Quick Fire Questions (A Place to Ask and Answer)

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Strange comment from feedback... hoping that further clarification comes back, but in the meantime:

When someone (not chrons) gives feedback that your book reads like an RPG, do you think that's a good thing? I'm completely confused as to what to make of this remark. :confused:


I don't think the person usually reads fantasy.
 
Warren_Paul said:
Strange comment from feedback... hoping that further clarification comes back, but in the meantime:

When someone (not chrons) gives feedback that your book reads like an RPG, do you think that's a good thing? I'm completely confused as to what to make of this remark. :confused:


I don't think the person usually reads fantasy.
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Some people only know fantasy from RPGs (usually computer/playstation/xbox/etc), and maybe they've heard of those movies about the nassty hobbitsess. Otherwise, they're clueless. An RPG is all they have to compare your work to.

Did they say which RPG?
 
Could mean almost anything. Super-vague comments that could be either damning criticism or high praise, or anything between, are so annoying. Can you contact them to clarify?
 
Let us know. I remember you saying yours had an unusual epic+urban feel, and a lot of JRPGs in particular have settings unlike most western fantasy, so it might have been that. (I've been expecting for a while for their popularity to feed into literature, but it seems to be taking its time.)
 
I have a question - do readers really care about the accuracy of the geology in a fantasy world? I study it so I try and make mine as true-to-life as possible without getting bogged down by it, but I sometimes wonder if people will care whether my mountain ranges are plausible, or will accept anything without question.
 
It has to at least be plausible, I think, otherwise it takes the reader out while they ponder. I don't think it has to be 100% accruate, it is fiction after all, and fantasy/scifi at that, but I think if it's implausible that's a problem.
 
allmywires said:
I have a question - do readers really care about the accuracy of the geology in a fantasy world? I study it so I try and make mine as true-to-life as possible without getting bogged down by it, but I sometimes wonder if people will care whether my mountain ranges are plausible, or will accept anything without question.
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It might be worth checking out Russell Kirkpatrick's work. He is a cartographer and he is not shy of making that a strong component of his fantasy work. I have read the Broken Man trilogy and thoroughly enjoyed it. However he does make you do a bit of work with his somewhat 'different' maps. It's bearable, even enjoyable but it also possibly rather close to overstepping the mark and becoming tedious.
 
This is a question which has come up before, allmywires, because it is of such burning interest to everyone. There are broadly three camps of writers, and I imagine, of readers.

The first say "It's fantasy. Write whatever you want. Who cares if rivers run uphill?!" The third group are sticklers for accuracy and spend hours ensuring that everything is correct and have nothing but contempt for people who would call a knife's scabbard a sheath.

In the middle ground are those of us who think it's important to make an effort at accuracy, so eg we don't allow our horses to be used as living cars, able to run for hundreds of miles on one tank of hay, but we don't insist on taking up blacksmithing in order to write one scene with a farrier.

I use the Reasonably Intelligent Person test. I know I can't fool an expert when I talk of sword-fighting, but I need to persuade an RIP into thinking I know what I'm talking about.

The more esoteric the subject, the easier it is to get away with less than 100% authenticity. So as far as geology is concerned, I don't suppose many people at all will worry if your limestone is sitting on clay or vice versa. But the more accurate you make it, the happier you will be, the more confident in your writing, and therefore the better all round!
 
I'm wanting this line to be slightly goading, slightly smug, a bit of a warning. so;



“I don’t normally take time to allocate new recruits myself, but given your … history … I thought I would afford you the courtesy,” Eevan said.

or

“I don’t normally take time to allocate new recruits myself, but given your - history - I thought I would afford you the courtesy,” Eevan said.

I always get a bit confused about the emphasis of each.
 
The first one. Or: “I don’t normally take time to allocate new recruits myself, but given your history I thought I would afford you the courtesy,” Eevan said.

Or if you want the pause: “I don’t normally take time to allocate new recruits myself, but given your … history I thought I would afford you the courtesy,” Eevan said.
 
I would definitely use the first one. Ellipses are for pauses, while dashes tend to be used to cap the end of an interrupted sentence.
 
The first, and I like Mouse's version with the italics.

Ellipses suggest that Eevan is pausing for long enough to roll his eyes contemptuously (for example). I use dashes in dialogue, as you may be aware, but I 'hear' them as briefer, choppier pauses than you want here.
 
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