Something has been brooding in the depths of the plot for this entire world (not just this book, or the previous, but I’m finding its shadows on sonar of the oldest–in story time–books, Gird & Luap as I re-read them for continuity)\u00a0 for years.\u00a0\u00a0 Now it’s rising slowly\u00a0 into view.\u00a0\u00a0 These are foundation-level conflicts that I’ve never really examined, having just discovered outcrops of apparent bedrock on which to put the foundations of the world 27-28\u00a0 years ago.<\/p>\n
The slow upwelling of these things reminds me of bubbles rising from a deep underwater vent (or, less suitable for fantasy, from a submarine blown by a depth charge.)\u00a0\u00a0 Or maybe I should think of it as magma?\u00a0\u00a0 But in the viscous fluid of the writer’s mind, this large bubble is rising too slowly for my convenience.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It’s been pushing its way up, influencing the layers above it, creating interesting contours and shoving other things around…but now I need it to come into clear view, because there’s a limit to how long you (and I) are willing to wait to find out WHY.<\/p>\n
What the bubble will do, if it comes into the open, is connect the mythical past of this world to the story-time present,\u00a0 in a way that’s almost archaeological…here are the stories told…and here’s what really happened.\u00a0\u00a0 Amazingly alike, and also amazingly, in detail, different.<\/p>\n
And it has its own internal logic and velocity.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My plot daemon is cackling evilly, “You’ll find out when it’s time!\u00a0 Just keep writing.”\u00a0\u00a0 This week’s writing, possibly because of the Requiem<\/em>, and possibly because of the contest, but mostly I think because the bubble is still more visible by its effects than directly, has been scattershot.\u00a0\u00a0 And looking at it now, some of it doesn’t even belong in this book.\u00a0 I don’t have time to write stuff that isn’t in this book, but the only way I know to discover what really happened is to write it.\u00a0\u00a0 Dilemma.<\/p>\n But this one comes nearer and nearer the surface.\u00a0\u00a0 Why did Ardhiel go with the expedition to Kolobia, and why did he have the great elfhorn with him?\u00a0\u00a0 Is there a King of the West?\u00a0\u00a0 Is the Ladysforest the only elven realm still remaining?\u00a0\u00a0 (I know it’s not, but why no contact\/communication between them–or is there?)\u00a0\u00a0 Why did someone (and who was that someone)\u00a0 set up an ambush for Kieri’s mother?\u00a0\u00a0 Who retrieved the sword and placed it where Aliam Halveric found it, and why?\u00a0\u00a0 Why did the Lady decide to build an underground elvenhome?\u00a0\u00a0 Were elves ever in Old Aare?\u00a0\u00a0 If so, why did they leave?\u00a0\u00a0 I know they were in Aarenis…what sent them over the mountains?\u00a0\u00a0 Where did the magelords get their distinctive innate magery?\u00a0 (From their creation, which is possible, or from the intervention of other created beings, which is also possible?)<\/p>\n I know a lot of things I didn’t know when starting this group of books, but I don’t yet know all I need to know.\u00a0 (I know the origin of the jewels in the regalia Dorrin found, for instance. \u00a0 I know how some characters will die, though they haven’t yet. \u00a0 But I don’t know who the traitors are.\u00a0 Not all of them, at least. )<\/p>\n Oh, well, better get back to it.\u00a0 If the plot daemon says I have to write it to find out…then the only way through is by writing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Something has been brooding in the depths of the plot for this entire world (not just this book, or the previous, but I’m finding its shadows on sonar of the oldest–in story time–books, Gird & Luap as I re-read them for continuity)\u00a0 for years.\u00a0\u00a0 Now it’s rising slowly\u00a0 into view.\u00a0\u00a0 These are foundation-level conflicts that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,4,61,5],"tags":[108,22,106,62,107],"class_list":["post-926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-background","category-contents","category-craft","category-the-writing-life","tag-background","tag-characters","tag-contents","tag-craft-of-writing","tag-the-writing-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/926"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=926"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":927,"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/926\/revisions\/927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.paksworld.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}