Comments on: Reader expectations

By: Glenda Larke

Glenda Larke — Wed, 21 May 2008 22:54:00 +0000

Thanks for the nice words re my own work. Still, I see what Cheryl was getting at. At least some Science Fiction readers are drawn more to the neat ideas in much of fantasy fiction, rather than the other aspects of a novel, and if all the neat ideas are explained in volume 1, are they going to want to read volume 2 & 3?

Fortunately for that species of reader, perhaps, Book 3 of the Mirage Makers does, I think, have some more neat ideas about the world.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:09:00 +0000

I totally agree with Jo’s post.
Having extensive knowledge of your fictional world, whether real or imaginary, is good for writing but endless repeats of that knowledge in the form of book padding, or simply showing off, can become very tedious.
Most of my favourite authors allow the reader’s imagination to complete the picture of a world or character.

By: Jo

Jo — Wed, 21 May 2008 07:29:00 +0000

I thought The Shadow of Tyr was an excellent book – I actually get tired of too much description of the worlds unless they really impact on the story and in a trilogy I don’t think you need to go on and on about the same thing whether fact or fiction – case in point Jean M. Auel’s Earth’s Children story which rabbits on forever in each book about the prairies and grasses and what animals feed there, we know, we read book one. The worst of her books for this was Plains of Passage.

By: Glenda Larke

Glenda Larke — Wed, 21 May 2008 03:49:00 +0000

Lol! Wish I could take the credit for its invention, but I can’t…

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:42:00 +0000

“Sensawunda” – what a great word! (Although for a brief second I did think it was a Malay word)