Moderator: Seareach
John: Steve,
Two things, first of which a question...
...a question you may not wish to answer, and if you do not, I understand. That being said...
You have stated one reason you waited so long to write the LCOTC was fear. You did not feel you had the ability to accomplish what you wished to write. You have also written, regarding the Second Chronicles, you were "already struggling with The Second Chronicles", and "When [you] go back and reread The Second Chronicles, [you] can see" where you struggled. Then you state that if you had waited to mature as an author The Second Chronicles would have avoided these struggles.
I must confess to a certain morbid curiosity which compels me to ask, but what "struggles" do you see in The Second Chronicles?
Thank you, whether or not you answer.
Now, I believe you have stated you are a fan of Joss Whedon, writer and director of the t.v. shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly. If so you may wish to check out www.drhorrible.com
This is currently an internet only musical/comedy/tragedy movie made by Whedon which is available to watch for free on this web site (it is about 40 minutes long). I actually enjoyed it. And interestingly enough, he developed this because of the writers strike in 'Hollywood' of a year ago.
Just thought you might enjoy it, if you were not already aware of it.
Thank you for your time.
- There are a number of things in "The Second Chronicles" that leave me groaning for a better author. (There are also many things which please me inordinately.) I'll only mention two.
1) Structurally, part of "The Wounded Land" is a real mess. Between the time when Covenant and Linden part outside Andelain and the time when he rescues her from the Clave, I was simply not a good enough writer to devise a felicitous way of interweaving their separate tales without allowing those tales to undermine each other. This flaw may or may not be apparent to readers in general; but it is painfully obvious to me.
2) Discussing the GAP books, I've described my belief that the story contains one character who deserved a better author: Davies Hyland. I didn't fail him by, say, not giving him enough narrative attention. Instead I failed him by--I can't think of a better way to put this--not understanding him well enough. For some (no doubt deeply personal) reason, I wasn't able to "put myself in his shoes" as honestly or as completely as I did with other characters. Well, something similar happened in the last half of "White Gold Wielder". I simply didn't understand Linden well enough to write that part of the story. She needed a better author, and she didn't get one. (Again, this may or may not be apparent to readers in general--although it was clear to my agent. Still it's painfully obvious to me.)
Meanwhile, thanks for mentioning the Joss Whedon site. I'm never going to watch a 40 minute movie on my computer; but I *am* something of a Whedon fan. "Buffy the Musical" (season six) was brilliant.
(02/04/2009)
Phil: Hi
Inspired by the Last Chronicles I'm just reading the Gap for the second time after many years despite reading Covenant many times. I guess I must have found the first time too traumatic - it's magnificent but unremitting. Even though I have a rough recollection where its going its still a hell of an experience. Thank you. My question ? It looks like you took great care to base it all on 'real' science. Even the gap drive if you allow for the theoretical acceptance of wormholes, and it all still stands up but with one fairly obvious deviation - the need to build up velocity for the gap drive. Unless one ditches relativity that is clearly a meaningless concept in this context. Was that an oversight or a deliberate plot device in order to build in narrative delays?
- You've (almost) put your finger on what I consider to be *the* technological blunder in the GAP cycle. The specific relationship you cite between velocity and distance-crossed-through-the-gap makes intuitive sense to me. Why can't it be true that the faster you go the farther you jump? No, the *real* problem, at least as I see it, has to do with the sheer SCALE of the velocities I describe, especially in "Forbidden Knowledge".
To a certain extent, I have trouble understanding general relativity (which would be effectively meaningless in any case at velocities less than, say, 0.1C): to a much larger extent, I--I'm fumbling for a description here--CAN'T DO THE MATH. I can't comprehend the forces involved in the accelerations I specified. I can't estimate the effects of those forces on living tissues.
Well, I knew that about myself before "The Real Story" and "Forbidden Knowledge" ever saw a publisher. So I did what I always want to do in similar situations: I consulted an expert. In this case, an honest-to-spaceship Rocket Scientist, a design engineer for JPL. And he told me that I had nothing to worry about. Everything looked fine to him.
Since I trusted him, I can hardly describe my horror when I learned--*after* "Forbidden Knowledge" was published, of course--that I had screwed up. Dramatically. In other words, IT'S NOT MY FAULT!
But of course it *is* my fault (he admitted ruefully). I'm the author: there's no one else to blame. However, a close reading of the whole story will reveal that references to *specific* velocities are almost entirely absent from "A Dark and Hungry God Arises," and *are* entirely absent from the last two books. That was the only solution I could come up with for my peculiar problem.
<sigh> Today seems to be my day for wallowing in my own flaws.
(02/04/2009)
Sarah: Hello!
You've said previously in the GI that when you came up with the idea for the First Chronicles, you knew how it was going to end, and worked backwards from there. Was it a case of working backwards through main story events until you reached a starting point, or was there greater detail involved in your thinking?
An example: In "The Power That Preserves", Covenant destroys the Staff of Law when he confronts Elena. Was that known to you as you thought out the story (backwards), or was it something that happened as you wrote? If it was the former, did you know that Elena was Covenant's daughter, and therefore that he would rape Lena?
Sorry if this is a difficult question to answer! And thanks for your time.
- Well, I *do* have to reach back three decades....
Where the first "Covenant" trilogy is concerned, the "planning backward" notion applies in most situations. For example, I needed a final war to set up Covenant's confrontation with Lord Foul. I wanted that war to be as destructive (therefore as UNnatural) as possible. That led me to the misuse of Law, which suggested the misuse of the Staff. But of course Covenant couldn't get at Lord Foul without first facing the misuser of the Staff. And the misuser had to be a High Lord. Much better for the High Lord to be someone he knows: someone more than just a good-guy-turned-bad-guy. But not Mhoram, who didn't fit the role. Better for the High Lord to be someone with whom Covenant has a personal relationship. A very personal relationship. Who better than a daughter? But how was she turned into a bad guy? And where did she come from in the first place?
You see what I mean. At any rate, that gives you a rough idea of how my planning process worked in those days.
(02/04/2009)
would anyone care to comment? I don't see the flaw that SRD is referring to in TWL. But, I think I understand what he means when he says Linden needed a better author in WGW.John: Steve,
Two things, first of which a question...
...a question you may not wish to answer, and if you do not, I understand. That being said...
You have stated one reason you waited so long to write the LCOTC was fear. You did not feel you had the ability to accomplish what you wished to write. You have also written, regarding the Second Chronicles, you were "already struggling with The Second Chronicles", and "When [you] go back and reread The Second Chronicles, [you] can see" where you struggled. Then you state that if you had waited to mature as an author The Second Chronicles would have avoided these struggles.
I must confess to a certain morbid curiosity which compels me to ask, but what "struggles" do you see in The Second Chronicles?
Thank you, whether or not you answer.
Now, I believe you have stated you are a fan of Joss Whedon, writer and director of the t.v. shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly. If so you may wish to check out www.drhorrible.com
This is currently an internet only musical/comedy/tragedy movie made by Whedon which is available to watch for free on this web site (it is about 40 minutes long). I actually enjoyed it. And interestingly enough, he developed this because of the writers strike in 'Hollywood' of a year ago.
Just thought you might enjoy it, if you were not already aware of it.
Thank you for your time.
There are a number of things in "The Second Chronicles" that leave me groaning for a better author. (There are also many things which please me inordinately.) I'll only mention two.
1) Structurally, part of "The Wounded Land" is a real mess. Between the time when Covenant and Linden part outside Andelain and the time when he rescues her from the Clave, I was simply not a good enough writer to devise a felicitous way of interweaving their separate tales without allowing those tales to undermine each other. This flaw may or may not be apparent to readers in general; but it is painfully obvious to me.
2) Discussing the GAP books, I've described my belief that the story contains one character who deserved a better author: Davies Hyland. I didn't fail him by, say, not giving him enough narrative attention. Instead I failed him by--I can't think of a better way to put this--not understanding him well enough. For some (no doubt deeply personal) reason, I wasn't able to "put myself in his shoes" as honestly or as completely as I did with other characters. Well, something similar happened in the last half of "White Gold Wielder". I simply didn't understand Linden well enough to write that part of the story. She needed a better author, and she didn't get one. (Again, this may or may not be apparent to readers in general--although it was clear to my agent. Still it's painfully obvious to me.)
Meanwhile, thanks for mentioning the Joss Whedon site. I'm never going to watch a 40 minute movie on my computer; but I *am* something of a Whedon fan. "Buffy the Musical" (season six) was brilliant.
(02/04/2009)
Well, since I posted the same thing in the GI before you diddlbpharmd wrote:would anyone care to comment?
I'm game. 
I think you hit it on the head...but I actually remember liking this part because of the 'choppiness'...I thought he wanted it that way, until now.wayfriend wrote:Well, since I posted the same thing in the GI before you diddlbpharmd wrote:would anyone care to comment?
That section of TWL breaks the story line into two. We have Covenant trying to find Linden, and Linden kidnapped by the Clave and locked up.
I think what SRD means is that he wanted to tell Linden's story without the reader knowing what happened to Covenant. But he also wanted to tell Covenant's story without the reader knowing what happened to Linden. Because in each case the suspense is somewhat based on the reader not knowing more than the characters. There'd be no suspense about Linden being rescued by TC if we know TC is coming; there'd be no suspense that TC would find Linden in time if we know Linden is alive.
This is what I think he means by "undermine".
That all being said, I think it came out fine. But he probably wishes it had come out better.
I know; I cut-and-pasted from your post.wayfriend wrote: Well, since I posted the same thing in the GI before you did
The 'tankFurls Fire wrote:What is the Watch coming too???????????????
Furls Fire wrote:You skip it????
First I read in a post in the First Chrons forum that someone thought Gilden-Fire was dull...and NOW I read that dlpsy skips chapters when he reads???? What is the Watch coming too???????????????
Sorry to disappoint. I guess I shouldn't mention other parts that I usually skip (like Triock's trip to find the Unfettered One in TPTP.) 
