Chapter 2 and stuff

[kinzel]

Chapter 2... of Sword of Orion

Is still not finished; I've got to do better about staying in gear once I get in gear. For that matter I haven't been keeping up with my journal as much as I want to, but hey, I'm trying. This may be harder next week, though, when we'll be sitting oceanside for a few days. I'll have the laptop with me; not sure I'll have any net access whatsoever.

I did get through most of the Belgariad over the weekend, finishing the last on Monday, and am trying to see what lessons there are in it....

The chapbook on character gets some attention this weekend. The cats get some attention this weekend. And -- assuming the on-signing check for SoO gets here today or tomorrow -- I may spend some time trying to choose which satellite radio system to get, or if we should get any at all. As it is, we live in an area with few decent radio stations and several of the ones we had were swallowed up by Clear Channel, so they're now playing the equivalent of elevator music much of the time. If we *don't* get satellite radio I guess the option is more frequent CD buying... it does seem that having music and particularly new/different music about is an important component of getting writing done in this house. Sigh.

Saw yet another discussion of learning to write where a fanfic fanatic was explaining how useful writing fanfic is to new writers. I think writing any fiction is useful to new writers; I doubt that writing fanfic has special virtue for neophytes and in fact think it slows learning by encouraging sterotypical characterization and paperboard (or rather studio back-lot)world-building.

Comments

[herefox.livejournal.com]

The Belgariad, and really most of David Eddings early stuff (I haven't read his most recent stuff) is interesting. The main reason, I've found, for reading them is the characters. They often manage to be amusing in a cute, kind of plastic way. Of course the fact that his first two major series have exactly the same characters with different names and almost the same plot never fails to amuse me as well.

He does have some interesting ideas regarding fate and such things that give them a bit more value.

[ixixlix.livejournal.com]

When I first saw this post, I thought it was The Sword Of Onion, which sounds like a very interesting kitchen item. I may have to use it in my RPG campaign.

How do you deal with people who want to write Liaden fanfic? It is such a huge canvas that one could write stories there for a lifetime without exhausting the possibilities.