[URL] LeGuin
Towse
contains LeGuin's biography and bibliography, recent news,
appearances and mots about Earthsea as well as facts and FAQs and
links to stories online.
<http://www.ursulakleguin.com/>
The site provides some UKL writings "On Writing" such as "On
Despising Genres" and also a copy of a short rejection letter for
/The Left Hand of Darkness/.
The rejection letter, written by a very perceptive editor
includes such insightful comments as "the very action of the
story seems to be to become hopelessly bogged down and the book,
eventually, unreadable."
Lucky thing, LeGuin and her agent didn't give up.
Sal
--
1800+ useful links for writers
<http://www.internet-resources.com/writers/>
Doug Wyman
>...also a copy of a short rejection letter for
>/The Left Hand of Darkness/.
[deletia]
>Lucky thing, LeGuin and her agent didn't give up.
>
A lucky thing for us that is. LHOD is one of my
all time favorites.
If any of you get a chance to meet Ms. LeGuin, jump at
that chance. She is wonderful, warm and very open
and honest about her progression as a writer,
Daddy Doug
================================================
http://home.attbi.com/~dwyman/
Ovum
societies and how they deal with race and gender issues.
In the back of the book, she includes a separate section on the language and
history of the peoples of these planets. As if this were not a work of
fiction.
I don't get it. What's her point? That she went through a lot of work on the
backstory, and wanted to show it to us? It just seems like she went a tad too
far.
Lois
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Towse
Ovum wrote:
>
> I just finished her book "Four Ways to Forgiveness," which is about some alien
> societies and how they deal with race and gender issues.
>
> In the back of the book, she includes a separate section on the language and
> history of the peoples of these planets. As if this were not a work of
> fiction.
>
> I don't get it. What's her point? That she went through a lot of work on the
> backstory, and wanted to show it to us? It just seems like she went a tad too
> far.
She provided that section for readers who were interested. Some
are. Those who aren't can skip it.
Some people have even been known to buy a separate book filled
with backstory, just because they were so enamored with the
people and place. SILMARILLION springs to mind. That book is not
for everyone, not for me, surely, and I'm a Tolkien fan. Perhaps
I'll try it again some day.
Maggie Forest
>Some people have even been known to buy a separate book filled
>with backstory, just because they were so enamored with the
>people and place. SILMARILLION springs to mind. That book is not
>for everyone, not for me, surely, and I'm a Tolkien fan. Perhaps
>I'll try it again some day.
ah, Sal, the Silmarillion isn't backstory, that's the main story. Lord
of the Rings and Hobbit are just little bits of it, like short stories
broken out of the main novel.
The backstory comes in a series of books collated from notes in shoe
boxes. And yes, people buy those too.
/maggie
Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee,
and just as hard to sleep after - Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Towse
Maggie Forest wrote:
>
> On Thu, 18 Jul 2002 12:05:36 -0700, Towse <se...@towse.com> wrote:
> >Some people have even been known to buy a separate book filled
> >with backstory, just because they were so enamored with the
> >people and place. SILMARILLION springs to mind. That book is not
> >for everyone, not for me, surely, and I'm a Tolkien fan. Perhaps
> >I'll try it again some day.
>
> ah, Sal, the Silmarillion isn't backstory, that's the main story. Lord
> of the Rings and Hobbit are just little bits of it, like short stories
> broken out of the main novel.
I found it indigestible. That was decades ago, mind you.
"There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Ilúvatar; and he
made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the offspring of
his thought, and they were with him before aught else was made.
And he spoke to them, propounding to them themes of music; and
they sang before him, and he was glad. But for a long while they
sang only each alone, or but few together, while the rest
hearkened; for each comprehended only that part of the mind of
Ilúvatar from which he came, and in the understanding of their
brethren they grew but slowly. Yet ever as they listened they
came to deeper understanding, and increased in unison and
harmony.
"And it came to pass that Ilúvatar called together all the Ainur
and declared to them a mighty theme, unfolding to them things
greater and more wonderful than he had yet revealed; and the
glory of its beginning and the splendour of its end amazed the
Ainur, so that they bowed before Ilúvatar and were silent."
This sort of writing affects me strangely, like ... a blot of
mustard or perhaps a bit of undigested beef.
I know. Pure genius. Zen will tell me I'm a mere plebe. I'll keep
in mind your praise, whilst I consider whether to try again.
> The backstory comes in a series of books collated from notes in shoe
> boxes. And yes, people buy those too.
Oh, dear.
Maggie Forest
>"There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Il?vatar; and he
>made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the offspring of
>his thought, and they were with him before aught else was made.
The Ainulindale. Yup, it took me a couple of tries to get through that
bit. The breakthrough came when I simply skipped that bit and went on
with the actual story. Then you can come back and read the 'In the
beginning was the word' ripoff.
Believe it or not, I much prefer the Silmarillion to TLOTR. Much
cooler characters, and much more awesome bad guys. Sauron from tLOTR
is just a minor minion of the Real Bad Guy.
Hippolyte Lizard
>
> On Thu, 18 Jul 2002 13:27:26 -0700, Towse <se...@towse.com> wrote:
> >"There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Il?vatar; and he
> >made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the offspring of
> >his thought, and they were with him before aught else was made.
>
> The Ainulindale. Yup, it took me a couple of tries to get through that
> bit. The breakthrough came when I simply skipped that bit and went on
> with the actual story. Then you can come back and read the 'In the
> beginning was the word' ripoff.
>
> Believe it or not, I much prefer the Silmarillion to TLOTR. Much
> cooler characters, and much more awesome bad guys. Sauron from tLOTR
> is just a minor minion of the Real Bad Guy.
As you apparently expect, it is hard to believe. For entertainment, the
Silmarillion is little better than an encyclopedia. I do like to read
history books, in part because they offer insights into humanity as well
as endless inspirations for stories I might tell. But Tolkien's nice
made-up mythology ofers none of that, or not much anyway.
At a bookstore I found they have now published the original notes and
text to LOTR, annotated, side by side with the published story. Some
writer-types might want to slog through Tolkien's first drafts. But I
can't imagine enough regular people to define a market wanting to buy
such a thing. It'd be like listening to Beatles rehearsal tapes.
Do this and the Silmarillion have the same appeal? Are some folks so
wrapped up in this one work of fiction that they will redefine their own
perception of entertainment until practically anything authoritative
written on the subject will take up their time and their money?
Or maybe the difference is, though I read LOTR at twelve, I never got
around to the Silmarillion until about forty. Maybe I'd feel
differently if I'd put my youthful energy into that which instead went
into Robert E. Howard and (God help me) Lovecraft.
Humans amaze me, until I remember I'm one of them.
HL
Blanche Nonken
> Maggie Forest wrote:
> >
> > On Thu, 18 Jul 2002 13:27:26 -0700, Towse <se...@towse.com> wrote:
> > >"There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Il?vatar; and he
> > >made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the offspring of
> > >his thought, and they were with him before aught else was made.
> Do this and the Silmarillion have the same appeal? Are some folks so
> wrapped up in this one work of fiction that they will redefine their own
> perception of entertainment until practically anything authoritative
> written on the subject will take up their time and their money?
Debbie is spending her dog-walking money on all the Harry Potter
supplementary books she finds of interest. This is the only thing
standing between her and her goal of saving up $100.
>
> Or maybe the difference is, though I read LOTR at twelve, I never got
> around to the Silmarillion until about forty. Maybe I'd feel
> differently if I'd put my youthful energy into that which instead went
> into Robert E. Howard and (God help me) Lovecraft.
Yeah, I think I was 17 when I read the Sil. Still kinda like it, but
there's a lot more I want to read these days.