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pondering philosophy
Aug. 13th, 2024 05:18 pmWas pondering sagacity. I have recommended in the past that if you wish to have a wise old sage, you rip off wise things for him to say.
It is still a wise route. The problem is, as Machiavelli philosophically observed, that a prince who is not wise can not be wisely counseled, and likewise, a writer who is not wise can not recognize wise things to rip off.
( Read more... )
It is still a wise route. The problem is, as Machiavelli philosophically observed, that a prince who is not wise can not be wisely counseled, and likewise, a writer who is not wise can not recognize wise things to rip off.
( Read more... )
research returns
May. 30th, 2024 11:33 pmI don't generally research my books. I read a lot of history, fairy tales, and folklore, and then run on it.
I have recently worked on two stories where a princess is sent to the mountains to protect her. In the second of them, I really need to know something about the economics and the topography of such settlements. It's important that they are settlements in the forest, which basically engulfs them, and that in fact the herb trade is vital.
I did already know we needed rivers. Hmmm. That would mean that the way to block passage would be to block the river, not the road. . . .
But first, settlements in mountain valleys before the railroad.
I have recently worked on two stories where a princess is sent to the mountains to protect her. In the second of them, I really need to know something about the economics and the topography of such settlements. It's important that they are settlements in the forest, which basically engulfs them, and that in fact the herb trade is vital.
I did already know we needed rivers. Hmmm. That would mean that the way to block passage would be to block the river, not the road. . . .
But first, settlements in mountain valleys before the railroad.
a patron for a princess
Feb. 21st, 2024 12:01 amThe problem with searching for a patron saint for princesses is that it turns up many more saints who were princesses and are now patronesses.
serendipity and decision
Jun. 29th, 2019 12:14 pmSo the writer is working on a world with plentiful bird-maidens (swan, dove, peahen, etc.) who can turn from woman to bird and back as long as they have their feather cloak.
And she reads -- for utterly unrelated reasons, because it's about the exotic wonders brought to China during the T'ang dynasty -- a book that makes mention of the Chinese "Roving Women Who Go By Night" also known as the "Daughters of the God-King of Heaven" or the "Star Anglers" who can take off feathers and put them to shift from woman to bird.
( Read more... )
And she reads -- for utterly unrelated reasons, because it's about the exotic wonders brought to China during the T'ang dynasty -- a book that makes mention of the Chinese "Roving Women Who Go By Night" also known as the "Daughters of the God-King of Heaven" or the "Star Anglers" who can take off feathers and put them to shift from woman to bird.
( Read more... )
needs and discoveries
Sep. 17th, 2018 11:16 pmI need a song.
A folk song, that does NOT tell a story (otherwise it will have to foreshadow -- and any is too much too much), and which one character would plausibly sing as they walk on the way --
( Read more... )
A folk song, that does NOT tell a story (otherwise it will have to foreshadow -- and any is too much too much), and which one character would plausibly sing as they walk on the way --
( Read more... )
fairy tale appendix
Apr. 25th, 2018 11:28 pmTrudge, trudge, trudge, lining up all the allusions in the novel in the appendix.
There's an allusion for every 300 words. The number of fairy tales alluded to is a bit harder to count, since a lot reference a common trope, found in many tales, but a lot also repeat tales. When your character talk about run-away princesses out to seek their fortune, it's only
And cleaning up the research to give them each a country of origin.
It's coming along.
There's an allusion for every 300 words. The number of fairy tales alluded to is a bit harder to count, since a lot reference a common trope, found in many tales, but a lot also repeat tales. When your character talk about run-away princesses out to seek their fortune, it's only
And cleaning up the research to give them each a country of origin.
It's coming along.
researching your research
Mar. 29th, 2018 11:59 pmIt helps when doing a massive cross-over of many fairy tales if you did a lot of fairy tale reading beforehand as a kind of preliminary research. It's a bit hard to throw in a foolish deathbed promise if you haven't read the many tales where a queen asks her husband not to marry anyone who wasn't so beautiful as her (bad idea), or can't wear an article of her clothing (bad idea) -- or to always do what their daughter asks (bad idea) -- or to keep her children safe in a tower away from their stepmother (might have worked, but he fluffed it), or to not marry except to a great princess, who won't have her head turned by becoming queen, since she used to court (might also have worked, but he fluffed it).
The downside is that if you want to explain your sources, you have to track down the tale that you read years ago, and so you have to research your research.
The downside is that if you want to explain your sources, you have to track down the tale that you read years ago, and so you have to research your research.
