally, at long last, broke my hard and fast rule about reading more than one book at a time. Going forward, in addition to my regularly scheduled reading pile reading, I will also be reading A Game of Thrones (the first book in the series) along with Leigh. If I enjoy it enough, then I will pick up the next book when I am done.
My copy came Tuesday morning and I read through the prologue and first chapter that day. Can I just say, I really kind of want a direwolf now.
This also has the added bonus of ending up saving me about forty-five bucks (well, thirty six if you subtract the cost of the book) next month. I was planning to subscribe to HBO's forthcoming television show based on the series on iTunes (we haven't had any of the premium movie channels since I stopped working for the cable company and I refuse to add any just for one series). But since the first season is supposed to roughly cover the first book, I don't want to watch until I have read the first (and maybe the second as well) book completely through. So, I will probably just end up watching it on Netflix instead once I've finished my reading. Huzzah!
As a second added bonus, I won't be tempted to read the comments section on Leigh's posts (something that can suck up a great deal of time and often make me quite irritated at other people and the world in general). Since most people who will be reading her posts will have already read the entire series so far, she hasn't forbidden spoilers in the comments. So in order to avoid the risk of finding out something I don't want to know until I read it, I will just know to stay away. Excellent.
Hmm, maybe this multitasking thing is gonna work out for me after all.
But then I started on THE project, you know the one, I've mentioned it often enough. Yes, I am talking about the Doctor Who scarf. Good lord, for such a simple and straightforward pattern, this thing managed to completely derail me. I would find myself going for a whole week without doing any knitting or crocheting, pick up the scarf for a day or two, and then more days of not doing anything. Blame it on the tediousness of the super simple pattern, blame it on February, whatever the reason, I was not happy with my crafting lethargy.
THEN I looked at a calendar and realized, holy cow, there are quite a few people in my life having babies in fairly short order! People that I actually do want to make baby blankets for. (The count is now up to five, good gravy.)
I have always preferred to just work on one project at a time, only occasionally taking a break if I had a specific very small and quick project that needed to get done, and then going right back to the main project once finished. But I finally had to face facts and admit to myself that a) if I want to ever actually finish the Doctor Who scarf, I can't just put it in a drawer until I feel like picking it back up again, I need to keep it going, and b) if I want to get all of those blankets done in a timely manner, I needed to get started on them pretty much nowish.
So, I have come up with a solution. Monday through Friday I will work on baby blankets. Saturday and Sunday I will work on the scarf. I put this plan into action a week ago, and so far I am pretty pleased with the results. This past weekend I made some decent progress on my scarf:
 |
| Doctor Who scarf as of March 17, 2011. |
I felt much less pressure while working on it this weekend and once more found myself actually enjoying the project. Excellent. Goal achieved, huzzah! I have come to terms that this is a project that will get done when it gets done, and I am okay with that. Besides, it is starting to get warm here anyway, I won't need it until October at least.
I also have been plowing along with Baby Blanket Alpha:
 | ||
| Baby Blanket Alpha as of March 15, 2011. |
This photo was taken Tuesday night, so I have actually made a bit more progress than what you see. It is about a third of the way done after less than a week of work. This bodes well for baby blankets!
Speaking of finished knitting projects, that hat I mentioned earlier is indeed the Jayne hat that I took with me to Seattle to work on. I started it on the plane on Friday morning and finished it as we were leaving the airport Monday night. I worked on it in between panels on Saturday and while waiting in line for our photo op on Sunday (causing me to now really want a couple of these). I am pleased as punch with how it came out, even though the entire time I was making it I worried that it would be too small. But it actually fits just right!
 |
| Jayne Hat by Cori 2011. |
Pattern: Jayne by Heather Hill (inspired by Joss Whedon's Firefly)
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Bulky by Brown Sheep in Autumn Harvest, Sunburst Gold, and Rust
Needles: Size 10.5 (US) Circular and DPN
 |
| Modeled by moi. |
 |
| Note: Jayne hat also looks good on mini-Browncoats. |
So, I have already been discovering the necessity, benefit, and possibility of multitasking in the crafting aspects of my life. If you had asked me a week ago I would have told you that was more than enough, thank you very much. I have enough going on in general without doubling up in each different area.
Then Leigh Butler announced that as of tomorrow she will be starting a new series of posts for Tor's website. I have long enjoyed her Wheel of Time re-read posts, and she has captured my interest with her writing style and turn of phrase. Tor is apparently pretty pleased with her as well, because they asked her if, in addition to her weekly Wheel of Time posts, she would be interested in doing a series of re-read posts for George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.
Here's the thing though: Leigh has never read the series. Not because she didn't want to, but because her devotion to Wheel of Time has sucked up enough of her time and energy that she didn't want to dive into another vastly epic and intricate series that is sort of taking its time to get finished. It's a testament to Martin's writing that fans are so vociferously annoyed at waiting for the next book in the series (which finally has a hard set release date for this summer), though it would be nice if they would go about expressing their desires in a more polite way. But I digress. The point is, Leigh decided she would be willing to give it ago, though instead of a re-read series, her posts will actually be a read-through. Two chapters a week.
Now I, like Leigh, have also had this series on my radar for quite some time. I too have hesitated to jump into it, though unlike Leigh this was because I already have enough other books to be reading that I don't need to jump into yet another big long addictive series (sadly, even though I have been reading at a pretty steady pace this year, my book pile has still only grown larger since last I showed you a picture). But. Two chapters a week? That really is not an unreasonable task. I read way more than that even on my slowest reading weeks.
So, I have finally, at long last, broke my hard and fast rule about reading more than one book at a time. Going forward, in addition to my regularly scheduled reading pile reading, I will also be reading A Game of Thrones (the first book in the series) along with Leigh. If I enjoy it enough, then I will pick up the next book when I am done.
My copy came Tuesday morning and I read through the prologue and first chapter that day. Can I just say, I really kind of want a direwolf now.
This also has the added bonus of ending up saving me about forty-five bucks (well, thirty six if you subtract the cost of the book) next month. I was planning to subscribe to HBO's forthcoming television show based on the series on iTunes (we haven't had any of the premium movie channels since I stopped working for the cable company and I refuse to add any just for one series). But since the first season is supposed to roughly cover the first book, I don't want to watch until I have read the first (and maybe the second as well) book completely through. So, I will probably just end up watching it on Netflix instead once I've finished my reading. Huzzah!
As a second added bonus, I won't be tempted to read the comments section on Leigh's posts (something that can suck up a great deal of time and often make me quite irritated at other people and the world in general). Since most people who will be reading her posts will have already read the entire series so far, she hasn't forbidden spoilers in the comments. So in order to avoid the risk of finding out something I don't want to know until I read it, I will just know to stay away. Excellent.
Hmm, maybe this multitasking thing is gonna work out for me after all.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Progressions
We're still snowed in here in Texas, sigh. It started snowing again last night. It is, in fact, still snowing. Baby Girl's music class was even canceled today. The thing with snow (and ice) in Texas is that in most cases, the day after we get any kind of frozen precipitation, by the time the sun comes out the temperatures have already risen back up to above freezing (even if it is only a degree or two) and stuff melts during the day. Sure what's left usually freezes over again when night falls once more, but after a day or two of this cycle, it's all gone and things get more or less back to normal. This week, however, the temperatures never got back up out of the twenties, so nothing melted. This has resulted in general mayhem, almost a full week of snow days, and severe bouts of cabin fever.
I did brave the roads yesterday to go to the grocery store, and I was very, very careful (though there wasn't much I could do about the idiots tailgating me except to go even slower than I was already going). It all went well, and now we are stocked up. I have to say, I was severely tempted to purchase one of the electric blankets the store had prominently displayed near the entrance--until I saw the $64 price tag, that is. What is up with that? Electric blankets can't really cost that much, can they? That's got to be someone taking advantage of the current situation, surely. Anyway, hopefully by Monday we can get back to the regular routine.
I've been spending a lot of time with my husband over the last week (he has been working from home and his trip to Boston was canceled), which has mostly been nice. It took us a day or two to get used to each other again. The other day I was playing my video game during nap time while he was in the office as well. At dinner that night, he told me he was going to play some of his game that night, seeing me play mine had made him realize he hadn't played in over three weeks, and got him wanting to jump back in.
We've been doing that sort of thing to each other for years now, since long before we were dating. One of us will be watching a television series or movie, or reading a book series, and it will get the other one interested in picking it up as well, or remind us that there was something else we've been meaning to try.
I have long credited my husband with getting me hooked on science fiction, and I stand by this. Granted, in junior high and high school I did watch SeaQuest and Quantum Leap, but that had nothing to do with either being a science fiction series. I watched SeaQuest because Jonathan Brandis was in it, and there was a talking dolphin. Quantum Leap because it was about time travel and because that was something my family enjoyed watching together. But actually enjoying science fiction for the science fiction aspects of a product didn't occur until college, when my not-yet husband placed a copy of Ender's Game in my hands and made me promise to read it. I did, and I loved it, and I then consumed all of the other books out at the time (and most that have come out since) in that series and its parallel series focusing on the character of Bean.
Clearly I was open to idea of science fiction, but it was my husband who helped me along the path to becoming a true fan of the genre.
But then I started thinking about fantasy. Usually we lump science fiction and fantasy in together without even thinking about it, but they really are two separate (though compatible) genres. (Though some of the really good, nay, best, stuff blends the two together.) I joke that my husband got me into all of that stuff, but when I actually sit back and look at the progression, I had already started to find fantasy before he came along and encouraged me.
Spring Break during my freshman year of college was an odd week. I didn't have a car, and my mom was in California, so I couldn't go home. I only had a part-time job and didn't want to ask for even more money so I could go party somewhere with friends, so I just planned to hunker down in the dorms for a week and enjoy not going to class and having a fairly quiet campus. Then a friend told me his uncle had a cabin a little ways outside of the metroplex and a few friends were going to just go hang out for the weekend, and invited me along. I decided I needed to pick up a new book to take along and dropped by the campus bookstore. Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince book caught my eye (dragon on the cover, the word dragon in the title, you get the drift) so I picked it up. I don't think I ended up reading the book on my trip, but once I did start to read it, I had returned to the book store to pick up the rest of the series before I was done with the first book. So that was actually my first real foray into the world of fantasy novels.
I enjoyed the Dragon Prince and Dragon Star books enough to look for more in that section of the bookstore, so at the end of the year, I also picked up a book by Kristen Britain called Green Rider. I read it that summer and I think I polished the thing off in about two days. That is one of my personal favorite series of all time. The fourth book in the series came out this week, and my husband can confirm I squeed like nobody's business when I opened up the package from Amazon.
The next summer, I had heard that a trilogy of movies based on The Lord of the Rings were in the works. I was somewhat familiar with The Hobbit, but had never read any of the books. But when I heard that Liv Tyler and Elijah Wood (both favorites of mine) had been cast in fairly major roles, I realized I had better get up to speed fairly quickly. So that summer I read The Lord of the Rings and, well, wow. (Okay, before you go and get all indignant that I got into LOTR because of not just the movies, but two actors in the movies, don't. It was enough to peak my interest in the trilogy, certainly, but I did it right and read the books first. By the time The Fellowship of the Ring came out I was already quite well versed in Tolkien's world, and I fully appreciate the books and the movies for what they are, and both of them are awesome in their own ways.)
Coming fresh off of that, you can imagine I was susceptible that fall when my not-yet husband was telling me all about a British YA fantasy series his mother had been teaching in her classes that he had read and thought I would really enjoy. So I eagerly let him press the first four Harry Potter books on me, and then proceeded to gobble those up. I mean, seriously, I remember going out to see Hubby play in his band, then coming home from the bar and curling up in my dorm room closet with the door shut and the light on so I could keep reading, because my roommate was asleep but I had to find out what happened next. Craziness.
Imagine my delight that Christmas when my mom gifted me with a hardcover set of the first four Harry Potter books! I don't think I had told her about them, and she saw them and picked them up for me on a whim. That was one of the most awesome gifts of awesome ever.
Seeing his success with the Harry Potter books (and then Ender's Game shortly after that), the next semester my not-yet hubby felt I was ready to try out his true fantasy love--The Wheel of Time. I think, if you read this blog with any regularity, or know me outside of this blog, you know how that turned out.
So while I did manage to stumble on to fantasy by myself, and while maybe I would have eventually discovered how awesome science fiction is, I still owe a debt of gratitude to my husband for broadening my horizons in those genres. I mean, if he had never gotten me interested in that stuff, I might never had discovered Stargate, and I think that would make me a far, far less happy Cori than I am today.
Ah well, that's enough introspection for today, I suppose. I blame the cabin fever, really. I hope you have a lovely weekend, and that you stay warm, wherever you are. If you watch the Super Bowl, feel free to curse the Steelers and Packers for bringing their darn winter weather to town with them.
Finally, don't forget to check out this week's new Gronk. Katie is back, huzzah! I wonder if monsters have to worry about cholesterol?
I did brave the roads yesterday to go to the grocery store, and I was very, very careful (though there wasn't much I could do about the idiots tailgating me except to go even slower than I was already going). It all went well, and now we are stocked up. I have to say, I was severely tempted to purchase one of the electric blankets the store had prominently displayed near the entrance--until I saw the $64 price tag, that is. What is up with that? Electric blankets can't really cost that much, can they? That's got to be someone taking advantage of the current situation, surely. Anyway, hopefully by Monday we can get back to the regular routine.
I've been spending a lot of time with my husband over the last week (he has been working from home and his trip to Boston was canceled), which has mostly been nice. It took us a day or two to get used to each other again. The other day I was playing my video game during nap time while he was in the office as well. At dinner that night, he told me he was going to play some of his game that night, seeing me play mine had made him realize he hadn't played in over three weeks, and got him wanting to jump back in.
We've been doing that sort of thing to each other for years now, since long before we were dating. One of us will be watching a television series or movie, or reading a book series, and it will get the other one interested in picking it up as well, or remind us that there was something else we've been meaning to try.
I have long credited my husband with getting me hooked on science fiction, and I stand by this. Granted, in junior high and high school I did watch SeaQuest and Quantum Leap, but that had nothing to do with either being a science fiction series. I watched SeaQuest because Jonathan Brandis was in it, and there was a talking dolphin. Quantum Leap because it was about time travel and because that was something my family enjoyed watching together. But actually enjoying science fiction for the science fiction aspects of a product didn't occur until college, when my not-yet husband placed a copy of Ender's Game in my hands and made me promise to read it. I did, and I loved it, and I then consumed all of the other books out at the time (and most that have come out since) in that series and its parallel series focusing on the character of Bean.
Clearly I was open to idea of science fiction, but it was my husband who helped me along the path to becoming a true fan of the genre.
But then I started thinking about fantasy. Usually we lump science fiction and fantasy in together without even thinking about it, but they really are two separate (though compatible) genres. (Though some of the really good, nay, best, stuff blends the two together.) I joke that my husband got me into all of that stuff, but when I actually sit back and look at the progression, I had already started to find fantasy before he came along and encouraged me.
Spring Break during my freshman year of college was an odd week. I didn't have a car, and my mom was in California, so I couldn't go home. I only had a part-time job and didn't want to ask for even more money so I could go party somewhere with friends, so I just planned to hunker down in the dorms for a week and enjoy not going to class and having a fairly quiet campus. Then a friend told me his uncle had a cabin a little ways outside of the metroplex and a few friends were going to just go hang out for the weekend, and invited me along. I decided I needed to pick up a new book to take along and dropped by the campus bookstore. Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince book caught my eye (dragon on the cover, the word dragon in the title, you get the drift) so I picked it up. I don't think I ended up reading the book on my trip, but once I did start to read it, I had returned to the book store to pick up the rest of the series before I was done with the first book. So that was actually my first real foray into the world of fantasy novels.
I enjoyed the Dragon Prince and Dragon Star books enough to look for more in that section of the bookstore, so at the end of the year, I also picked up a book by Kristen Britain called Green Rider. I read it that summer and I think I polished the thing off in about two days. That is one of my personal favorite series of all time. The fourth book in the series came out this week, and my husband can confirm I squeed like nobody's business when I opened up the package from Amazon.
The next summer, I had heard that a trilogy of movies based on The Lord of the Rings were in the works. I was somewhat familiar with The Hobbit, but had never read any of the books. But when I heard that Liv Tyler and Elijah Wood (both favorites of mine) had been cast in fairly major roles, I realized I had better get up to speed fairly quickly. So that summer I read The Lord of the Rings and, well, wow. (Okay, before you go and get all indignant that I got into LOTR because of not just the movies, but two actors in the movies, don't. It was enough to peak my interest in the trilogy, certainly, but I did it right and read the books first. By the time The Fellowship of the Ring came out I was already quite well versed in Tolkien's world, and I fully appreciate the books and the movies for what they are, and both of them are awesome in their own ways.)
Coming fresh off of that, you can imagine I was susceptible that fall when my not-yet husband was telling me all about a British YA fantasy series his mother had been teaching in her classes that he had read and thought I would really enjoy. So I eagerly let him press the first four Harry Potter books on me, and then proceeded to gobble those up. I mean, seriously, I remember going out to see Hubby play in his band, then coming home from the bar and curling up in my dorm room closet with the door shut and the light on so I could keep reading, because my roommate was asleep but I had to find out what happened next. Craziness.
Imagine my delight that Christmas when my mom gifted me with a hardcover set of the first four Harry Potter books! I don't think I had told her about them, and she saw them and picked them up for me on a whim. That was one of the most awesome gifts of awesome ever.
Seeing his success with the Harry Potter books (and then Ender's Game shortly after that), the next semester my not-yet hubby felt I was ready to try out his true fantasy love--The Wheel of Time. I think, if you read this blog with any regularity, or know me outside of this blog, you know how that turned out.
So while I did manage to stumble on to fantasy by myself, and while maybe I would have eventually discovered how awesome science fiction is, I still owe a debt of gratitude to my husband for broadening my horizons in those genres. I mean, if he had never gotten me interested in that stuff, I might never had discovered Stargate, and I think that would make me a far, far less happy Cori than I am today.
Ah well, that's enough introspection for today, I suppose. I blame the cabin fever, really. I hope you have a lovely weekend, and that you stay warm, wherever you are. If you watch the Super Bowl, feel free to curse the Steelers and Packers for bringing their darn winter weather to town with them.
Finally, don't forget to check out this week's new Gronk. Katie is back, huzzah! I wonder if monsters have to worry about cholesterol?
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Character Flaws
I have a confession to make. I haven't been making any progress with my writing so far this year. I've certainly been thinking about it, and quite a bit. But actual research? Actual writing (other than on this blog)? Not so much. My current plan on the writing front is to start out February by printing the manuscript of my first draft of Living Legend, the story I wrote in November. Then, I am going to sit down and just read through the darn thing once. Probably with a red pen handy just in case of any glaring typos or proofreading finds, though that will not be the main purpose of the read-through. Once I have done that, I am going to go back through the thing and start taking notes and editing. I will also be finding the appropriate places to add new scenes or expand those already existing. For instance, there is one scene, early on, from a specific character's point of view. It is the only one for him, and I think the book would benefit greatly by seeing more of the story through his eyes. I also definitely want to flesh out my characters. Characters are important, you know. I am anticipating at least three drafts of this thing before I start thinking about trying to publish it myself or looking for an agent (or sticking it in a closet and saving it for later before finally admitting it is crap and should never see the light of day again). The goal is to get draft two done this year, while starting (or at least laying the groundwork for) another original story as well.
See, lots of thinking going on, if no other actual activity. I have also been paying attention to articles about writing, bookmarking when appropriate and otherwise absorbing the information like the little sponge I am. In the past few days I have stumbled across two that have really struck a chord with me, and I wanted to talk about what I took away from them. Both articles spend a lot of time talking about characters and how important they are to any good piece of fiction. I fervently believe this. They also both suggest that characters need to have flaws that we, the readers, can latch on to and, if not actually identify with, want to know more about. This gives us reason to root for them in their adventures.
The first article appeared on Tor's website and was written by Jon Sprunk: Characters: What Are They Good For?
The second entry was the latest in Sylvia Bond's series about fan fiction over at Pink Raygun: The Fan Whisperer-Part 4
Both authors argue that no one wants to read about a perfect character. That character is not only less believable, but also runs the risk of being extremely annoying (or a Mary Sue, of which most of us have grown quite weary). But. I would argue that a character that seems perfect, at least to the other characters in a story, and is then revealed to have some really messed up stuff going on would be quite fascinating to read about. Though that goes back to the "give your character flaws" suggestion, I suppose.
A writer certainly has to take character development and growth into consideration as well. You can start with a "perfect" character and then present her with a situation that is completely out of her league, and which she has no idea how to solve or survive. Focus a bit on how she does manage to muddle through (or doesn't, for that matter), certainly. But the really interesting bit in this kind of story will be the consequences. As a result of her failure, what has changed about her? About how the world sees her? How she sees herself? Even more importantly, what happens the next time she gets thrown into an impossible situation? You've given your perfect character a flaw, and then made her learn to live with it. Now she's grown (whether for better or for worse is totally up to you as the writer), and the readers have a better idea of who she is, and are interested to find out what happens to her next. It is extremely important to note (as Sprunk does), that a reader doesn't have to actually like a character to care about what happens to her. But there's got to be something there to grab the reader's interest, whether they like the character or not.
That learning to live with it part is, I think, tricky for a lot of writers. I'll admit that I probably haven't applied this principle very well to my own characters. Yet. But that is definitely something I will be looking to do as I flesh out Living Legend and try to make Cass and Niko as fully realized on the page as they are in my head. It can be very easy for a writer to get bogged down in the struggle of dealing with flaws, and that is a very fine line to walk. Let me give you two examples from series I enjoy to see if I can illustrate this point.
In both cases, the character in question begins to develop or discover latent supernatural abilities and, fearing what they are now capable of, tries to run away from them. That's what I am going with for the flaw in common.
For my first example I will turn to the character of Perrin Aybara from Robert Jordan's (with some assistance by Brandon Sanderson, of course) Wheel of Time series. In the very first book in the series (now up to book thirteen, with one left to go, not including the already published prequel), Perrin learns he has a very special ability. He is what Jordan calls a Wolfbrother. He can sense and communicate with wolves. Upon leaving his home to set out on his adventures, his Wolfbrother talents, latent until that point, begin to emerge and develop. In addition to his connection with wolves, his senses also begin to sharpen (particularly his sight and sense of smell) and his eyes turn yellow. He is also able to walk in Tel'aran'rhiod, the world of dreams, through which wolves and some select others movie freely.
Upon discovering these new skills and abilities (and they don't all come at once, with some developing more slowly than others, of course), Perrin, naturally, freaks the heck out. He is afraid that these abilities come from a source of evil, or that they will at least be perceived that way by others. This is such a rare talent that even the wolves only faintly remember it in their genetic memory. Very few scholars and historians have heard of it, let alone the common folk Perrin encounters on a daily basis. Then, he runs into a man named Elyas who, as it turns out, is also a Wolfbrother. He is able to seek some guidance from Elyas, and his fears are somewhat abated. He befriends one wolf in particular, Hopper, who practically bends over backward to welcome Perrin into the fold and teach him the ways of the wolves.
Perrin started out as one of the more well-balanced characters in the series, and was an early fan favorite. His status as a Wolfbrother gave him great potential, and throughout much of the second book in the series his developing skills are crucial to the story. He is, at this point, still trying to come to terms with what it is that he has become, however. Some early experiences with the wolves have given him cause to fear that he may misuse his abilities if he relies on them too heavily. So we've got a fairly likable character with pretty great potential. He's been given what he considers a huge flaw in his character, and is working out how to deal and live with these changes. His abilities really aren't a flaw in and of themselves, I think most readers would agree on this. They are actually pretty freaking cool in my opinion. But the way Perrin deals with them is what turns out to be his largest character flaw. Mostly because, well, he doesn't.
After the second book, things go downhill pretty quickly for Perrin. In the third book Perrin meets two people who alter his story arc in such a way that it quickly became the bits everyone stopped caring about and just skipped over upon follow-up readings. He meets a woman (more of a girl, really), named Faile, who, for almost every inch of page she appears on, is excruciatingly annoying. She gloms on to Perrin's party during a quest and refuses to go away. Even Perrin can't stand her at first, but then, for no demonstrable reason, he ends up falling in love with (and eventually marrying) her. This is not your typical "they hate each other but there's a spark and eventually they find out all they have in common" relationship. No, Jordan truly shows the readers nothing to explain how Perrin suddenly and irrevocably falls in love with Faile, he just does. That's a long enough standing gripe though that I don't want to get into it here. The point is that the presence of Faile in Perrin's life and story arc gives him yet another flaw, and this is a huge one. She makes his brain completely fall out of his head. I don't mean he gets all lovesick and mopey around her (though he does), but he seriously just stops thinking whenever she's around or if a situation has to do with her. Also, she has some insane cultural notions about how men and women should relate to each other, and he neither asks her flat out to lay out the rules for her or finds someone who has some sort of experience with Saldeans to just freaking ask. So they fight. All. The. Time. It is painful.
Shortly after meeting Faile he also meets another young man who is a Wolfbrother (they're getting close to the end of days, so these things are popping up with more frequency than is usual). Unfortunately, this man has completely given into the wolfish side of his nature and gone utterly feral. Perrin then spends the next nine books worrying and fearing that the same thing would happen to him and then tries to run away from who he is. Nine books. Big, fat ones, with lots of words. It isn't until the most recent book that he finally comes to grips with both his relationship with his wife (mostly), and his status as a Wolfbrother. He finally stops running and accepts who he has become, and in the process, actually learns that he was being an idiot all along. Huzzah! Thankfully Jordan and Sanderson managed to give Perrin redemption in the most awesome scene of awesomeness ever, but I think almost every WoT fan would agree that it took too dang long to get there.
The point here is that Jordan had a really nice potential set up with this character and then, I can only assume perceiving he was too likable, proceeded to heap flaw upon flaw upon flaw on the character, without taking the time to actually resolve any of them and move on before it was almost too late. He just let those flaws ride throughout most of the series, turning a really cool character into an utterly uninteresting one, which is a shame, considering that Perrin is actually one of the three primary main characters in the whole dang series.
Hint to television producers and writers: This is actually the same affliction that causes many serialized shows to go down the crapper for audiences. You can't just let a character's flaws ride out without having the other characters at least point out that so-and-so is being a douche. Preferably this would then lead to some sort of confrontation and character growth or regression, breaking up the status quo. The status quo really isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Though, I must note that in Jordan's case, the sheer volume of characters he has introduced in this series probably means that he just didn't have the time to get around to Perrin's resolution until much later in the series. Still. Bad form, that.
So there you have my example of character flaws allowed to go wrong. Let's look at one that's handled a little better, shall we?
One of the first fantasy series I picked up on my own was Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince/Dragon Star series (it is technically two trilogies, but they follow one right after the other for a six book arc). Rawn gave us the character of Alasen, a young woman who has the ability to become a Sunrunner, which is the primary type of magic user in the series. Usually, people with this ability are sent to Goddess Keep to be trained at a fairly young age (normally in their early teens), but because Alasen is nobility, she was never sent to be trained to access her powers. Turns out, that's perfectly fine with her because she is absolutely terrified of those powers. But then she meets a young Sunrunner, Andry, who is poised to take over as the next Lord of Goddess Keep (the head honcho). The two hit it off quite well and it is clearly young love. Andry, who loves his powers, wants to share them with Alasen, and attempts to get her to see what she's been missing. His attempt is rather ham-handed and not only does Alasen basically run screaming into the night, she flat out refuses to pursue a further relationship with Andry because she has lost all trust in him.
This is a kind of trope that usually annoys me, I have to admit. I can get being cautious of what you can do and respecting your powers, but hiding from what you are? Refusing to learn more about them, about your self? I don't get it, and I very definitely consider it a character flaw. Too often writers will relish in this kind of character self-denial, and unless there's a very compelling reason for it, it is extremely difficult to pull off without just ending up becoming incredibly tedious.
Alasen ends up marrying the man that she perceives as having saved her from Andry, an older gentleman named Ostvel. It is quite clear that her marriage to Ostvel is a knee-jerk reaction to get her away from any chance of being with Andry in the future, and at first, it is unclear what connection, other than an appreciation for his help, Alasen really has with Ostvel. But. Over the course of the next three books (all of this happens toward the end of the third), we not only see Alasen and Ostvel's relationship grow into something very real and solid and true, we also watch Alasen come to term with who and what she is. Even if she doesn't want to use her Sunrunner abilities, they are still there, and a time comes when she can no longer afford to ignore them, because events play out that require everyone to give everything they've got.
Interestingly enough, Andry is also changed by this encounter. He never really gets over Alasen, taking multiple lovers along the way but never committing to them. Alasen's rejection of him, and subsequent acceptance of Ostvel, sets him on a downward spiral that has dire effects on the rest of the world. When he gains control of the Sunrunners, he makes sweeping changes to policy that sets them apart and, in his mind, somewhat above the rest of the people. He also, despite strong family ties, becomes very reluctant to cooperate with the leaders of the various Princedoms, even when a larger enemy emerges that requires a unified front if there is to be any chance of survival. So even though Alasen eventually confronts her fears and grows from her flaws, these very flaws set in motion a series of actions on the part of others that have very far-reaching consequences. That is a pretty darn good example of how to use a character's flaw within a story, I would say.
So, to sum up, characters are extremely important in a work of fiction. It is a widely held belief by writers (and readers) that a well-crafted character comes complete with flaws that can be exploited to further the story. While I agree with that, I think it is extremely important to remember that the flaws alone are not enough. The character's flaws must serve a function in the development of the character. It is in this manner that they should influence the plot, the plot should not be centered around the flaws themselves. Just because I think I know what needs to be done here, I don't pretend I've actually figured out how to do it yet. It's a tricky thing to get right, and even the best of authors sometimes fall down on the job.
But that's what practice is for.
See, lots of thinking going on, if no other actual activity. I have also been paying attention to articles about writing, bookmarking when appropriate and otherwise absorbing the information like the little sponge I am. In the past few days I have stumbled across two that have really struck a chord with me, and I wanted to talk about what I took away from them. Both articles spend a lot of time talking about characters and how important they are to any good piece of fiction. I fervently believe this. They also both suggest that characters need to have flaws that we, the readers, can latch on to and, if not actually identify with, want to know more about. This gives us reason to root for them in their adventures.
The first article appeared on Tor's website and was written by Jon Sprunk: Characters: What Are They Good For?
The second entry was the latest in Sylvia Bond's series about fan fiction over at Pink Raygun: The Fan Whisperer-Part 4
Both authors argue that no one wants to read about a perfect character. That character is not only less believable, but also runs the risk of being extremely annoying (or a Mary Sue, of which most of us have grown quite weary). But. I would argue that a character that seems perfect, at least to the other characters in a story, and is then revealed to have some really messed up stuff going on would be quite fascinating to read about. Though that goes back to the "give your character flaws" suggestion, I suppose.
A writer certainly has to take character development and growth into consideration as well. You can start with a "perfect" character and then present her with a situation that is completely out of her league, and which she has no idea how to solve or survive. Focus a bit on how she does manage to muddle through (or doesn't, for that matter), certainly. But the really interesting bit in this kind of story will be the consequences. As a result of her failure, what has changed about her? About how the world sees her? How she sees herself? Even more importantly, what happens the next time she gets thrown into an impossible situation? You've given your perfect character a flaw, and then made her learn to live with it. Now she's grown (whether for better or for worse is totally up to you as the writer), and the readers have a better idea of who she is, and are interested to find out what happens to her next. It is extremely important to note (as Sprunk does), that a reader doesn't have to actually like a character to care about what happens to her. But there's got to be something there to grab the reader's interest, whether they like the character or not.
That learning to live with it part is, I think, tricky for a lot of writers. I'll admit that I probably haven't applied this principle very well to my own characters. Yet. But that is definitely something I will be looking to do as I flesh out Living Legend and try to make Cass and Niko as fully realized on the page as they are in my head. It can be very easy for a writer to get bogged down in the struggle of dealing with flaws, and that is a very fine line to walk. Let me give you two examples from series I enjoy to see if I can illustrate this point.
In both cases, the character in question begins to develop or discover latent supernatural abilities and, fearing what they are now capable of, tries to run away from them. That's what I am going with for the flaw in common.
For my first example I will turn to the character of Perrin Aybara from Robert Jordan's (with some assistance by Brandon Sanderson, of course) Wheel of Time series. In the very first book in the series (now up to book thirteen, with one left to go, not including the already published prequel), Perrin learns he has a very special ability. He is what Jordan calls a Wolfbrother. He can sense and communicate with wolves. Upon leaving his home to set out on his adventures, his Wolfbrother talents, latent until that point, begin to emerge and develop. In addition to his connection with wolves, his senses also begin to sharpen (particularly his sight and sense of smell) and his eyes turn yellow. He is also able to walk in Tel'aran'rhiod, the world of dreams, through which wolves and some select others movie freely.
Upon discovering these new skills and abilities (and they don't all come at once, with some developing more slowly than others, of course), Perrin, naturally, freaks the heck out. He is afraid that these abilities come from a source of evil, or that they will at least be perceived that way by others. This is such a rare talent that even the wolves only faintly remember it in their genetic memory. Very few scholars and historians have heard of it, let alone the common folk Perrin encounters on a daily basis. Then, he runs into a man named Elyas who, as it turns out, is also a Wolfbrother. He is able to seek some guidance from Elyas, and his fears are somewhat abated. He befriends one wolf in particular, Hopper, who practically bends over backward to welcome Perrin into the fold and teach him the ways of the wolves.
Perrin started out as one of the more well-balanced characters in the series, and was an early fan favorite. His status as a Wolfbrother gave him great potential, and throughout much of the second book in the series his developing skills are crucial to the story. He is, at this point, still trying to come to terms with what it is that he has become, however. Some early experiences with the wolves have given him cause to fear that he may misuse his abilities if he relies on them too heavily. So we've got a fairly likable character with pretty great potential. He's been given what he considers a huge flaw in his character, and is working out how to deal and live with these changes. His abilities really aren't a flaw in and of themselves, I think most readers would agree on this. They are actually pretty freaking cool in my opinion. But the way Perrin deals with them is what turns out to be his largest character flaw. Mostly because, well, he doesn't.
After the second book, things go downhill pretty quickly for Perrin. In the third book Perrin meets two people who alter his story arc in such a way that it quickly became the bits everyone stopped caring about and just skipped over upon follow-up readings. He meets a woman (more of a girl, really), named Faile, who, for almost every inch of page she appears on, is excruciatingly annoying. She gloms on to Perrin's party during a quest and refuses to go away. Even Perrin can't stand her at first, but then, for no demonstrable reason, he ends up falling in love with (and eventually marrying) her. This is not your typical "they hate each other but there's a spark and eventually they find out all they have in common" relationship. No, Jordan truly shows the readers nothing to explain how Perrin suddenly and irrevocably falls in love with Faile, he just does. That's a long enough standing gripe though that I don't want to get into it here. The point is that the presence of Faile in Perrin's life and story arc gives him yet another flaw, and this is a huge one. She makes his brain completely fall out of his head. I don't mean he gets all lovesick and mopey around her (though he does), but he seriously just stops thinking whenever she's around or if a situation has to do with her. Also, she has some insane cultural notions about how men and women should relate to each other, and he neither asks her flat out to lay out the rules for her or finds someone who has some sort of experience with Saldeans to just freaking ask. So they fight. All. The. Time. It is painful.
Shortly after meeting Faile he also meets another young man who is a Wolfbrother (they're getting close to the end of days, so these things are popping up with more frequency than is usual). Unfortunately, this man has completely given into the wolfish side of his nature and gone utterly feral. Perrin then spends the next nine books worrying and fearing that the same thing would happen to him and then tries to run away from who he is. Nine books. Big, fat ones, with lots of words. It isn't until the most recent book that he finally comes to grips with both his relationship with his wife (mostly), and his status as a Wolfbrother. He finally stops running and accepts who he has become, and in the process, actually learns that he was being an idiot all along. Huzzah! Thankfully Jordan and Sanderson managed to give Perrin redemption in the most awesome scene of awesomeness ever, but I think almost every WoT fan would agree that it took too dang long to get there.
The point here is that Jordan had a really nice potential set up with this character and then, I can only assume perceiving he was too likable, proceeded to heap flaw upon flaw upon flaw on the character, without taking the time to actually resolve any of them and move on before it was almost too late. He just let those flaws ride throughout most of the series, turning a really cool character into an utterly uninteresting one, which is a shame, considering that Perrin is actually one of the three primary main characters in the whole dang series.
Hint to television producers and writers: This is actually the same affliction that causes many serialized shows to go down the crapper for audiences. You can't just let a character's flaws ride out without having the other characters at least point out that so-and-so is being a douche. Preferably this would then lead to some sort of confrontation and character growth or regression, breaking up the status quo. The status quo really isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Though, I must note that in Jordan's case, the sheer volume of characters he has introduced in this series probably means that he just didn't have the time to get around to Perrin's resolution until much later in the series. Still. Bad form, that.
So there you have my example of character flaws allowed to go wrong. Let's look at one that's handled a little better, shall we?
One of the first fantasy series I picked up on my own was Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince/Dragon Star series (it is technically two trilogies, but they follow one right after the other for a six book arc). Rawn gave us the character of Alasen, a young woman who has the ability to become a Sunrunner, which is the primary type of magic user in the series. Usually, people with this ability are sent to Goddess Keep to be trained at a fairly young age (normally in their early teens), but because Alasen is nobility, she was never sent to be trained to access her powers. Turns out, that's perfectly fine with her because she is absolutely terrified of those powers. But then she meets a young Sunrunner, Andry, who is poised to take over as the next Lord of Goddess Keep (the head honcho). The two hit it off quite well and it is clearly young love. Andry, who loves his powers, wants to share them with Alasen, and attempts to get her to see what she's been missing. His attempt is rather ham-handed and not only does Alasen basically run screaming into the night, she flat out refuses to pursue a further relationship with Andry because she has lost all trust in him.
This is a kind of trope that usually annoys me, I have to admit. I can get being cautious of what you can do and respecting your powers, but hiding from what you are? Refusing to learn more about them, about your self? I don't get it, and I very definitely consider it a character flaw. Too often writers will relish in this kind of character self-denial, and unless there's a very compelling reason for it, it is extremely difficult to pull off without just ending up becoming incredibly tedious.
Alasen ends up marrying the man that she perceives as having saved her from Andry, an older gentleman named Ostvel. It is quite clear that her marriage to Ostvel is a knee-jerk reaction to get her away from any chance of being with Andry in the future, and at first, it is unclear what connection, other than an appreciation for his help, Alasen really has with Ostvel. But. Over the course of the next three books (all of this happens toward the end of the third), we not only see Alasen and Ostvel's relationship grow into something very real and solid and true, we also watch Alasen come to term with who and what she is. Even if she doesn't want to use her Sunrunner abilities, they are still there, and a time comes when she can no longer afford to ignore them, because events play out that require everyone to give everything they've got.
Interestingly enough, Andry is also changed by this encounter. He never really gets over Alasen, taking multiple lovers along the way but never committing to them. Alasen's rejection of him, and subsequent acceptance of Ostvel, sets him on a downward spiral that has dire effects on the rest of the world. When he gains control of the Sunrunners, he makes sweeping changes to policy that sets them apart and, in his mind, somewhat above the rest of the people. He also, despite strong family ties, becomes very reluctant to cooperate with the leaders of the various Princedoms, even when a larger enemy emerges that requires a unified front if there is to be any chance of survival. So even though Alasen eventually confronts her fears and grows from her flaws, these very flaws set in motion a series of actions on the part of others that have very far-reaching consequences. That is a pretty darn good example of how to use a character's flaw within a story, I would say.
So, to sum up, characters are extremely important in a work of fiction. It is a widely held belief by writers (and readers) that a well-crafted character comes complete with flaws that can be exploited to further the story. While I agree with that, I think it is extremely important to remember that the flaws alone are not enough. The character's flaws must serve a function in the development of the character. It is in this manner that they should influence the plot, the plot should not be centered around the flaws themselves. Just because I think I know what needs to be done here, I don't pretend I've actually figured out how to do it yet. It's a tricky thing to get right, and even the best of authors sometimes fall down on the job.
But that's what practice is for.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale (Comic Book Review)
Disclaimer: The following review is largely free of spoilers for the comic book, but does have one HUGE spoiler for the movie Serenity if you have not seen it. (And if you haven't, why the heck not? Seriously, stop reading this and go watch it. Chop, chop! I'll wait.)
Those of you familiar with the television series Firefly and the consequent movie Serenity will be aware that the character of Shepherd Derrial Book (played so excellently by Ron Glass) was perhaps the singularly most mysterious character in that 'verse.
Okay, I know all of you River super-fans are screaming out in protest at this, but I stand behind that statement. River is baffling, certainly, and often an unknown quantity, but once the movie had aired, there wasn't a whole lot of mystery left to her character. Questions? Sure. Mystery? Not so much. We know exactly what happened to make her, well, her. We even find out what a lot of her super secret skills are as the series and movie unfold. While we know that we don't know all there is to know about River Tam, at this point I doubt any new revelations will actually be shocking, or even all that surprising. She was trained to be a psychic super soldier. Anything new and badass that she ends up doing can likely be traced back to that training.
But Book? No one in the 'verse knew what was up with him. We know he's a Shepherd, the equivalent of a priest or a pastor in the 'verse, but that's about it. Throughout the series and movie he was a stalwart man of faith, exploring the 'verse for the sake of the journey itself. But throughout there were always hints. A line here, an action there, a counter-intuitive reaction somewhere else. As the story unfolds it becomes clearer and clearer that Book was most definitely not always a Shepherd, and while he never reveals what he did before turning to God, the impression is pretty clear that it was rather ungodly work. Then, Joss Whedon, in typical fashion, up and killed Book in Serenity. Without revealing any of his back story. Fans have been clamoring for years to find out what Book's deep, dark secrets were, pestering Joss at conventions, speculating about it online, etc., etc. I myself speculated that perhaps he had at one time been an Operative. (I'm not gonna tell you whether or not that guess was right.)
Finally, with the help of his brother Zack Whedon and artist Chris Samnee, Joss has deigned to give us that back story in Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale. This graphic novel (which comes in a lovely hardcover edition), is a little shorter than your standard trade paperback comic book, but definitely longer than a one-shot comic. Let me be clear. This is not the complete, unabridged, full-out origin story of Shepherd Book. What it is, is a glimpse at the series of events that got our favorite preacher onto the crew of Serenity.
It is a very satisfying set of snapshots that show us not only where Derrial Book came from, but how he got from each stage of his life to the next--leading from his childhood to his death, although not in that order (more on that in a sec). I don't think it will surprise any of the readers to learn that Book's life before becoming a Shepherd was a difficult one, or that he committed many sins for which he wished to atone. We only get to see a few of those sins. Some of them are monumental to shaping the Shepherd, but some are just stepping stones. What I did find delightfully surprising was the array of allegiances he seems to have gone through in his life.
My favorite part is that this story is told backwards. It starts with the attack on Haven (which occurred during the course of the movie Serenity but was not shown onscreen) and works its way back through different points in his life--his days on the ship, leaving the church to go wandering, finding God in a bowl of soup, and so on--all the way to the defining moment of his youth when he took charge of his own life and set out on the path that led him to us in the first place. If you are familiar with the Wheel of Time series at all, the manner in which this is told struck me as being very much like the trips the prospective clan chiefs and Wise Ones of the Aiel took through the glass columns in Rhuidean. Not just because it started at the one end of the time line and worked its way backward, but also in the manner in which we see the different lives led by the man who came to be known as Shepherd Book. It is one life, overall, but it may as well have been many separate lives.
All in all, I give this book a hearty thumbs up. I, as a fan dying of curiosity to know more about Book, was completely satisfied by the answers this story provides. Perhaps even more so because it does leave some of the mystery intact. And who would Book be, without his mystery?
My only nitpick with this at all is the art. Don't get me wrong, the book is gorgeously drawn and inked, but I didn't see any familiarity in the faces of the characters we knew. I realize there is a certain freedom with comic book representation of established characters, and they can vary from artist to artist, and I accept that. I just feel very strongly that in the case of established characters that were, in fact, established on a television or movie screen, rather than first on the written page, the artist should try to remain faithful to the faces of those characters that we know and love. I read many comic books based on television series and believe me when I say that sometimes a poor representation of a character's appearance can be so jarring as to take a reader right out of the story. Thankfully, the story in this case is wonderful enough that the incongruity can be overlooked. But I would be remiss not to warn you of it, all the same.
Other than that though, quality stuff. Christmas is just around the bend, folks. If there's a Browncoat on your shopping list, this might make a right shiny gift (or perhaps Santa could bring you a copy, if you ask him nicely).
Those of you familiar with the television series Firefly and the consequent movie Serenity will be aware that the character of Shepherd Derrial Book (played so excellently by Ron Glass) was perhaps the singularly most mysterious character in that 'verse.
Okay, I know all of you River super-fans are screaming out in protest at this, but I stand behind that statement. River is baffling, certainly, and often an unknown quantity, but once the movie had aired, there wasn't a whole lot of mystery left to her character. Questions? Sure. Mystery? Not so much. We know exactly what happened to make her, well, her. We even find out what a lot of her super secret skills are as the series and movie unfold. While we know that we don't know all there is to know about River Tam, at this point I doubt any new revelations will actually be shocking, or even all that surprising. She was trained to be a psychic super soldier. Anything new and badass that she ends up doing can likely be traced back to that training.
But Book? No one in the 'verse knew what was up with him. We know he's a Shepherd, the equivalent of a priest or a pastor in the 'verse, but that's about it. Throughout the series and movie he was a stalwart man of faith, exploring the 'verse for the sake of the journey itself. But throughout there were always hints. A line here, an action there, a counter-intuitive reaction somewhere else. As the story unfolds it becomes clearer and clearer that Book was most definitely not always a Shepherd, and while he never reveals what he did before turning to God, the impression is pretty clear that it was rather ungodly work. Then, Joss Whedon, in typical fashion, up and killed Book in Serenity. Without revealing any of his back story. Fans have been clamoring for years to find out what Book's deep, dark secrets were, pestering Joss at conventions, speculating about it online, etc., etc. I myself speculated that perhaps he had at one time been an Operative. (I'm not gonna tell you whether or not that guess was right.)
Finally, with the help of his brother Zack Whedon and artist Chris Samnee, Joss has deigned to give us that back story in Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale. This graphic novel (which comes in a lovely hardcover edition), is a little shorter than your standard trade paperback comic book, but definitely longer than a one-shot comic. Let me be clear. This is not the complete, unabridged, full-out origin story of Shepherd Book. What it is, is a glimpse at the series of events that got our favorite preacher onto the crew of Serenity.
It is a very satisfying set of snapshots that show us not only where Derrial Book came from, but how he got from each stage of his life to the next--leading from his childhood to his death, although not in that order (more on that in a sec). I don't think it will surprise any of the readers to learn that Book's life before becoming a Shepherd was a difficult one, or that he committed many sins for which he wished to atone. We only get to see a few of those sins. Some of them are monumental to shaping the Shepherd, but some are just stepping stones. What I did find delightfully surprising was the array of allegiances he seems to have gone through in his life.
My favorite part is that this story is told backwards. It starts with the attack on Haven (which occurred during the course of the movie Serenity but was not shown onscreen) and works its way back through different points in his life--his days on the ship, leaving the church to go wandering, finding God in a bowl of soup, and so on--all the way to the defining moment of his youth when he took charge of his own life and set out on the path that led him to us in the first place. If you are familiar with the Wheel of Time series at all, the manner in which this is told struck me as being very much like the trips the prospective clan chiefs and Wise Ones of the Aiel took through the glass columns in Rhuidean. Not just because it started at the one end of the time line and worked its way backward, but also in the manner in which we see the different lives led by the man who came to be known as Shepherd Book. It is one life, overall, but it may as well have been many separate lives.
All in all, I give this book a hearty thumbs up. I, as a fan dying of curiosity to know more about Book, was completely satisfied by the answers this story provides. Perhaps even more so because it does leave some of the mystery intact. And who would Book be, without his mystery?
My only nitpick with this at all is the art. Don't get me wrong, the book is gorgeously drawn and inked, but I didn't see any familiarity in the faces of the characters we knew. I realize there is a certain freedom with comic book representation of established characters, and they can vary from artist to artist, and I accept that. I just feel very strongly that in the case of established characters that were, in fact, established on a television or movie screen, rather than first on the written page, the artist should try to remain faithful to the faces of those characters that we know and love. I read many comic books based on television series and believe me when I say that sometimes a poor representation of a character's appearance can be so jarring as to take a reader right out of the story. Thankfully, the story in this case is wonderful enough that the incongruity can be overlooked. But I would be remiss not to warn you of it, all the same.
Other than that though, quality stuff. Christmas is just around the bend, folks. If there's a Browncoat on your shopping list, this might make a right shiny gift (or perhaps Santa could bring you a copy, if you ask him nicely).
Friday, December 3, 2010
Bits and Pieces
Ooh, ooh! I totally finished Towers of Midnight yesterday and it was so freaking awesome. I love Perrin so much. He's cool again, huzzah! Also, Moiraine! And I'm very annoyed that there are now Whitecloaks that I like. What's up with that, seriously? Plus, it's going to suck to be Aiel in the future, apparently.
Um, that's pretty much the extent of the review I am going to do on that particular book, other than to say oh wow. I loved it. I can't wait for the next (and last!) Wheel of Time book to come out. I suspect my husband and I will be fighting over first-read dibs ferociously. But if you'd like a more in-depth review, Leigh Butler over at Tor has two, one that is spoiler-free, and one that is so totally not spoiler-free.
This means I can start playing Kingdom Hearts today during nap time. Sweet. I've got my walk-through saved, and I am determined to get this damn game played, y'all. Reading-wise, I have two months worth of comic books and graphic novels (including the Serenity GN about Shepherd Book's backstory, which I may actually review for you if I get motivated) to read through, so I am gonna get those all read up (just in time for my December shipment to head my way) before I dive into my next book. I have two clamoring for my attention right now, so I am going to use the time to decide which one to dive into first. I'll let you know when I do get that figured out though. I know you're desperate to know.
Oh, hey, did you notice? It's Friday! That means time for a new installment of Gronk, yay! Please to check it out and enjoy, here. Poor Gronk may not want to watch Battlestar for a while, but hopefully she'll give it a chance eventually!
Speaking of web-comics, one of my all-time favorites is called Looking for Group. It is completely and utterly fantastic. Basically, it's an RPG that you read instead of play, if that makes any sense at all. The story centers around an elf named Cale who is good and pure and always wants to do the right thing. This is a bit of a problem because all elves are evil in the world Cale lives in, but apparently nobody bothered to tell him that. So, as he goes along, looking for adventure, he picks up a group, made up of really awesome, really not-nice people. This includes one of my favorite characters of anything ever, Richard the warlock (or, Dick). It is updated two times a week (Mondays and Thursdays) and each installment is basically a fully colored page out of a graphic novel. There is an overarching story-arc, but there are smaller story-arcs as well. So far, they have released three volumes of the series in really nice hardcover graphic novel format. I'll admit, it makes a lot more sense when you sit down and read big chunks of it at once, but it is still highly amusing and entertaining on a page by page basis. If you're interested in giving it a try, you can check out the first couple of pages and then decide where to go from there. Here is a link to page one.
Anyhoo, the reason I am telling you this is because I wanted to share an awesome moment in my life with you. A while back I was telling my friend Miss T about the comic and when explaining it to her I mentioned the bunny that ends up being the constant companion of Richard the warlock. I'm not going to explain why, or go into the bunny's story line (yes, the bunny has its own story line) here, because, well, spoilers. But suffice to say, the bunny is totally awesome. I was telling my husband this past weekend about my conversation with Miss T, and was amused that she was interested because of the bunny's story line. I was saying how wonderful it would be if the guys over at LFG decided to make a bunny plushie (there is already a Richard plushie, which yes, I own). Then, two nights ago, I click on a link to LFG in my feed reader and find this. My reaction may have caused my husband to come running in from down the hall to see what the heck was up. Seriously, I must own this, and soon. I just love when stuff like that happens, when you are saying to someone, "Wouldn't it be so awesome if X existed?" and then the next day you find out that someone just went and made X! So splendid.
Proceeding in the random flow of this post, I also wanted to share one of my most recent addictions with you. I am sure you have seen it around on the internet (Facebook, most likely). It is the site Damn You Auto Correct, which I finally caved and added to my feed reader the other day. I am so glad I did. Some of these things are just weird, but some of them make me seriously fall out of my chair or start crying from laughing so hard. It also gives me a weird sense of not being alone in the universe. Because really, who owns a smart phone and hasn't had one of these moments, seriously?
And finally, I realize I haven't talked about this yet this month, but yes, I totally finished my novel on Tuesday, huzzah! Total page count for the first draft was 137 pages (which is an excellent number if I do say so myself) and 76,487 words. I feel so amazing for having done that. I will definitely be revising this story and expanding upon it in the coming year. I can think of a few dead-end plot elements I'll need to to through and excise, and a few scenes (mostly from a certain character's point of view) that I want to go back and add now that I know what the actual story arc for this first novel turned out to be. I do definitely want to write at least one, if not two more books in this universe as well, because, well, while I feel like a lot of stuff did happen in this book, it largely set the stage for a lot more other, bigger, stuff to happen next. Also, the conflict that I thought would be the big final conflict in this book? Totally didn't happen yet, it's got a little while before it comes to a head, I think. So, there you are. NaNoWriMo, it rocks.
I am off to have lunch with a friend from my former job and then to have a spectacularly relaxing weekend. Maybe, just maybe, I'll get motivated and put up some of the Christmas decorations inside.
I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend as well.
Um, that's pretty much the extent of the review I am going to do on that particular book, other than to say oh wow. I loved it. I can't wait for the next (and last!) Wheel of Time book to come out. I suspect my husband and I will be fighting over first-read dibs ferociously. But if you'd like a more in-depth review, Leigh Butler over at Tor has two, one that is spoiler-free, and one that is so totally not spoiler-free.
This means I can start playing Kingdom Hearts today during nap time. Sweet. I've got my walk-through saved, and I am determined to get this damn game played, y'all. Reading-wise, I have two months worth of comic books and graphic novels (including the Serenity GN about Shepherd Book's backstory, which I may actually review for you if I get motivated) to read through, so I am gonna get those all read up (just in time for my December shipment to head my way) before I dive into my next book. I have two clamoring for my attention right now, so I am going to use the time to decide which one to dive into first. I'll let you know when I do get that figured out though. I know you're desperate to know.
Oh, hey, did you notice? It's Friday! That means time for a new installment of Gronk, yay! Please to check it out and enjoy, here. Poor Gronk may not want to watch Battlestar for a while, but hopefully she'll give it a chance eventually!
Speaking of web-comics, one of my all-time favorites is called Looking for Group. It is completely and utterly fantastic. Basically, it's an RPG that you read instead of play, if that makes any sense at all. The story centers around an elf named Cale who is good and pure and always wants to do the right thing. This is a bit of a problem because all elves are evil in the world Cale lives in, but apparently nobody bothered to tell him that. So, as he goes along, looking for adventure, he picks up a group, made up of really awesome, really not-nice people. This includes one of my favorite characters of anything ever, Richard the warlock (or, Dick). It is updated two times a week (Mondays and Thursdays) and each installment is basically a fully colored page out of a graphic novel. There is an overarching story-arc, but there are smaller story-arcs as well. So far, they have released three volumes of the series in really nice hardcover graphic novel format. I'll admit, it makes a lot more sense when you sit down and read big chunks of it at once, but it is still highly amusing and entertaining on a page by page basis. If you're interested in giving it a try, you can check out the first couple of pages and then decide where to go from there. Here is a link to page one.
Anyhoo, the reason I am telling you this is because I wanted to share an awesome moment in my life with you. A while back I was telling my friend Miss T about the comic and when explaining it to her I mentioned the bunny that ends up being the constant companion of Richard the warlock. I'm not going to explain why, or go into the bunny's story line (yes, the bunny has its own story line) here, because, well, spoilers. But suffice to say, the bunny is totally awesome. I was telling my husband this past weekend about my conversation with Miss T, and was amused that she was interested because of the bunny's story line. I was saying how wonderful it would be if the guys over at LFG decided to make a bunny plushie (there is already a Richard plushie, which yes, I own). Then, two nights ago, I click on a link to LFG in my feed reader and find this. My reaction may have caused my husband to come running in from down the hall to see what the heck was up. Seriously, I must own this, and soon. I just love when stuff like that happens, when you are saying to someone, "Wouldn't it be so awesome if X existed?" and then the next day you find out that someone just went and made X! So splendid.
Proceeding in the random flow of this post, I also wanted to share one of my most recent addictions with you. I am sure you have seen it around on the internet (Facebook, most likely). It is the site Damn You Auto Correct, which I finally caved and added to my feed reader the other day. I am so glad I did. Some of these things are just weird, but some of them make me seriously fall out of my chair or start crying from laughing so hard. It also gives me a weird sense of not being alone in the universe. Because really, who owns a smart phone and hasn't had one of these moments, seriously?
And finally, I realize I haven't talked about this yet this month, but yes, I totally finished my novel on Tuesday, huzzah! Total page count for the first draft was 137 pages (which is an excellent number if I do say so myself) and 76,487 words. I feel so amazing for having done that. I will definitely be revising this story and expanding upon it in the coming year. I can think of a few dead-end plot elements I'll need to to through and excise, and a few scenes (mostly from a certain character's point of view) that I want to go back and add now that I know what the actual story arc for this first novel turned out to be. I do definitely want to write at least one, if not two more books in this universe as well, because, well, while I feel like a lot of stuff did happen in this book, it largely set the stage for a lot more other, bigger, stuff to happen next. Also, the conflict that I thought would be the big final conflict in this book? Totally didn't happen yet, it's got a little while before it comes to a head, I think. So, there you are. NaNoWriMo, it rocks.
I am off to have lunch with a friend from my former job and then to have a spectacularly relaxing weekend. Maybe, just maybe, I'll get motivated and put up some of the Christmas decorations inside.
I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend as well.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Towers of Midnight Book Signing
So last night at the Borders Books & Music in Dallas, Brandon Sanderson showed up to do a signing for the release of the thirteenth Wheel of Time book, Towers of Midnight. Also on hand was Harriet McDougal, wife of the late Robert Jordan, who has been collaborating with Sanderson to help make sure that the WOT series is completed as RJ envisioned it. I'm not gonna lie to you folks, it was awesome.
I attended with my husband and one of my best friends, Miss J.
There was a pretty decent crowd assembled. Huzzah for geeks! Everyone was very excited to be there and get to meet Brandon and Harriet. One of the things I love about being a geek is that it seems to me when we get together in large numbers, we tend to be mostly pretty organized and polite to one another (or to be so introverted that we all just leave each other alone). I am usually not good with crowds, but I had no problems last night at all. Everyone I encountered was pretty groovy. There was also a group of volunteers, The Tower Guard, on hand to answer questions and help keep things running smoothly. My husband and I both thought about volunteering for it this year but didn't, though we are in agreement that we will probably apply next year for the signing of the last book. My apologies for the pictures not being top quality, but I am, quite frankly, an amateur. I still haven't totally figured out how to work my silly camera.
Brandon and Harriet were introduced to enthusiastic applause and then Harriet kicked things off with a reading of an excerpt from the prologue of ToM. Can I just reiterate that I cannot wait to read this book. Gah. Must finish The Gathering Storm reread first though. Egwene is so awesome. Anyway. during her reading, Harriet was interrupted by a phone (hers I think) ringing. She played it off with a Star Wars reference, which was awesome, and then continued on.
After the reading Brandon took questions from the audience for the both of them. He asked if anyone present hadn't read TGS yet, and there was a fair smattering, so he refused to answer any spoilery questions about either TGS or ToM. He asked audiences to save up those questions for they got up to the signing table (but did not promise to actually answer them, I suspect there were quite a few RAFO cards handed out). One of the audience members, complete with her handmade Brown Ajah shawl, really wanted to ask a question about a "certain member of the Brown Ajah," but, other than that people kept to the request to try to be spoiler free for the two most recent books.
Someone asked Brandon if he writes the stories linearly as they appear or if he writes scenes out of order. He told us that he writes the scenes linearly, but he writes them in POV groups (like all of Mat's story for the book, then all of Perrin's story), and then gives them to Harriet, who decides how they get split up and arranged.
Someone asked who Bella is really working for, to which Harriet replied, "Would you believe Bella is the Dark One?" You know what, I like her, she's got sass.
Brandon shared that in between writing contracted books, he likes to work on other projects based on whatever strikes him. He revealed a story he had recently started about a pizza delivery guy that becomes a necromancer.
Someone else asked him which character was the most difficult for him to write. He didn't really have any one in particular, but did tell us that it took him a while to figure out Aviendha's voice in particular, and that he has a hard time writing Gawyn, not because he can't find his voice, but because Gawyn's frustrations bleed through in to him as he writes them.
He was asked who his favorite villain is to write and said that it depends on the books. For ToM it was Fain.
He ended the Q & A by demonstrating his best Forsaken evil laugh. It was pretty awesomely evil.
Then came a few announcements about how about how the signing would work. He would sign up to three books for each person. He would only sign WOT books that he had worked on (so only TGS and ToM). Harriet would only sign the books she worked on, which in addition to the last two WOT books included Brandon's newest book The Way of Kings, which she consulted on I think. Also, as you may or may not know, ToM was dedicated to all of the people from WOT fandom who have kept it so strong over the years by running FAQ sites, discussion sites, message boards, forums, etc. One of those people, Bob Kluttz, is a Texas native and was at the signing, so Brandon and Harriet asked him to come up too and sign ToM.
When we got to the store and bought our books, we were given wrist bands (you needed to have one to get signed). The wrist bands were in different colors and what they did was have people line up one color group at a time. I thought it would have been pretty nifty if the order of the color groups matched the order of the Ajah bands on Accepted's dresses and the Amyrlin's stole, but as we were orange, that kind of blew that theory out of the water (there is no orange Ajah). Our group was the second group. So while the people from the first group (green) got their books signed, we hung out in the cafe until it was time for us to line up. I felt really sorry for the lady working at the cafe who was clearly in training. It was looking like a rough night for her. Though to her credit, while she was a little slow, our order was perfectly right and she was very nice to everyone.
While we waited, Hubby hunkered down with ToM--apparently he had just gotten to a really really good part. Miss J and I chatted about writing--she was asking me about my story for NaNoWriMo, and she is in the middle of writing a really awesome series that I have been reading as she gets it done. I drew a map for my story on a cafe napkin. It was fun, and got me super excited about my writing all over again.
When it was our turn to get in line, we hung out and chatted with some of the Tower Guard--they were giving out post it notes for us to put whatever personalization we wanted in our signings on. One of them was a super cute 16 year old girl who told us her mom was a little worried about the whole thing--all of the adults and she was the only kid. Her mom was worried she might be getting into a cult--at Borders--and so was hanging around keeping an eye on things. She was clearly having a ball. Turns out the Tower Guard got to have a mini-pizza party with Brandon before the signing. That's pretty spiffy. Also, one of the Guard was the lady who played Moiraine in the ToM book trailer that came out a little bit ago. If you haven't seen it, check it out here. It's pretty cool, despite the weird voiceover that I don't think sounds like Moiraine would sound (that may be because in my head, Moriane is played by Teryl Rothery), but everything else is spot on.
We also chatted a lot with the guy in line in front of us. He was very nice--very talky. But it was cool, we talked about a lot of different book series as well as some television shows we mutually watched and he recommended a lot of good audiobooks.
When it was our turn to get signed, my husband was all calm and cool and I totally went fangirl on Brandon and Harriet. I didn't have any questions, just thanked him (them) for being so awesome, and for doing the Egwene scenes in TGS so well, though I don't know how coherent I was. They were both super nice and seemed genuinely happy to be there, despite obviously being tired.
We even got some free bumper stickers. Yay, swag!
All in all, it was a fantastic evening. We are definitely going again next year for the A Memory of Light signing if they come back, and will most likely at least apply to be part of the Tower Guard as well (getting accepted is another matter entirely, I am sure). My husband picked up a copy of The Way of Kings, while I snagged a copy of Elantris, which I have been wanting to read. In addition to getting those signed, we also got TGS and ToM signed as well. Good times all around, and much fantastic reading to look forward to in the near future!
Also, there were people dressed as Aiel, which was just frakking awesome.
Oh, and, as it's Friday, don't forget to check out this week's Gronk! That is all.
I attended with my husband and one of my best friends, Miss J.
 |
| Me and Miss J. |
 |
| Me and the hubby. |
There was a pretty decent crowd assembled. Huzzah for geeks! Everyone was very excited to be there and get to meet Brandon and Harriet. One of the things I love about being a geek is that it seems to me when we get together in large numbers, we tend to be mostly pretty organized and polite to one another (or to be so introverted that we all just leave each other alone). I am usually not good with crowds, but I had no problems last night at all. Everyone I encountered was pretty groovy. There was also a group of volunteers, The Tower Guard, on hand to answer questions and help keep things running smoothly. My husband and I both thought about volunteering for it this year but didn't, though we are in agreement that we will probably apply next year for the signing of the last book. My apologies for the pictures not being top quality, but I am, quite frankly, an amateur. I still haven't totally figured out how to work my silly camera.
 |
| Waiting patiently... |
 |
| The Tower Guard. |
 |
| Some more fans. |
Brandon and Harriet were introduced to enthusiastic applause and then Harriet kicked things off with a reading of an excerpt from the prologue of ToM. Can I just reiterate that I cannot wait to read this book. Gah. Must finish The Gathering Storm reread first though. Egwene is so awesome. Anyway. during her reading, Harriet was interrupted by a phone (hers I think) ringing. She played it off with a Star Wars reference, which was awesome, and then continued on.
 |
| Harriet McDougal and Brandon Sanderson |
After the reading Brandon took questions from the audience for the both of them. He asked if anyone present hadn't read TGS yet, and there was a fair smattering, so he refused to answer any spoilery questions about either TGS or ToM. He asked audiences to save up those questions for they got up to the signing table (but did not promise to actually answer them, I suspect there were quite a few RAFO cards handed out). One of the audience members, complete with her handmade Brown Ajah shawl, really wanted to ask a question about a "certain member of the Brown Ajah," but, other than that people kept to the request to try to be spoiler free for the two most recent books.
Someone asked Brandon if he writes the stories linearly as they appear or if he writes scenes out of order. He told us that he writes the scenes linearly, but he writes them in POV groups (like all of Mat's story for the book, then all of Perrin's story), and then gives them to Harriet, who decides how they get split up and arranged.
Someone asked who Bella is really working for, to which Harriet replied, "Would you believe Bella is the Dark One?" You know what, I like her, she's got sass.
Brandon shared that in between writing contracted books, he likes to work on other projects based on whatever strikes him. He revealed a story he had recently started about a pizza delivery guy that becomes a necromancer.
Someone else asked him which character was the most difficult for him to write. He didn't really have any one in particular, but did tell us that it took him a while to figure out Aviendha's voice in particular, and that he has a hard time writing Gawyn, not because he can't find his voice, but because Gawyn's frustrations bleed through in to him as he writes them.
He was asked who his favorite villain is to write and said that it depends on the books. For ToM it was Fain.
He ended the Q & A by demonstrating his best Forsaken evil laugh. It was pretty awesomely evil.
Then came a few announcements about how about how the signing would work. He would sign up to three books for each person. He would only sign WOT books that he had worked on (so only TGS and ToM). Harriet would only sign the books she worked on, which in addition to the last two WOT books included Brandon's newest book The Way of Kings, which she consulted on I think. Also, as you may or may not know, ToM was dedicated to all of the people from WOT fandom who have kept it so strong over the years by running FAQ sites, discussion sites, message boards, forums, etc. One of those people, Bob Kluttz, is a Texas native and was at the signing, so Brandon and Harriet asked him to come up too and sign ToM.
When we got to the store and bought our books, we were given wrist bands (you needed to have one to get signed). The wrist bands were in different colors and what they did was have people line up one color group at a time. I thought it would have been pretty nifty if the order of the color groups matched the order of the Ajah bands on Accepted's dresses and the Amyrlin's stole, but as we were orange, that kind of blew that theory out of the water (there is no orange Ajah). Our group was the second group. So while the people from the first group (green) got their books signed, we hung out in the cafe until it was time for us to line up. I felt really sorry for the lady working at the cafe who was clearly in training. It was looking like a rough night for her. Though to her credit, while she was a little slow, our order was perfectly right and she was very nice to everyone.
While we waited, Hubby hunkered down with ToM--apparently he had just gotten to a really really good part. Miss J and I chatted about writing--she was asking me about my story for NaNoWriMo, and she is in the middle of writing a really awesome series that I have been reading as she gets it done. I drew a map for my story on a cafe napkin. It was fun, and got me super excited about my writing all over again.
When it was our turn to get in line, we hung out and chatted with some of the Tower Guard--they were giving out post it notes for us to put whatever personalization we wanted in our signings on. One of them was a super cute 16 year old girl who told us her mom was a little worried about the whole thing--all of the adults and she was the only kid. Her mom was worried she might be getting into a cult--at Borders--and so was hanging around keeping an eye on things. She was clearly having a ball. Turns out the Tower Guard got to have a mini-pizza party with Brandon before the signing. That's pretty spiffy. Also, one of the Guard was the lady who played Moiraine in the ToM book trailer that came out a little bit ago. If you haven't seen it, check it out here. It's pretty cool, despite the weird voiceover that I don't think sounds like Moiraine would sound (that may be because in my head, Moriane is played by Teryl Rothery), but everything else is spot on.
We also chatted a lot with the guy in line in front of us. He was very nice--very talky. But it was cool, we talked about a lot of different book series as well as some television shows we mutually watched and he recommended a lot of good audiobooks.
When it was our turn to get signed, my husband was all calm and cool and I totally went fangirl on Brandon and Harriet. I didn't have any questions, just thanked him (them) for being so awesome, and for doing the Egwene scenes in TGS so well, though I don't know how coherent I was. They were both super nice and seemed genuinely happy to be there, despite obviously being tired.
We even got some free bumper stickers. Yay, swag!
 |
| Bumper Stickers! |
 |
| Our two new Brandon Sanderson books. |
All in all, it was a fantastic evening. We are definitely going again next year for the A Memory of Light signing if they come back, and will most likely at least apply to be part of the Tower Guard as well (getting accepted is another matter entirely, I am sure). My husband picked up a copy of The Way of Kings, while I snagged a copy of Elantris, which I have been wanting to read. In addition to getting those signed, we also got TGS and ToM signed as well. Good times all around, and much fantastic reading to look forward to in the near future!
Also, there were people dressed as Aiel, which was just frakking awesome.
 |
| Thankfully she did not ask me to dance the spears! |
Oh, and, as it's Friday, don't forget to check out this week's Gronk! That is all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)