Starsreader
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
I am devouring the snippet like short books on Penric, excellent idea pacing them out like this and whispersyncing the ebook with the audiobook. When writing these, I always love the names you find for the protagonists (may have mentioned that earlier). It's almost sad if Penric gets shortened to Pen, though, so would you consider this compromise: use Pen in spoken language, and Penric, in full, in storytelling?
Lois McMaster Bujold
After typing out "Vorkosigan" approximately one million times, I was determined that my next series protagonist should have as short a name as possible.
"Pen" vs. "Penric" is decided on the fly, according to who is speaking, in what mode, whether I'm just establishing things or am further along, sentence rhythm, and how much variation or lack-of-repetition I need in a particular passage.
(I actually made up the name "Penric", constructing it from a syllable salad, and then discovered it is also a real name. Not a common one, though.)
Unlike Tolkien, who apparently adored naming things, naming is a bit of a burden for me. It is necessary to defamiliarize names from our-world, key them to their respective distinct languages and cultures, and try not to inadvertently name people after obscure airplane parts or bad words in foreign tongues. The rise of internet searches makes checking the latter much more possible than it used to be, but also more necessary.
Ta, L.
"Pen" vs. "Penric" is decided on the fly, according to who is speaking, in what mode, whether I'm just establishing things or am further along, sentence rhythm, and how much variation or lack-of-repetition I need in a particular passage.
(I actually made up the name "Penric", constructing it from a syllable salad, and then discovered it is also a real name. Not a common one, though.)
Unlike Tolkien, who apparently adored naming things, naming is a bit of a burden for me. It is necessary to defamiliarize names from our-world, key them to their respective distinct languages and cultures, and try not to inadvertently name people after obscure airplane parts or bad words in foreign tongues. The rise of internet searches makes checking the latter much more possible than it used to be, but also more necessary.
Ta, L.
More Answered Questions
Margarete
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Sorry if you've answered this before but every time I read Barrayar (more than 5 times at this point) it pops into my head: are all the "I didn't vote for him" comments about Steady Freddie just a running joke for you, an inside joke among Betans or a side hint that their society isn't as democratically perfect as it seems? Or something else entirely? Thanks so much for the amazing books!
Richard
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
You have in the past mentioned that you often decide the theme of a book by asking yourself, what is the worst possible thing I can do to my main character and how will they react. I can see that in your writing but it also seems to me that an underlying theme of most of your books is that damaged people are drawn to damaged people. Or might it be rather that damage people might be more interesting to write?
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