Snow day, not so much

[rolanni]

Mozart thanks everyone for their good wishes! He's now sleeping off the excesses of the day in his favorite corner of my office.

The snowstorm -- yep, the weatherbeans are still calling for one -- now looks as if it may arrive in time to snow me out, which is not a plan that finds favor with any of the residents of the Cat Farm. I'm going to have to keep a close eye on conditions tomorrow -- difficult from a third story office -- and hope to leave work while the roads are still passable. Always assuming that the storm doesn't vanish entirely on the overnight.

As relaxation from our labors, we've been watching Avatar, and have gotten through Book Two: Earth, Volume Three. I've been enjoying myself immensely, but I must say that the last chapter in Volume Three contains what appears to me to be a Serious Storytelling Misstep. I will of course need to wait until All is Revealed, but at the moment, this apparent error bothers me quite a bit.

Not much to report today. Type, type, type. Later, rinse, repeat.

I was saddened to read today in another forum that a reader expects nothing surprising from Mouse and Dragon. Makes me wonder why I'm bothering, so it does. Oh, wait. Contract. Delivery money. Also? I'm having fun, which must, after all, count for something.

Progress on Mouse and Dragon:

26,832 / 100,000 (26.8%)

...and that breaks me some hunnert pages.

Comments

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

If you are having fun writing it, you must be doing something wrong . . .

Isn't that the Tao of the suffering artiste?

(Actually, if you are having fun writing it, I expect to have fun reading it.)

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

If you are having fun writing it, you must be doing something wrong . . .

Isn't that the Tao of the suffering artiste?

Longeye gave me So Much Grief, I think I've earned a fun book.

And while I think you can write a good book even though you're pulling every sentence out through your nose -- for instance, I think Longeye is a good book -- I don't think Crunchy Goodness in a book is directly related to Suffering.

[gingerwood.livejournal.com]

The last chapter of Season 2 vol 3 would be Tales of Ba Sing Se no? I'm curious as to which of the tales you perceive to be in error.

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

The very last one of the Ba Sing Se chapters.

[gryphonlsb.livejournal.com]

Too funny, I just finished the Avatar series thanks to Netflix

[gingerwood.livejournal.com]

I'll be interested to learn if your opinion does change once all is revealed.

[gryphonlsb.livejournal.com]

Nothing surprising?!?!

I guess I would agree if he means that I expect to love this part as much as I have loved the others. That wouldnt surprise me at all

;)

[cailleuch.livejournal.com]

From a reader that does expect much from Mouse & Dragon, please bother. We all knew where you were heading with Fledgling and Saltation and still there were some really good surprises. Thank you.

Fun is what it is all about, isn't it. Keep having fun with your writing, it seems you have enough of the other stuff at day job.

[elbales]

Nothing surprising? Jeez, people can be mean. I always fully expect to enjoy the heck out of any book you may write. So I echo cailleuch in saying, please bother, and please have fun.

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

I think I know the comment you refer to, and I believe it was referring to the need to fit the tale "between" existing stories -- we know what happened before, and we know at least some of what happened (will happen?) to the main characters afterwards, so we have some notion of this story. Who lives and dies, for example. Although there's certainly room for plenty of character development, plus the ever-wonderful palette of walk-on's and other parts. Hum . . . the more I think of it, there's not that much limitation due to fitting the story between before and after, is there? I guess you can't blow up the house or have a comet hit the planet and wipe everyone out, but aside from such catastrophic events that surely would have been mentioned in the after works, you can still pluck the heartstrings in so many ways.

And we hope you do! Along with having fun, which counts for a great deal.

[doccolt.livejournal.com]

That says it better than I could. I Second the motion.

[dorfird.livejournal.com]

Thirded.

[drammar.livejournal.com]

Yes, this exactly.

[elaine-brennan.livejournal.com]

Snowing here in Connecticut ... and heavily too. (Just as a datapoint!)

which must, after all, count for something.

[bookmobiler.livejournal.com]

Mozart...now sleeping off the excesses of the day in his favorite corner of my office.

You know in his under-stated cat way he appreciates your efforts. And I'm sure he doesn't mind your having fun at all.

As for surprises, I get surprised every time I re-read one of your books. How could I not be surprized by a new story.

AVATAR

[ingrid44.livejournal.com]

So glad another adult has watched this amazing series! I've even tried to drag my 7 year old niece into watching. I'm only sorry I started watching at the end - the last book, and am now trying to find and watch from the beginning.
I may just end up buying the whole series- I think Amazon has them.
But, glad for the company. I've got to find which episode you're referring. They're no longer being shown in sequence on TV.

[lferion]

I am sure you will find ways to surprise and delight me in Mouse and Dragon. I fully expect to find surprises in the final versions of Fledgeling & Saltation -- and I read both of them in online weekly draft :-)

And fun matters a Whole Lot.

Not expecting anything surprising?

[edgreenberg.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm certainly expecting the usual from a Liaden Universe book: I'm expecting to wait for it with anticipation, receive it with delight, read it with great gusto and to be sorry when it's over.

I don't know if I'll be "surprised" but I don't care. I expect you to advance the story arc in some enjoyable fashion. I expect to know the characters better when you're done than I do now. I expect (or hope) to meet new and delightful characters that I can love and care for.

In short, I expect to be elated, and I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is, and pre-order a hardback, whenever you make one available, as I did with the two Crystal books.

[keristor.livejournal.com]

/Nothing/ surprising? Just from the little snippets you have let loose already it's pretty obviously not going to be the case. Yes, we know something of what is to come, but that is always the case with 'prequels', the meat of the story is something we don't know (and possibly you don't yet either in some cases). Of course, even if all story elements were known there would still be an element of surprise in how you told it.

But even if it were the case, what's the problem? Possibly the person is one who never rereads books because there is "nothing surprising" in them after the first time, in which case I feel sorry for them (a large part of my enjoyment of books is rereading).

Having fun writing the book is, in my opinion, a Good Thing(tm). If you enjoy the characters and stories then so probably will we.

[(Anonymous)]

Having just spent four days burning through what I think of as the background trilogy (Crystal Soldier, Crystal Dragon, Balance of Trade) for the third time, I find that notion quite incredible.
Sidney

[(Anonymous)]

As someone who reads and re-reads books I love -- I certainly know what's going to happen, so no surprises there but I enjoy reading them anyway-- sometimes more than new stories. And I look forward intensely to reading and re-reading mouse and dragon -- which is why I buy your books in hardback, trade paperback and sometimes regular old paperback as well, so as to have good quality re-reading copies. So please, even if we know where the story is headed, we're with you for the journey, and adore the scenery.