Lord of the Rings V.S. Darkweaver series

I have read Lord of the Rings and it is a fantastic book, albeit slightly verbose at some points!
I haven't read any of Mr Robson's books yet (although I thoroughly intend to!) so as yet I cannot make a comparison.
However, although I can't comment on his work, I can comment on the man himself, as he has been working at our school lately (well, today actually. And yesterday. And tomorrow) and I have been fortunate enough to be helping out, assisting etc. Even though I have sat through his workshop four times already (it's getting to the point that I can mime the words!) I still find it very interesting. And, as a wannbe writer (heh) I find the advice he gives to the year eights as equally useful to me.
I have really enjoyed the past couple of days, I've even found myself bonding with small children, which is something I don't do often!
I'm glad I was able to get the chance to work so closely with an author, and Mr Robson's given me much to think about - mostly tweaking my envy because I want that lifestyle!
Anyway, I shall stop now because I feel people will start thinking Mr Robson's paying me to say this!
 
LOL! :D

Nice to see you here HoopyFrood. Good name by the way. I like it. I don't know what it means, but it has a fun ring to it.

I'm glad that I haven't driven you crazy over the last couple of days. It's not ideal doing the same workshop over and over again, but I'd feel like I'd cheated some of the students if I did something different for each group. I think I'll have had more than enough for one week by the end of tomorrow. I don't think that particular workshop will be dusted off for a while, or I think I'll be the one going crazy!

If you're who I think you are, then you should go and have a look around in the aspiring writers' section here. There's lots of good stuff that will interest you. See you in the morning. :)
 
My name is actually from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I absolutely adore those books, and I think Douglas Adams was a genius! I'm also a fan of the author who greatly inspired him, P.G Wodehouse.
I have put the books I bought from you on my bookshelf (top shelf, feel honoured!) and my eyes keep roving back to them! I definitely will read them this summer, what with the huge expanse of time I have before university.
I'm useless at these things face to face, so I'll take this opportunity to thank you for all that you did at our school. Although the kids seemed quite lethargic at times, we've had a great response from them, with lots of them saying "wasn't that Mark Robson thing great? I really enjoyed writing those short stories!" And as I said before, although it wasn't meant for me, I too picked up many tips from the workshop!
Once again, thank you.
Froody x
Well, ok, Nicola.
 
HoopyFrood said:
My name is actually from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I absolutely adore those books, and I think Douglas Adams was a genius! I'm also a fan of the author who greatly inspired him, P.G Wodehouse.
I have put the books I bought from you on my bookshelf (top shelf, feel honoured!) and my eyes keep roving back to them! I definitely will read them this summer, what with the huge expanse of time I have before university.
I'm useless at these things face to face, so I'll take this opportunity to thank you for all that you did at our school. Although the kids seemed quite lethargic at times, we've had a great response from them, with lots of them saying "wasn't that Mark Robson thing great? I really enjoyed writing those short stories!" And as I said before, although it wasn't meant for me, I too picked up many tips from the workshop!
Once again, thank you.
Froody x
Well, ok, Nicola.
Click to expand...

You've got me beaten, Nicola! I'll admit that I can't remember HoopyFrood from Hitchhiker's - which book was the character in? I've read them all a couple of times, but it's been a while since I last delved deeper than the openings.

I'm glad that the feedback has been positive. I confess that the first session each day was hard work ... getting them to keep standing up and sitting down helped a little ... briefly. Must have got the blood flowing. Perhaps I should have had them doing star jumps, or something! Or maybe I should have read a bit more Louise Rennison to them each time - that did at least gain something of a response. If you see Jan again, you might like to tell her that the sales topped 100 books, which was quite impressive given the pupils' apparent lack of interest in reading. I guess I must have made something of an impression on them. :)

As for the tips on writing - well, from what I saw you write very well already. If what I said helped further, then that's great. The best way to improve (like with so many things) is to practice. The more you do, the better you'll get. Reading lots helps too, but there's no substitute for writing and re-writing stories until they're as good as you can get them. The spooky thing is that each time you write another, your best just keeps getting better.

Keep in touch. I look forward to seeing how you get on at Uni. I'm sure you'll do just fine.

Mark
 
dwndrgn said:
Sorry to interrupt but I believe Hoopy Frood is a phrase used by Zaphod, not an actual character.
Click to expand...

That would explain why I was rattling my poor little brain cell around my skull struggling to remember who he was then! Thanks Dwndrgn. I should have known that someone would step in and put me straight ... and that the someone was likely to be you. :D
 
It is indeed a phrase used by Zaphod. Well, actually not just him, it's what Ford sometimes refers to himself as, I think...

I think we have more readers in our school, but they just didn't want to admitt it! Hehe, you should have made them jump around, it would have been amusing to us and the teachers anyway!

Thank you for your tips, any advice is great! I do indeed read a great deal (probably too much...there has been a noticable deterioration in my eyesight!) One area I do need to work on is re-drafting my stories. I confess that I get sidetracked by new stories and don't always go back to improve older ones!

I think I have been a fully fledged member here now. And once again, I have you to thank for that, for showing this website to me!

I will be very thankful for any advice you can continue to give me, in the future, as I'll try not to pester you as often as I have been doing!

Nicola x
 
*Additional note*
Well, I won't be pestering you for a while anyway, as, alas, I am being dragged off to warmer climes tomorrow for a "family holiday". Although I don't like humid weather, or lying on distant beaches slowly baking (!), two weeks in Spain will give me a glorious amount of time for reading and writing. Indeed, the different surroundings may inspire some interesting stuff! Anyway, so, The Forging of the Sword shall be travelling with me, I shall finally make a start on them, and also Mortal Engines, a recommendation by you, Mr Robson, I believe. And also, for a change of pace, Catch-22, which shall keep me going for a fair few days, I think!
I shall of course be back here in two weeks, with more ramblings (I really do write so much once I get going! Pity I can't always do that with stories!)
I hope whatever you're working on, or doing, is going/goes well. I think you said you were working on a dragon story now? That sounds very interesting. Although, of course, I've still got to get through your first books, so I shouldn't get ahead of myself!
Hoopy Nicola Frood x
 
This thread started at one thing and completly changed into another thing!
 
danny said:
This thread started at one thing and completly changed into another thing!
Click to expand...

That happens sometimes around here. Threads get hijacked for other conversations. Not to worry, though, I think you have made your point by starting the thread at all.

Oh, and Hoopy, I think you did well going to Spain - you managed to escape the heat! I'm told it was hotter here in England than it was in Ibiza yesterday.

Hope you have a great time on holiday.
 
Well, Danny (and Charles, too), since you think so highly of Mark's work, you could go over to the Chronicles Hall of Fame voting thread, and vote for some of his books -- along with other SF/fantasy books that you love.
 
I have returned! Heh. Back from sunny, sunny Spain. And wow, was it sunny! I did hear that the UK was very hot, but I assure you it was VERY hot where I was!
As aforementioned, I did manage to get a lot of reading done. Including The Forging of the Sword. I enjoyed it. I particulary liked how Calvyn seemed to have no real...destination at the beginning. Usually fantasy books outline that the protagonist has a fixed destiny at the very beginning, whereas in TFOTS Calvyn seemed to wander for a while. Heh, ok, I don't seem to be making much sense. But I liked how Calvyn joined the army, rather than, say, being told to go off and kill the bad guy. I realise that eventually this may happen, with Selkor, but that is what we all want to see! Or maybe it won't...I shall have to read on!
Which is exactly what I am doing, as I have started The Trail of the Huntress this morning (it sits next to me now, beckoning me to read it!)
Sorry, this has been rather rambly, I probably haven't been too clear. But I assure you all my comments are supposed to complimentary!
Nicola x
 
Welcome back, Hoopy. It seems that you returned just in time for it to start raining. Oh, well, at least it will make you feel all the more happy that you got to spend all that time in sunny Spain.

I'm glad that you enjoyed The Forging of the Sword ... especially as the stories and the writing get better from then onwards. Fantasies where there is a definite goal at the start can be fantastic ... like Lord of the Rings for example. You know that Frodo's task is to destroy the Ring from as early as chapter 2, but the story is in the journey rather than just a build up to big finish. Often, however, it is hard to see where life is going to take us. There is no definite path laid before our feet. In The Darkweaver Legacy I tried to keep many of my characters in the dark for as long as possible before revealing what it was that I wanted them to do. This wasn't always possible, as you will see in Trail of the Huntress, but for the most part, the characters are not completely in the picture as to what is happening and where life is leading them.

The Imperial Series is a little bit of a blend between the two. Book 1 follows in the vein of the first series, but the subsequent books head towards very specific goals from the beginning. I look forward to your assessment of how my writing develops as you progress through the series.
 
I'm actually very glad to see rain! Too much sun does not agree with me!

I'm racing through Trail. I always do this when I get into a book. Calvyn has been grabbed! Shocking! Heh. You've said about how you've tightened up your writing in later books, and I could see how you would, but I don't think that it's too loose in these earlier books anyway. There is of course always room for improvement, in any aspect of anything, but for your first step into the world of writing it's very good. It's got me hooked, anyway, which can't be a bad thing!

I do agree that books with clearly described tasks are fantastic, but sometimes I do get weary of "ok, this is your fate, go out and do it!". (I'm actually have a dig at some of the earlier stuff that I have written, which was based around this. In it's most simple, can-esaily-guess-what's-going-to-happen form. Thankfully I feel I have moved away from that. Although, I know a much more accomplished writer could do this format and write a cracking novel.) But I do like your idea of keeping the character, and ultimately the reader, in the dark about what's on store for them.

Anyway, I had better return to Trail before I start chewing on my arm, wondering what's to happen next!

Hoopily Nicola x
 
Haha, my arm's still intact, thankfully, because I managed to pick up Trail before I started chewing...now I'm about 240 pages into First Sword...I just can't stop! It's official, I am hooked to your books! Whatever will I do when they end..........
Start on Imperial Spy, I suppose!
Mind you, I've got a whole shelf of unread books, so it's a happy summer of reading for me.
Hoopily yours.
x
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
Harpo The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim Lord of the Rings/Hobbit 3
Pyan Lord of the Rings fan fiction writer tries to sue Amazon for infringing his(!) copyright.. JRR Tolkien 12
Extollager Distances in The Lord of the Rings JRR Tolkien 8
B The Lord of the Rings : The War of the Rohirrim General Film Discussion 5
O LEGO The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell 10316 SFF Lounge 5

Similar threads


Back
Top