new short interview
Karen Hunt, who runs the Vorkosigan Wiki as a fan activity, asked me for a little email interview for the site recently; it is now finished and posted.
https://vorkosigan.fandom.com/wiki/In...
As with all fan Wikis, this one runs on volunteer labor, so folks interested in contributing should poke around and see what's up. It also hosts a very useful list of my prior interviews, and, now, a linkable copy of my reading-order guide.
Ta, L.
https://vorkosigan.fandom.com/wiki/In...
As with all fan Wikis, this one runs on volunteer labor, so folks interested in contributing should poke around and see what's up. It also hosts a very useful list of my prior interviews, and, now, a linkable copy of my reading-order guide.
Ta, L.
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Brzk wrote: "Oh Many Thanks - Lois, and Karen!Lovely interview, and for some reason there seem to be real understanding between interviewer and interviewee - questions not thought of in haste, under some edito..."
And thank you for the lovely response! And as a note, you guessed right that I submitted my questions in email after a conversation with Lois asking if it would be all right. As it took me 2 weeks to put together my questions, I was clear that she could take as long as she wanted in her response - I have no deadlines to meet.
Lovely interview! I love reading pieces where it's very clear the interviewer has a deep knowledge of and passion for the work being discussed. Thanks for posting it here -- I wouldn't have encountered it otherwise.In discussing why only 3 of the 5 gods have books in the World of the 5 Gods, Lois said:
"If I’d really tried I could probably have come up with something, but it would have been forced."
This made me wonder: did creating any of your published works feel forced?
I also remember reading somewhere that Lois said the Wide Green World books came from daydreaming a story for her own enjoyment. Does that part of your brain still spin stories even if you're retired and don't intend to record them?
Laura wrote: "This made me wonder: did creating any of your published works feel forced?I also remember reading somewhere that Lois said the Wide Green World books came from daydreaming a story for her own enjoyment. Does that part of your brain still spin stories even if you're retired and don't intend to record them?."
Trying to meet deadlines, and keep a market pace, sometimes had me pulling harder than my imagination actually was producing. Fortunately, my characters often go on sit-down strike when I'm trying to do something wrong, which has saved me from several wrong turns. Not always reliable; I had to toss 5 chapters out of the middle of what became Captain Vorpatril's Alliance when I too-determinedly pushed the plot in an out-of-character way. (I was trying to make Ivan behave like Miles.) No actual time savings there! Scraped it back to the wrong turn and came up with a more (and fresher) Ivan-shaped plot for him. It wasn't work wasted, though; Moira had come up during it, and I was able to reuse her.
If my brain were spinning stories, I could be writing them; there's nothing to stop me. So that's the main holdup there. Mostly, I'm reading and watching other people's stories at the moment, which is like eating food someone else has cooked. Like dinner out every night...
Ta, L.
Hehe. We know the "reading and watching other people's stories" angle all too well. You are just not as spoiled. Can never be.
Lovely interview, and for some reason there seem to be real understanding between interviewer and interviewee - questions not thought of in haste, under some editorial pressure, nor answered lightly (never an issue with Lois, plus it seems here the questions were submitted in writing and answered at Lois's own leisure).
Excellent balance between "nerdiness", as Karen puts it, a.k.a. confirming facts or checking theories, and questions of understanding and intent, or method, or hows and whys.
Thank you, a fresh breather on a Sunday forenoon...
Vorkosigan Wiki offers extensive subjects for further exploration, too.