Gradual Interview
(answers from May 2008, as of Apr 30 2026, 2:47:07 AM)
www.StephenRDonaldson.com
© 2004 by Stephen R.Donaldson

Tom

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(05/14/2008)

Ian Chadwick

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(05/14/2008)

Paul

Dear Mr Donaldson
Your commitment to the GI is genuinely astounding - more writing on top of your existing commitment!  We're not worthy!

I would be interested to know whether you feel the GI process must have an innevitable influence on the development, writing and rewriting of AATE and TLD.  If our conscious (and sub-conscious) decisions are based on the sum of our experiences then every question you answer is likely to influence some element of your writing - although not major plot lines as no doubt these are comprehensively set out.

I'd be wasting your time if I were to ask you to speculate on the sub-conscious impact: you will no doubt read this question choose to answer it or choose not to answer it then almost instantly forget it.  However, have you ever answered a GI question and in phrasing the answer had a Eureka moment (on any scale) which has overtly influenced your writing or re-writing?  The GI highights the hugely positive impact your writing has had - it would be nice to think you had been repaid in some small measure through your readers' collective submission. 

Finally - a question about the Insequent - have they already featured in either of the first two COTC as named main characters?

Your writing is amazing - many thanks for the memories.

Regards

Paul

Yes, I think that the Gradual Interview has an inevitable effect on what I put into--and what I leave out of--"The Last Chronicles".  (Consider the possibility that, because of the GI, I may well know more about the "Covenant" readership and its desires/expectations/doubts/curiosities than any writer before me has ever known about his/her readers.)  And yes, as you say, much of the effect is un- or subconscious:  I couldn't define it even if I wanted to--which I mostly don't.  But occasionally the effect *is* conscious:  a question that refers to a story thread which I might otherwise have neglected to tie off, perhaps, or a comment that suggests a possibility which I might not have thought of without prompting.  However, I am *not* (possibly ever) going to give you any specific examples.  To do so would be--at best--a spoiler, and--at worst--positively embarrassing.  ("What?  You mean to tell us that Linden's murder by Liand was *not* part of your original design?  Quel dolor!"  If you see what I mean.)

As far as I know, the Insequent played no part in the first six "Covenant" books.

P.S. I've just (May 15) been informed that it should be "Quelle douleur!"  Or perhaps "Que dolor!"  <grin>

(05/14/2008)

Terry Hornsby

JK Rowling is currently in court, attempting to protect her work from profiteers. What would your reaction be if someone published an unauthorised encyclopedia/bible/call-it-what-you-will, of your work?

My personal reaction might well be, "The more fool you."  But I suspect that the reaction of my publishers would be far more, well, aggressive.  And events might well compel me to denounce the profiteers--if for no other reason than to avoid confusing my more loyal readers.

(05/14/2008)

Robert K. Murnick

Hello Sir,

     I'm afraid that I hold with Twain's notion that (paraphrasing here) ever since the first primordial particle struck the second, all that has followed since has been determined.  Many people find this idea disheartening.  But when I add that realizing the determined future before it occurs is (excluding simple examples like the action of physical laws, etc...) for the most part beyond our grasp, it implies the existence of the ILLUSION of free will.  I believe in predetermination, but because we are in fact part of the system (and the system is magnitudes above us), it is better for us to behave as if we had free will.

     I am curious what you think of this and if this differs from the notion of predestination you were taught by your parents.  As always, Thank you so much for all your magnificent stories!

     Rob Murnick

My opinions on theology carry no more weight than anyone else's.  And I've been trying to avoid turning the Gradual Interview into a theological discussion (for many reasons, one of which is that it could easily degenerate into a flame war).  But predetermination as you describe it sounds to me like a distinction without a difference, since it implies that the illusion of free will is effectively identical to *actual* free will.

Predestination, in the view of my parents, was much more personal:  God-the-puppeteer is busily pulling everyone's strings at every moment.  Admittedly, most modern Presbyterians might react in horror to a definition that literal; but my parents thought that way (or *thought* that they thought that way, since they still believed in "sin," even though "sin" and "predestination" are mutually exclusive concepts).

(05/20/2008)

Joey

Re-reading Fatal Revenant and the blinding of Mahrtiir struck me. You've spoken of the influence of Wagner's Ring Cycle on your works but does that extend to Norse mythology as well? Because the one-eyed Stave as Odin and the blind Mahrtiir as Hod would be a very interesting (if as yet premature perhaps) parallel... maybe Liand as Baldr? Esmer as Loki, lol?

Worth a shot I figure. Thanks for your time.

My knowledge of Norse mythology is not as extensive, or as deeply engrained, as my knowledge of Wagner.  And I am not making any conscious attempt to draw on either for "The Last Chronicles".  But none of us ever gets away from the stuff that's bred into us.  Those things become inherent to how we think.  So I can't pretend that you won't find parallels between "The Last Chronicles" and some aspects of Norse mythology.  But I would caution you against drawing conclusions on that basis.

(05/20/2008)

Michael Middleton

1) You've mentioned that you "compose at the keyboard" even though you dislike the feel of most keyboards.  I was curious if you use the standard "QWERTY" keyboard layout, as you used to use a typewriter, or if you decided to change to the Dvorak alternate keyboard layout.  If you've never heard of it, in short it's a keyboard layout designed to increase keyboarding efficiency with a "more logical" arrangement of letters (for example, the vowels are on the left-hand home row while the four most common consonants are on the right-hand home row).  I'd figure as a writer you'd want to give yourself the most comfortable configuration possible, but I could perfectly understand "sticking with what works/why fix something that's not broken?".

2) When you finish the Last Chronicles, what's the first thing you'll want to do?  I'd probably sprawl out onto the couch and wriggle myself on the comfy pillows of accomplishment, or take a nice well-deserved nap.

1) Yes, I use a QWERTY keyboard.  That's what I learned on in middle school; and after using it for nearly 50 years, I couldn't change if I wanted to (which I don't:  I have enough problems already).

2) The first thing I always want to do after finishing one of my epics is slit my wrists.  <rueful smile>  But I get over that--at least in part because the whole concept of "finishing" a book is misleading.  (Do you mean finishing the first draft?  Ah, but there's all that rewriting to be done.  Or do you mean finishing the rewriting?  Ah, but there's all that proofreading to be done.  Etc..)  In my experience, writing a book never actually *ends*:  it just dribbles away, gradually taking up less and less time, until finally--without any particular moment of completion or vindication--it's just gone.

(05/20/2008)

Perry Bell

Hello Stephen,
 Just 2 easy questions this time. :)
1.Do you object to anyone recommending your writings on their myspace page?
2.This one is a little premature I am sure, but, when will you have a trailer posted for "Against All Things Ending"?
Thanks,
Perry Bell
Reno Nevada

1. Of course not.  I need all the free advertising I can get.  <grin>

2. My webmaster and I don't start talking about trailers until after D&A ("delivery and acceptance" of a finished manuscript).  "Premature" would be a pretty polite way to describe it if we tried anything sooner.

(05/20/2008)

Jake R.

Dear Mr. Donaldson

   I was recently reading the GI and stumbled across the section were a fan made a website dedicated to your vocabulary words. I plan on using it to learn some new words. What I wanted to know is how you develop your vocabulary, since you don't have an authors website to learn from. 
   Keeping with the vocab theme, I noticed on the website that many of the vocab words have come from Fatal Revenant. Is there a specific reason for that or can that be attributed to a growing wisdom as the years pass?  I’m sure there must be a difference between the present day and when you wrote Lord Fouls Bane.
   Lastly, I would like your advice on something. I have a friend who feels that using words that most people don’t know the meaning of is something one shouldn’t do. Basically dumb it down for everyone else.  And I’m not talking about exceptionally difficult words. (Like yours) <jovial smile>  I disagree with my friend and I was wondering what kind of retort you would make to someone who feels that we need to dumb down our language. This is coming from an Americans perspective by the way, cause I’m sure that makes a difference as far as a matter of speech is concerned.	
   Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to waste your time with my trivial pursuits and arguments. Thanks for your time and effort both in your literature and dedication to your fans.

                               Sincerely, Jake R.

I've covered some of this elsewhere in the GI--possibly a number of years ago.  The short answer to your first question is that I pay attention to what I read; I make word lists; and periodically I treat myself to "word orgies" during which I look up the words on my lists and write down the definitions.

I would be surprised to learn that "Fatal Revenant" contains more unfamiliar words than, say, "The Wounded Land."  But it could be true.  In FR in particular, and "The Last Chronicles" in general, I'm trying to "make real" concepts and beings that defy any mundane description.  I need exotic language to convey what I have in mind.

I have so many responses to your friend who prefers familiar language that I can't remember them all at any one time.  But I'll limit myself to this one:  words are the tools of thought.  Experience tells me that neither I nor anyone else can think about ideas, emotions, insights, beliefs, or even sensations for which we have no language.  And the more precise the language at our disposal, the more accurately we can think about those ideas/emotions/insights/beliefs/sensations.  Believe it or not, the "exceptionally difficult words" in my books express what I mean more accurately than "simple" words could.

Of course, I could be wrong.  Maybe I'm just trying to justify a failure of skill.  Some very highly regarded writers would agree with that assessment.  But I'm not convinced.

(05/21/2008)

lonomon

I saw recently that Marvel is adapting books to be made into comic series.  Most notably, one of your favorite authors (wink), Orson Scott Card's "Ender" books. 

Would you be opposed to a comic series of the Covenant chronicles or the Gap cycle?  Or, are the books too cerebral for that medium?

Thanks

As a matter of personal philosophy, I decline to prejudge or "oppose" anyone else's creativity.  Real artists are capable of some astonishing achievements.  But comics, like movies, are an "outside in" medium:  they show the outside and suggest the inside.  My books are predominently "inside out":  I live inside the heads of my characters, and every aspect of what's outside starts there.  I don't see how what I write could be accurately communicated in any "outside in" form.

(05/21/2008)

DJBMD

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(05/23/2008)

peter minister

Grrr and damnation. It seems that Scott Blicks distributers do not want us Brits to buy his audio books. It amazes me that this is the case as there are sooooo many british fans of your books.

In fairness to Scott Brick and his distributers:  this is not their fault.  It's a consequence of the fact that my books are contracted separately in the US and Great Britain (which includes most of the non-US English speaking world--except Canada).  These contracts divide the world stringently, for the obvious reason that the publishers don't want to have to compete with each other.  So:  Brick's contracts with Putnams (for "Fatal Revenant") and Ballantine (for "Lord Foul's Bane" etc.) cannot allow him to sell his work outside the markets covered by those contracts.  Before he can make his work available to the rest of the English-speaking world, he'll need separate contracts with Gollancz and HarperCollins.  Gollancz may eventually cooperate:  remind me to look into that.  HarperCollins almost certainly will not.  For reasons known only to them, they refuse to cooperate with anything that benefits either me or my readers.

Do I need to point out that it's pretty easy to get around these restrictions?  (Oops!  Did I say that out loud?  I wasn't supposed to.  <rueful grin>)

(05/23/2008)

Jim

 I hadn't seen this question/observation posted in the Gradual Interview archives, but I found a list of 'Recreational Media' aboard the International Space Station (the 'ISS').

Apparently, "The Man Who Killed His Brother" is available In Space.

Do 'They' tell you these things before a book launch?

A PDF of the FOIA-released list is available here: http://www.governmentattic.org/docs/ISS_Media_2008.pdf

No, no one ever tells me about these things (apart from you, of course <grin>).  But I saw an interview with Shannon Lucid in “Ad Astra” where she mentioned “The Mirror of Her Dreams” and “A Man Rides Through,” and I could’ve sworn in the photo I could see a copy of “Lord Foul’s Bane” on the bookshelf behind her.

(05/23/2008)

Reed Byers

I have always been one of the Donaldson fans that frustrated you the most -- upon discovering, reading, and falling in love with your Covenant books ages ago, I couldn't seem to make myself pick up any of your other works.

Mostly, I guess I was afraid that nothing else you did could be as powerful, as beautiful, as the Covenant books -- and I felt that somehow, reading a "lesser" Donaldson work would detract from Covenant in some way.  I can't explain WHY I felt this way.  As you've pointed out several times elsewhere in the GI, you've certainly earned a little more trust than that from your readers.

In any case, I'm writing to tell you that, due entirely to the GI (and to the two times I have now been present at one of your highly entertaining and informative book signings), this has now changed.  It is unfortunate that the books are no longer in print, so I could buy them new and thereby contribute a few pennies to your coffers... but I managed to locate and purchase a nearly-new complete hardcover set of the GAP series on eBay, and as of yesterday, I have finished the last book.

*WOW*  You have every right to be as proud of these books as you are.

I guess my first GAP question for you is: how did you manage to keep track of what everyone knew (or thought they knew) during the course of this series?  Did you have maintain some sort of timeline chart, showing what each character knew and when they knew it?  I can't even begin to imagine what it must have been like to keep THAT many balls in the air at the same time...

I must say that over the course of the books, I started to see more and more of Linden in Morn (especially when Morn starts insisting on a "better answer").  And if you squint a bit and turn your head sideways, you can even make out some Covenant in Angus...  :)

I suppose that, now that I've finally broken out of the "Donaldson = Covenant ONLY" mindset, I'll have to start making up for lost time, and hunt down the Mirror books next.  Gotta have SOMETHING else to read while waiting for the next Covenant... :)

Thanks!  I’m posting this complete because, well, it gratifies my ego.  And also because it offers a new (to me) explanation for the fact that 90% of “Covenant” readers will not read anything else I’ve written.  As you can perhaps imagine, I need all the explanations I can get.

But I’m afraid I don’t have a really satisfying answer for your question.  To a large extent, this is a “How do you do what you do?” question; and the underlying truth is that I have no earthly idea.  I was born with a certain amount of talent and intelligence; and I’ve trained those strengths as strenuously as I know how:  a statement which is perfectly true, but which doesn’t *explain* anything.  On a more practical level, all I can tell you is that I use a LOT of notes.  And that the narrative challenge isn’t quite as daunting as you might think.  Especially in a story like the GAP sequence (although the same may be true in every story, to one extent or another), what a character knows (or thinks he/she knows), and when s/he knows it, is a function of (among other things) setting:  *where* a character is, and when, has a significant effect on what that character can know.  For example:  sure, everyone aboard Captain’s Fancy may have secrets; but they also all share a common body of experiences and even perceptions (most of them wouldn’t be part of Nick’s crew if they didn’t see things Nick’s way).  In practice, writing from multiple POVs is more a question of understanding how different people think and less a question of understanding what they think about because much of what they think about is determined by their specific circumstances.

(05/23/2008)

Dave

Hi Steve,
First off, I'd just like to thank you (very belatedly!) for coming over to the UK at the end of last year to do the book tour - the signing was much appreciated! Now, I know you've said that general questions regarding the Insequent (I can sense you groaning already) are RAFO, however, you did answer another question saying that physically the Insequent are mortal. Is this mortal as in, they live, grow old and die or in some other sense (not really sure what other definitions there are, but there you go). My confusion arises from the assertion that the Vizard attempted to thwart the Harrow a couple of hundred years before the "present" of the narrative, however he is alive and kicking way before the time of Kevin when the Haruchai first met him. Now, we know the Mahdoubt can travel through time, but I thought that the individual knowledge/lore of each Insequent precluded learning that of the others, hence I'm assuming that the Vizard didn't leap through time. Or are the insequent another long lived race, like the Giants but on a bigger scale? Hopefully this is something you can comment on and not RAFO - since you've currently got 31 questions pending the last thing I want is to take up more of your valuable time!
Cheers.

It’s pretty generally true in the “Covenant” books that power confers longevity.  Characters like the Haruchai and  the Giants and Anele, who are all in some sense inherently magical, live considerably longer than what we might consider “normal” for mortal beings.  And characters like the Lords and the Insequent, who devote their lives to the study and use of magic, experience similar effects.  I don’t want to fall into the trap of trying to quantify this aspect of the story.  But I’ve been writing under the assumption that much of what the Insequent know about each other (speaking of specific individuals) is a result of over-lapping lives:  *very* few of them actually move through time; and they *all* live, grow old, and die; but some of them live lives so extended that their experience of each other lasts for centuries.

(05/23/2008)

Vince Gregory

Vince Gregory, Mexborough, England.

Hi Mr Donaldson,

I wrote to you some time ago asking if you would consider introducing us to one or more female Haruchai sometime during the last chronicles. My question originated from my own imagined wonderings through the Land, something I find myself doing on quite a regular basis. After reading the chronicles many times, the world you have created has become very real to me, and a truly magical and fascinating place to muse over.

So to my question. Apologies if you have covered this previously. I just wondered if you ever wander imaginatively in the land outside of the narrative, going beyond what is necessary to develop your tale, or whether you confine yourself (consciously or unconsciously) only to matters central to the storyline? For example, even though you have no intention of introducing female Haruchai to the chronicles, have you ever considered them? Do you have a picture in your mind of what they are like?

I’m sure many fans like me are curious about things that happen outside the storyline (of course you could argue that absolutely nothing happens outside the storyline because it’s a story!). I would just like to know if you are similarly curious, or if you have a professional detachment that precludes such wanderings.

Keep up the astonishingly beautiful work

Kind regards
Vince.

I’ve answered this so often I’ve run out of ways to explain it.  I only invent what I need for the specific story I’m telling.  (The only exception I can think of is the novella “Daughter of Regals”:  writing that story, I found that I had way more background than the story inself required; so I did a lot of cutting when I revised.)  This is both a conscious and an unconscious aspect of my creative process.  I don’t “wander imaginatively in [insert name of world here]” because (consciously) I’m just not interested--for me, the world is chiefly a reflection of the characters whose story I’m telling, and I’m only interested in the characters and their story--and because (unconsciously) I probably *can’t*:  the story is so essential to my imagination that if I were to wander away from the story my imagination would simply stop working.

This latter point, I feel constrained to add, is pure speculation.  The whole point of the unconscious mind is that it’s UNconscious.  If I actually knew what it’s doing, or why, it wouldn’t be what it is--and both my work and my life would be much more drab than they are right now.

(05/23/2008)

laozi

Good day, Mr. Donaldson.

As an amateur musician and writer I will often listen to and read my completed works, after the effort of creating them has passed, for the sheer enjoyment of it. Part of why I create, and enjoy, them is that there is nothing *quite* else like them out there, and they suit my tastes and desires to a 'T', however narcissistic that may be.

As a professional writer, is it the same with you? Will you go back and read one of your books days, months or years later, just for the enjoyment, despite the time and energy involved in the creation of it?

Is in the same for me?  No.  By the time I get done writing, and rewriting, and REwriting, and proofreading, and re-proofreading, and RE-proofreading (and possibly promoting) a story, I'm a) tired of it, and b) focused on moving on to new work.  Plus I'm a very slow reader, and there are a LOT of other books out there.

Of course, I re-read the first six "Covenant" books when I was preparing for "The Last Chronicles".  I re-read the previous mystery novels whenever I prepare to write a new one.  But no, I've never read my own work "just for the enjoyment".

(05/23/2008)

iQuestor (Bob)

Mr. Donaldson,

No question today, just a comment -- I just finished Scott Brick's Audio version of Lord Foul's Bane. He did an AMAZING job, I just really enjoyed his tone, inflection, and passion. Its apparent he loves the series and isn't just reading it for a job. I am excited to know he is doing the Illearth War to be released in November. We at the Watch are excited. 

For 20 years I have been trying to get people I care about (ok, anyone who would listen) to read the Chrons. I am hoping that Scott's audio versions will allow me to introduce the series to people who aren't avid readers. Yes, I know I am a giant geek, but I am excited. And I dont have an Axe. I promise. :)

I'm posting this for the information of readers who may be wondering whether or not to invest in Scott Brick's work.

(05/23/2008)

Michael from Santa Fe

Based on past experience, once you have an idea for a short story, how long does it take you to write one?  A day, for a short one?  A week?  Months?  How much rewriting goes into a short story compared to a novel?

Writing is writing.  I write at about the same pace no matter what I'm working on.  And I do about the same amount of rewriting for everything.  If you assume I can write 3-4 pages a day, and rewrite 6-8 pages a day, and I only do two rewrites....  Well, you do the math.  (Of course, I'm talking about manuscript pages, which are considerably shorter than published pages.)

When I was younger, I did everything faster (alas).

(05/28/2008)

Rob Smith

Hi Stephen,

In a recent response on the current "Golden Age" of fantasy writing you stated something to the effect that as 90% is always dross finding the 10% thats good is harder...
Oh dear! My statistician gene has leapt forward and, joining with my pedantic gene, insisted I point out that your argument is mathematically unsound.
If the percentage of quality stuff is still 10% then statistically you will still read 9 tomes of crud before you get to a nugget of fantasy goodness. However, if your objective is to read ALL the good stuff, the Golden Age does means it's going to take a damned sight longer...
On a positive note the Golden Age (if that's what it is) should be good news for my favourite author (err...that would be you by the way).  The new readers will start with the normal overpromoted dross and, frustrated, then turn to their bookseller saying - "..so where's the good stuff?"  The cream always rises to the surface eventually my friend.
Now - what are you doing wasting time reading this rubbish? - Get back to work!

Which--if you'll pardon my saying so--is why statistics are an unreliable guide to life.  If I see a shelf of 10 books, only one is good, and I can pick only one, I have 1 chance in 10 of picking the good one.  If, in contrast, I see a shelf of 100 books, only ten are good, and I can pick only one, I have 10 chances in 100 of picking a good one.  Statistically, these odds may be indentical.  Experientially, they are very different.  In practice, my chances in the second case are more like 1 in 100.  And it gets worse.  I can probably read the cover copy of 10 books, looking for some kind of guidance before I make my choice; but there's no way in life that I can stand there and read the cover copy of 100 books.

Didn't Twain say something about statistics...?

(05/28/2008)

Todd

Stephen,
Hello again, and thank you again for all of your wonderful work, past and present.

Something a little more flippant:

In the upcoming presidential election, who would Covenant vote for, and any insight as to why?

How about Linden and Lord Foul?

Covenant, in a fit of pique, might well vote for Ralph Nader.  Lord Foul doubtless would urge the current administration to declare martial law and suspend elections.  Linden, bless her, might actually try to make an informed decision.

(05/28/2008)

Dale Cebula

Stephen,

I have a question and a comment.

I have been considering the nature of the ravers and I next considered the Elohim and the merewives.  The elohim strike as the type of things that really don't care too much about anything but reflecting upon themselves (or Creation, etc).  They think of other beings under them, but, under extremes, may actually do something about the world.  While there (in)action may cause confusion and a certain amount of hatred from others, they do appear to respect the free will of other things.  Again, so long as they are not harmed or the continuation of the planet isn't harmed.

The Ravers are simply hate filled monsters who see their vision of how things ought to be not only desired but necessary.  Even their names (the Hindu ones) show that they think of themselves as enlightened and they feel compelled to compel others to do their will.  This brings me to the merewives.  While not necessarily as evil and hateful as the Ravers, the merewives use their "magic" to force non-Giant males to pursue them.  The merewives appear to be immortal, and they are the children of the elohim (or at least of ONE elohim :)).  Thus my question is this:  Are the Ravers connected to the elohim?  Perhaps in a manner that the merewives are connected to the elohim?  The world is not as they see fit or desire, but unlike the elohim, they do not show any restraint in their contempt. 

Sorry for the lenght!  My comment is regarding a response wherein you called the Middle Ages the "dark ages".  ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHGHGH!  is about the best response I could come up with (LOL).  Just as the clave (and the Lords for that matter) understand history through their own lens, so do us regular people in the "real" world construct history according to what we usually want to believe as opposed to what the truth is (I am also guilty of this!:))  

pax

I can't wait for the next book!

We're talking about a fantasy novel here:  EVERYTHING is connected.  But I mean that thematically, emotionally, spiritually, not literally.  *I* certainly have never intended any literal connection (or even similarity) between the Ravers and the Elohim.

(05/28/2008)

Stephen, I must ask how did you start writing storys? And how do make your storys so interesting?

I've said pretty much all I can say about how or why I do what I do.  Look in categories like "creative process," "writing & publishing process," and "personal topics".  If what you want to know isn't there, I have no answer.

(05/28/2008)

Trevor Mobbs

Long-time fan, first-time investigator of the official website, mildly gobsmacked that you would do such a thing as answer our questions, so here I go and dive in...

Like many people (it seems) I first encountered your books as a teenage boy, about 14 years old.  All the volumes of the Chronicles were in my high school library. I've come to the conclusion that the librarians had never actually read them, before slotting them in with all the other fantasy and science fiction books.

How difficult do you find it to break the mindset that fantasy (and science fiction for that matter) is a genre primarily directed at and for teenage boys (including perhaps the ones that didn't quite 'grow up')?  Do you encounter this attitude in your dealings with publishers, reviewers and other book professionals?  Or is it just high school librarians who think that all fantasy is much the same?

Another facet of the same question really: is it difficult to get people to look past the surface features of a book (a fantasy plot/setting, or a sci-fi one) and have them recognise more than that?

End ramble.

Personally, I've never had any difficulty breaking out of the "mindset" you describe.  My sense of--alienation is a bit too strong, but I can't think of a better word at the moment--from the intellectual climates of college and graduate school didn't cause me to question the worth of my own response to sf/f:  it simply inspired me to dig more deeply into my perception of what sf/f are "good for"--and to try harder to emulate the strengths/skills/insights I learned to admire in mainstream literature.  But in other ways, I encounter prejudice everywhere:  the number of literate people who sneer reflexively at sf/f is much greater (at least in my experience) than the number willing to consider the possibility that sf/f might demonstrate artistic seriousness.  Publishers don't sneer:  they only care how many copies they sell.  But reviewers, librarians, teachers, scholars, academics and intellectuals of every description....

Of course, the notion that sf/f don't or can't have literary merit is aesthetic nonsense:  as I often have occasion to observe, all the oldest and most endurings forms of literature in all languages on this planet are fantasy.  In addition, any writer who somehow acquires the label "literature" can write as much fantasy or sf as he/she wants without being sneered at.  And yet:  as far as I know, I've never persuaded ANYone that sf/f can serve the same high purposes, and meet the same needs, as more "realistic" (i.e. mimetic) fiction.

(05/28/2008)

Sam Wilcock

Hi Steve,

I have wondered if you have found it more challenging to write from a woman's point of view. I have dabbled in writing (very little for my own purposes) and have found it more difficult to write from that POV. The times that I have shared those writings with women I will get comments like a woman would not think/act/etc like that.

So do you specifically "seek" out a woman to review your works. Or in the beginning of your writing did you "seek" out women to review and now you are more 'confident' (for lack of a better word) that you do not specifically need that type of review.

I have long admired your ability to switch POV's so effectively and I know how incredibly difficult it is to switch the different mind sets to write from those POV's

Keep up the great works!

Sam.

For reasons I can't explain, I don't find it "challenging to write from a woman's point of view."  Maybe it's because I was raised in a house full of sisters.  <rueful smile>  Or maybe it's because I decided decades ago that women are people--"just like us" <grin>--and writing about them pretty much has to be the same as writing about men.  (If it isn't, there's something wrong with our ability to empathize with the human beings around us.)  Or more accurately:  writing about a specific woman has to be the same as writing about a specific man.  They're all individuals, not genders; and if we can't see them as such, we're stuck.

And yet (he admitted sadly), I do have one problem writing about women.  Quick, name a female villain anywhere in the Complete Works of Donaldson.  I had to think about that for a while myself before I came up with any examples.  (And no, I don't mean Infelice--who isn't a villain--or the merewives--who aren't individuals--or Elena--who is just misguided.)  Thanks, no doubt, to my upbringing ("Women are inherently Pure:  Men are inherently Sinful"), I find it difficult to overcome my impulse to make all women "good guys".

(05/28/2008)