I've thought up a title for "The Scroll's" series! No longer will I think of it as "Well, that one series," or "The series with The Scroll as the first book," or "Leslie and Gray's story, except now it's Savannah's story too."
The title for the series in which The Scroll is the first book shall be called (pause for clearing of throat):
The World Walker Chronicles
Or something similar. Remember, titles are always at least a little fluid until the book's actually published.
I also know the names for each of the books. There will be four books (or stories, if they're never published outside of blog format). Each book will have a title relating to an artifact that will be sought/found/used/protected in that story.
Book 1: The Scroll (If you haven't figured out the location of the scroll yet, you're a terrible reader)
Book 2: The Lamp (Or the Lantern. I haven't decided yet)
Book 3: The Flute (I think... I may have to change this artifact. I keep getting pictures of Link holding the Ocarina of Time in my head...)
Book 4: The Knife (Think what you will on this one)
And now we come to the second part of this blog, which I really shouldn't be writing because it is bedtime: Details.
How important are details, really? Do details make or break a story?
The answer: very. The second answer: yes.
Does that mean that all authors should take detail making to Tolkienian extremes, including every leg of every adventure (including having three adults taking baths (in different bathtubs) at the same time and singing nursery rhymes and acting a bit like toddlers? (part of Fellowship that always struck me a little odd))? Not necessarily. Nor do you necessarily need to describe every branch of every tree or the exact physical dimensions of every character. All authors have a voice and a cadence that lends to more or less details. Some authors can write a very successful story with very few details and let the readers fill in the gaps. Other authors describe events and characters in great details, and their stories are also considered classics.
But how much is too much? Well, let's go back to Tolkien. He loves (loved?) letting the reader fall into his world and immersed his story with back history that anybody who hasn't read the Silmarillion (and some who have) can never completely appreciate. He is also very good at describing locations, characters, and events in great detail. However, he tends to do so only once, allowing the reader to remember the characters and the places in their heads. Let's take one of my favorite characters, Strider, for instance. He is described as thus: "Suddenly Frodo noticed that a strange-looking weather-beaten man, sitting in the shadows near the wall, was also listening intently to the hobbit-talk. He had a tall tankard in front of him, and was smoking a long-stemmed pipe curiously carved. His legs were stretched out before him, showing high boots of supple leather that fitted him well, but had seen much wear and were now caked with mud. A travel-stained cloak of heavy dark-green cloth was drawn close about him, and in spite of the heat of the room he wore a hood that overshadowed his face; but the gleam of his eyes could be seen as he watched the hobbits."
Later, we learn that he is tall, at times noble-looking despite his haggard appearance, and has dark hair peppered with gray. But Tolkien does not dwell overmuch on Strider's appearance throughout The Lord of the Rings (except on rare occasions when Strider does something/shows something that reveals his true heritage). We get this paragraph (which admittedly has more detail than I would write--maybe I can learn something here), which sets up not only Strider's appearance, but his mysteriously withdrawn and watchful personality. Many characters in other books have been patterned after this king-in-hiding, but few succeed in matching Strider's greatness.
Another famous (right now, anyway) book is Twilight. I cannot quote directly from Twilight because I have relegated it to the scrap heap just today and donated it to Savers. I was annoyed throughout the Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer's insistence on ramming the characters' descriptions down our throats (most specifically the "forever perfect" ice-cold Edward and the "warm and cuddly" Jacob). She said over and over how marble-ly, how perfect, how cold, how perfect, how yummy smelling, how perfect, how chivalric, how perfect, how lovely-haired, how perfect, how golden-eyed, how perfect Edward was. Now, if she's said it so many times, it must be true, right? Maybe so, but we don't need to be told this over and over and over and over and...well, now I'm doing it too. You get the idea. I have a feeling I would have enjoyed the Twilight Saga much more if Stephenie didn't feel she had to remind us every few pages what her characters looked/smelled/sounded/felt/made you feel emotionally like. Personally, I enjoyed her book The Host a lot more. (It has not been relegated to the scrap heap yet, and I may actually reread it someday)
In closing, I have created Titles! I am thinking about Details! And, after comparing Tolkien and Twilight (when, really, they shouldn't be compared anyway because they're completely different genres and Lord of the Rings will be around forever and now I'm getting off my soap box), I am going to do my best to find that perfect balance of details.
Signing off, see you next time.
Elisa
I also know the names for each of the books. There will be four books (or stories, if they're never published outside of blog format). Each book will have a title relating to an artifact that will be sought/found/used/protected in that story.
Book 1: The Scroll (If you haven't figured out the location of the scroll yet, you're a terrible reader)
Book 2: The Lamp (Or the Lantern. I haven't decided yet)
Book 3: The Flute (I think... I may have to change this artifact. I keep getting pictures of Link holding the Ocarina of Time in my head...)
Book 4: The Knife (Think what you will on this one)
And now we come to the second part of this blog, which I really shouldn't be writing because it is bedtime: Details.
How important are details, really? Do details make or break a story?
The answer: very. The second answer: yes.
Does that mean that all authors should take detail making to Tolkienian extremes, including every leg of every adventure (including having three adults taking baths (in different bathtubs) at the same time and singing nursery rhymes and acting a bit like toddlers? (part of Fellowship that always struck me a little odd))? Not necessarily. Nor do you necessarily need to describe every branch of every tree or the exact physical dimensions of every character. All authors have a voice and a cadence that lends to more or less details. Some authors can write a very successful story with very few details and let the readers fill in the gaps. Other authors describe events and characters in great details, and their stories are also considered classics.
But how much is too much? Well, let's go back to Tolkien. He loves (loved?) letting the reader fall into his world and immersed his story with back history that anybody who hasn't read the Silmarillion (and some who have) can never completely appreciate. He is also very good at describing locations, characters, and events in great detail. However, he tends to do so only once, allowing the reader to remember the characters and the places in their heads. Let's take one of my favorite characters, Strider, for instance. He is described as thus: "Suddenly Frodo noticed that a strange-looking weather-beaten man, sitting in the shadows near the wall, was also listening intently to the hobbit-talk. He had a tall tankard in front of him, and was smoking a long-stemmed pipe curiously carved. His legs were stretched out before him, showing high boots of supple leather that fitted him well, but had seen much wear and were now caked with mud. A travel-stained cloak of heavy dark-green cloth was drawn close about him, and in spite of the heat of the room he wore a hood that overshadowed his face; but the gleam of his eyes could be seen as he watched the hobbits."
Later, we learn that he is tall, at times noble-looking despite his haggard appearance, and has dark hair peppered with gray. But Tolkien does not dwell overmuch on Strider's appearance throughout The Lord of the Rings (except on rare occasions when Strider does something/shows something that reveals his true heritage). We get this paragraph (which admittedly has more detail than I would write--maybe I can learn something here), which sets up not only Strider's appearance, but his mysteriously withdrawn and watchful personality. Many characters in other books have been patterned after this king-in-hiding, but few succeed in matching Strider's greatness.
Another famous (right now, anyway) book is Twilight. I cannot quote directly from Twilight because I have relegated it to the scrap heap just today and donated it to Savers. I was annoyed throughout the Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer's insistence on ramming the characters' descriptions down our throats (most specifically the "forever perfect" ice-cold Edward and the "warm and cuddly" Jacob). She said over and over how marble-ly, how perfect, how cold, how perfect, how yummy smelling, how perfect, how chivalric, how perfect, how lovely-haired, how perfect, how golden-eyed, how perfect Edward was. Now, if she's said it so many times, it must be true, right? Maybe so, but we don't need to be told this over and over and over and over and...well, now I'm doing it too. You get the idea. I have a feeling I would have enjoyed the Twilight Saga much more if Stephenie didn't feel she had to remind us every few pages what her characters looked/smelled/sounded/felt/made you feel emotionally like. Personally, I enjoyed her book The Host a lot more. (It has not been relegated to the scrap heap yet, and I may actually reread it someday)
In closing, I have created Titles! I am thinking about Details! And, after comparing Tolkien and Twilight (when, really, they shouldn't be compared anyway because they're completely different genres and Lord of the Rings will be around forever and now I'm getting off my soap box), I am going to do my best to find that perfect balance of details.
Signing off, see you next time.
Elisa
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