Rick Ellrod
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Rereading _A Civil Campaign_ for the Nth time, I wondered about whether you had already developed the plot of that book while you were writing _Komarr_ -- the latter story makes such brilliant use of the plot elements set up in the earlier one. Did you have the main plot of ACC laid out when writing Komarr?
Lois McMaster Bujold
Only in the broadest sense of "a Barrayaran Regency/Shakespearean romantic comedy". Komarr was the romantic drama half, and it would have been a tonal mismatch to try to jam both parts together into one book.
Parts that came up only well after I started writing the first draft were Mark's butter bug plot, recycled from an abandoned short story idea, and Ivan's plot with Donna/Dono. Ivan's subplot gave me fits, as I generated and slew several bad ideas, till Dono arrived and took over, in all her/his thematic perfection.
Viewpoint, and limiting it, mattered hugely in structuring and centering the story. At one point I had an early scene from Pym's point of view, which would have pulled the tale off-course into a study of armsmen in the capital, which, however intrinsically interesting, was not what turned out to be thematically on-point. Also I dimly recall (it's been over 20 years, yowza) a scene either written or outlined from Gregor's point of view, which would have had a similar problem. His romance was told in Memory and did not need revisited.
More high-level fannish musing on ACC here: http://dendarii.com/accc.html
Ta, L.
Parts that came up only well after I started writing the first draft were Mark's butter bug plot, recycled from an abandoned short story idea, and Ivan's plot with Donna/Dono. Ivan's subplot gave me fits, as I generated and slew several bad ideas, till Dono arrived and took over, in all her/his thematic perfection.
Viewpoint, and limiting it, mattered hugely in structuring and centering the story. At one point I had an early scene from Pym's point of view, which would have pulled the tale off-course into a study of armsmen in the capital, which, however intrinsically interesting, was not what turned out to be thematically on-point. Also I dimly recall (it's been over 20 years, yowza) a scene either written or outlined from Gregor's point of view, which would have had a similar problem. His romance was told in Memory and did not need revisited.
More high-level fannish musing on ACC here: http://dendarii.com/accc.html
Ta, L.
More Answered Questions
Cameron David
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
I was reading a thread (https://bit.ly/3FKJuMs) on how it was once considered prestigious for women in China to spend their entire lives - or as much time as possible - in decorated, raised canopy beds, and instantly thought back to float-chairs. The described attitude towards them especially seemed similar, as did one of the stories about the practice related in the post. Was this tradition an inspiration?
Kate Davenport
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Just finished "Assassins of Thasalon" for the second time. Thank you for a satisfying end/beginning to Tanar, Bosha and Adelis's story. Odd question, if demons arise randomly could one rise into a human first with no animal intermediary? if so, would that make any difference?
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