Gard Evyr
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Lois, I noticed in reading Chalion/Paladins that out of all modern fantasy 'greats', your writing in the medieval 'idiom' is the most authentic in terms of colloquialism / style of language / manner of speaking, syntax, turns of phrase. Many authors write very 'modern' medieval prose. How/where do you learn this authentic manner of accurate syntax/dialogue/prose? Reading a lot of historical fiction, or? Thanks!
Lois McMaster Bujold
General and historical reading, certainly. But Shakespeare, mainly, I think. I used to belong to a play-reading group back in the 90s, and we went through a lot of his plays. The cadences worm into your brain.
I also pay attention to what turns of phrase or metaphors don't belong, perhaps because that technology or theory does not exist in the world of my tale. Though the absence of some literary toe-stub tends not to be noticed. I can't be too strict about it, though, because so many words have become common coin. The 5GU or the world of the Sharing Knife never had the theory of the four humours, for example, but "sanguine" or "melancholy" are still useful words.
Ta, L.
I also pay attention to what turns of phrase or metaphors don't belong, perhaps because that technology or theory does not exist in the world of my tale. Though the absence of some literary toe-stub tends not to be noticed. I can't be too strict about it, though, because so many words have become common coin. The 5GU or the world of the Sharing Knife never had the theory of the four humours, for example, but "sanguine" or "melancholy" are still useful words.
Ta, L.
More Answered Questions
Talli Ruksas
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Concepts of gender identity, being non-binary, and the pronouns used for them seem to be changing rapidly even among fairly young children I'm told. I wondered if you were creating Bel today if you would have used something other than "it"? Although apparently it's preferred at about 10%.
Henry
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Just a comment about the difference of reading a physical book vs an ebook. I purchased "The Curse of Chalion" back in 2001 and held onto it for over 12 years before I got my first Kindle. The book shows all the wear and literally over a hundred times that I've gone through it - but the e-readers can't show any of that. Isn't there something very different from handling a physical book and flipping through pages?
Talli Ruksas
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
I've been reading some books published decades ago but only fairly recently available in Kindle format. Some of them have tons of typos in them. How could those be introduced? I would think they'd already be in a computerized version or at worst case could be scanned in. These were best sellers btw.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more