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The following may be Somewhat Bewildering to those auditors of this journal who have not read the Korval saga. I ask those readers to bear with me.
One of the many interesting things that came out of the recent Reading Matters threads was the comment by an reader that I must try the Lymond books, as Val Con had captivated her precisely because she had liked Lymond. There is, let me hasten to say, Nothing Wrong With This.
Nor is there anything "wrong" with the perception, frequently voiced, that Shan is "just like" and/or "obviously modeled on" His Grace the Duke of Avon. I will mention that I am at this moment renewing my acquaintance with His Grace, and frankly, I still don't see it.
There's nothing "wrong" with that, either.
We all bring something different to the group picnic of story. I bring fifty-odd years of idiosyncratic experience, a willingness to lean forward, elbows comfortably propped on the table, murmuring, with what one hopes is an engaging grin, "Let me tell you how it was..."
The weakness of story is that I must relate my tale of how it was through the filter of my own experience. I have been taught by experience that True Love does indeed exist and that it can be a powerful, positive force in one's life. My experience also teaches me that one is not automatically a Good Person because one loves, or a kind person because one laughs. And so I weave my story, using these threads of experience, and others, following a pattern that is pleasing to me.
The weakness of story is that it must be heard through the filter of other -- hopefully many other -- experiences. Those who have been taught by life that True Love does not exist -- or, worse, is a cultural bear trap created to enslave women -- may reject my story. Those who believe that a sense of humor always means kindness may form an opinion of a certain character quite at odds with the storyteller's intent.
But then there are those who connect with the weaving, whose disparate and unique experiences enrich the pattern and give depth to the colors.
And that is the magic of story.
One of the many interesting things that came out of the recent Reading Matters threads was the comment by an reader that I must try the Lymond books, as Val Con had captivated her precisely because she had liked Lymond. There is, let me hasten to say, Nothing Wrong With This.
Nor is there anything "wrong" with the perception, frequently voiced, that Shan is "just like" and/or "obviously modeled on" His Grace the Duke of Avon. I will mention that I am at this moment renewing my acquaintance with His Grace, and frankly, I still don't see it.
There's nothing "wrong" with that, either.
We all bring something different to the group picnic of story. I bring fifty-odd years of idiosyncratic experience, a willingness to lean forward, elbows comfortably propped on the table, murmuring, with what one hopes is an engaging grin, "Let me tell you how it was..."
The weakness of story is that I must relate my tale of how it was through the filter of my own experience. I have been taught by experience that True Love does indeed exist and that it can be a powerful, positive force in one's life. My experience also teaches me that one is not automatically a Good Person because one loves, or a kind person because one laughs. And so I weave my story, using these threads of experience, and others, following a pattern that is pleasing to me.
The weakness of story is that it must be heard through the filter of other -- hopefully many other -- experiences. Those who have been taught by life that True Love does not exist -- or, worse, is a cultural bear trap created to enslave women -- may reject my story. Those who believe that a sense of humor always means kindness may form an opinion of a certain character quite at odds with the storyteller's intent.
But then there are those who connect with the weaving, whose disparate and unique experiences enrich the pattern and give depth to the colors.
And that is the magic of story.
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