Author Topic: EUOL: Writing question based upon MB2 annotation  (Read 5043 times)

Shuez

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EUOL: Writing question based upon MB2 annotation
« on: September 24, 2007, 10:17:37 PM »
Hello Brandon,

In the chapter one annotation you state: "...in order to have a fight, I need to explain Allomancy."

Now, is it a hardline rule that when writing fantasy fiction across multiple books, that the author needs to go back an explain the basic inner-workings of their world? Is is wrong to just pickup where you left off in the last book? Is this a publishing rule to pander the individuals that are odd enough to NOT begin with book one in a series?

I am really curious about this; sometimes I wish an author would skip the reintroductions of everything. It is also important to me as a author, since I have yet to write any of the planned sequels to my current novels.

Thank you in advance.

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stacer

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Re: EUOL: Writing question based upon MB2 annotation
« Reply #1 on: September 24, 2007, 10:53:52 PM »
I can't speak for Brandon's reasons, but for me as a reader and as an editor, those little catchups are cues for readers that haven't picked up the last book in several months to a year or two. It's the little reminders of "wait, who was this person again?" For the person who rereads all the previous books in a series before picking up the next one, this is annoying, but for those of us who don't have time to do that, it makes a big difference in jumping back into the story.
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Re: EUOL: Writing question based upon MB2 annotation
« Reply #2 on: September 24, 2007, 11:32:24 PM »
I remember back when EUOL was starting to write MB2 he and I got into a discussion about how best to do this and I said my preferred method was the way Fiest does it, which is a separate section that reintroduces everything so you can read that or skip over it and not have to worry about wasted time, however I think he went with the method that he did because he was worried that people wouldn't read that and be confused later one.
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Shuez

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Re: EUOL: Writing question based upon MB2 annotation
« Reply #3 on: September 25, 2007, 12:45:05 AM »
I remember back when EUOL was starting to write MB2 he and I got into a discussion about how best to do this and I said my preferred method was the way Fiest does it, which is a separate section that reintroduces everything so you can read that or skip over it and not have to worry about wasted time, however I think he went with the method that he did because he was worried that people wouldn't read that and be confused later one.

I think I have seen this before. Are you talking about a few pages in the very beginning that is not the prologue; basically a "the story so far..." ? That is an interesting way of doing it also.

I appreciate your points as well Stacer; it gives me something to think about.

Thanks for your input Stacer and Spriggan.    :)
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EUOL

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Re: EUOL: Writing question based upon MB2 annotation
« Reply #4 on: September 25, 2007, 01:01:20 AM »
My take on it is thus:

One of the big draws to the Mistborn series is the magic.  The Allomantic fight scenes are great because of how interesting the magic is.  I don't tend to like straight-up fighting.  There has to be something interesting about a fight scene--what's going on, what it's doing to the character, how the magic and setting is interacting--to make it fun for me to write.

In the Mistborn books, then, the fun of the fights is understanding what the Allomancer can do and being interested in how they manipulate their powers.  So, in order to have a fight work the way I want, the reader needs a refresher on the magic system. 

I don't think there's a hardfast rule on this or anything.  It's just what I felt I needed to do.
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Re: EUOL: Writing question based upon MB2 annotation
« Reply #5 on: September 26, 2007, 08:21:42 AM »
I like that idea Brandon, with the magic system, but how do you cue the main plot without being obvious or boring about it?  I ironically just had this conversation with another writer friend, and we basically said "screw the reader if they don't bother reading the first book."  I mean who reads from the second book, or third without reading the first ones?  :) or re-reads the first books if they forget?  that's the whole point?  haha, no but seriously, i get that readers are lazy, but I can't help but hold that attitude that if the reader doesn't have a working knowledge of the story, they should re-read the first book that i wrote to explain all that! 

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Re: EUOL: Writing question based upon MB2 annotation
« Reply #6 on: September 26, 2007, 04:41:01 PM »
It's a fine balance. I read for a living, for example. I don't have the time to reread every book. So when I got to read MB2 in an early form, it had been at least 2 years since I'd read MB1, and there were things that I couldn't remember. How does this work? Who is this character? etc. So adding the little cues--not a rehash, but a verbal cue--makes a big difference to a reader like me. I'm not lazy, and I read the first book. I also just happen to be spending a lot of time reading other things.
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Re: EUOL: Writing question based upon MB2 annotation
« Reply #7 on: September 26, 2007, 06:45:38 PM »
I think that's one reason why I like the "Summary" page idea so much.  Nothing expansive.  Just something to jog my memory as to what has happened before and get things going.  I agree with the idea that people shouldn't start reading series in the middle, but it still happens.  If they do this, then they deserve to be confused.  If, however, you have already read the prior books, the summary page works well.  I'd probably be sure to put it at the beginning of the book though.  Before any of the new story starts.  That way if someone wants to read it, they can do so before starting the book.  This helped me out a ton when reading The Prince of Nothing series.  And, once I finished reading Well of Ascension  I found the summary page at the end and wished that it had been at the beginning instead.  My thoughts...for what they're worth.
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Re: EUOL: Writing question based upon MB2 annotation
« Reply #8 on: September 26, 2007, 07:00:55 PM »
We have "story so far" pages in most of our manga books, since the stories never take time to reintroduce characters and themes. However, I don't think this is something that would go over well with most more standard fiction—it can be seen as cutting corners.
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Skar

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Re: EUOL: Writing question based upon MB2 annotation
« Reply #9 on: September 26, 2007, 08:50:52 PM »
So you can either stuff the first couple of chapters of your books with little reminders about the back-story, which forces the avid reader to wade through them but are nice to have for the casual reader, or you can put those details in a "the story so far" section in the front of the book, making it available for the casual reader but not forcing the avid reader to wade through them.  Heck, you could use the space and effort you save by not working those little reminders into the story to move the story along faster and provide new details that make the world richer.

Whether I am reading a series avidly or just picking up the next one after a year or two, I would prefer the "story so far" approach. If I don't need it, I can skip it. 
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Re: EUOL: Writing question based upon MB2 annotation
« Reply #10 on: September 26, 2007, 09:40:10 PM »
I'm quite an avid reader. So avid, in fact, that I can't keep different books straight half the time because I'm reading so much. So I don't think the avid/casual breakdown really works in this situation.
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Re: EUOL: Writing question based upon MB2 annotation
« Reply #11 on: September 26, 2007, 10:09:57 PM »
plus how many people re-read all books in a series when a new one comes out?  Most books are released a year apart and there's a lot to forget even if you still remember the jist of it.
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Re: EUOL: Writing question based upon MB2 annotation
« Reply #12 on: September 27, 2007, 12:16:04 AM »
And really, the idea of a "story-so-far" page would only work for those series of mild length, say trilogy at the max.  I can only shudder at how long such a page might be for say...book 12 of the Wheel of Time.  Wow.
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Re: EUOL: Writing question based upon MB2 annotation
« Reply #13 on: September 27, 2007, 01:27:34 AM »
all good points, though i guess i feel that stacers situation is more of a unique one.  Most readers IMO (call me a liar if its true) will focus on a few series that they really enjoy at a time, probably no more than 10.  I, personally always re-read books, i really enjoy doing so, and it almost feels as if the cues would be automatic or part of writing in itself if you have truly built a unique world.  but that's just me.  If i had to lean to any side, i might have to go with the story thus far approach though.  *shrugs*

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Re: EUOL: Writing question based upon MB2 annotation
« Reply #14 on: September 27, 2007, 06:10:32 PM »
Quote
I'm quite an avid reader. So avid, in fact, that I can't keep different books straight half the time because I'm reading so much. So I don't think the avid/casual breakdown really works in this situation.

True.  I was more using "avid" and "casual" to stand in for "remembers perfectly well what went on in the last book" and "doesn't remember what went on in the last book"  Bad choice of words on my part I guess.

Quote
And really, the idea of a "story-so-far" page would only work for those series of mild length, say trilogy at the max.  I can only shudder at how long such a page might be for say...book 12 of the Wheel of Time.  Wow.

I didn't picture the story-so-far approach being used to help someone who has not read the previous books, but instead only as a reminder of where exactly the characters ended up in the last book for someone who has forgotten the fine details.
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