April 2020 AMA Spork (Part Two)
Apr. 23rd, 2020 01:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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antishurtugal_reborn
Q. Why did Eragon and Saphira need to use their True Names in order to enter the Vault of Souls? That’s never explained in the books.
Like a lot of other things.
How did Murtagh know the Name to use against Galbatorix if there was a spell making everyone forget it? Again, never explained in the books.
Even though it really, REALLY should have been. Eragon doesn't even think to ask.
People seem to mistake what age you published Eragon. Everyone says it somewhere between 14-19. I’ve heard you started at 15, but it took you several years of rewrites and edits before Eragon was ready. Is this true?
Yeah, he’s not gonna answer this one. (…and he didn’t).
A. 1. The lock set by the Riders/dragons would only open for one they felt could be trusted. And the only way to really prove such trust was by speaking your true name. 2. When Murtagh's true name changed during the fight with Galbatorix, that freed him from the spell that prevented him from using/remembering the Name of Names.
…and Now You Know. Still doesn’t explain why Galby would have used it in front of him to begin with, though. And anyway, how did the “instantly forget the Word” spell work on Ergy if Galbatorix didn’t know his true name?
Q. One of my favorite chapters from the series was the forging of Brisingr. A couple years ago Man at Arms made a video where they made the sword, and they stayed very true to the text.
Which must be why the thing came out looking like an ugly Villain Sword – with all due respect to Man at Arms. Those guys do good work. It’s not their fault their Brisingr replica come out looking like crap. Use a bad recipe, get a bad cake.
Did you know about those forging methods beforehand, or did you research it for the chapter. This applies to a lot of the details in the books. Have a great day, esterni eom ono.
A. I did a lot of research prior to writing the forging scene. Heck, I own an entire book just on how to polish a blade!
Yes, we could guess that.
It helped that I've done some metalworking myself.
I wonder what he made?
In general, I do try to research the stuff I’m unfamiliar with. It really helps in making the text feel a lot more real.
That must be why he had dirt-poor peasants eating chicken for breakfast before the advent of factory farming, and horses that can gallop all night without dropping dead, and a guy getting his hand lopped off and not spraying blood all over the place, and another guy getting flogged fifty times without going into septic shock, and…
Q. What plot points from Eragon were the hardest to follow through on/write yourself out of when writing 2/3/4? Did you find yourself backed into a corner by an off-hand event that ended up being important later?
A. 1. Eragon and Arya's relationship (or lack thereof).
Nice – some honesty at last. You could pretty much tell right from book two onward that he was having trouble making that subplot work. And that he ultimately saw sense and gave up.
2. How the werecats knew about the Vault of Souls.
Nope, never really got backed into a corner.
...Okay, I already knew Paolini is a shameless serial liar, but even so. Who the fuck does he think he’s kidding? If he never wrote himself into a corner, then why did the Blood Ex Machina thing need to happen? Or the Vault of Souls either for that matter? Two of the most blatant Author Saving Throws in history? Pull the other one, Chris – it’s got bells on.
Planning things out beforehand helps with that.
Either you’re just lying and never planned a damn thing, or you have no idea how to actually plan out a novel. Possibly both.
Q. What will you work on next after this TSIASOS is published? A new Tales from Alagaesia or the mystical Book Five? Something completely different?
What inspirations did you use in order to write this book?
Will this book be hard sci-fi? If yes, to what degree?
Here it comes…
A. Hopefully I'll have something else written this year (depending on promotional commitments). Although it won't be published in 2020. Can't tell you what it'll be quite yet, but I'm excited to finally be working on something other than To Sleep!
My inspirations came from a lot of classic sci-fi (Dune, Hyperion, Alien, stuff by Asimov, Heinlein, Le Guin, etc.)
Read: this is what I blatantly ripped off to make up for my own lack of any creativity or imagination.
Hard(ish). There's a solid scientific underpinning for the story (which I expand upon in some back material), but the story itself doesn't hinge upon the science.
Says the guy who bragged about spending a year researching physics and how scientifically accurate his book is.
It's more concerned with the characters and what they're dealing with.
Yeah, but… you fucking suck at characterisation. I’ve read maybe two pages about this Kira woman and I already don’t like her. So far the only times you’ve managed to create a sympathetic character, it was completely by accident.
A. Why do you prefer to write fantasy fiction and science fiction over other forms? What elements of fictional writing appeal most to people?
Q. I don’t! I really enjoy stories in all different genres, and I want to write quite a few of them myself. It’s just taken me this long to write my big fantasy story, and then my big sci-fi story. Lol. One of the nice things about my short story collection, The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm, is that it allowed me to write some different types of stories while still remaining in the fantasy genre.
That said, I’ll always have a particular fondness for fantasy. It’s our modern mythology, and I think that the freedoms fantasy allows for give the genre a power (or the potential for power) that few other genres possess.
“Power” – our favourite author’s true obsession.
Q. I cannot wait for To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. Counting the days until my pre-order comes!
Me too, though for rather different reasons.
What method do you use for planning and outlining novels?
He just throws in random shit he thought was cool at the time, then tries to justify it later. Let's not kid ourselves.
How do you keep all the sub-plots straight when writing?
He doesn’t. Like, at all.
The way authors can do this blows my mind.
Me too. I’m amazed how George R R Martin manages to keep such insane levels of detail straight. Paolini, not so much.
A. Honestly, I just take a ton of notes. It's pretty difficult to hold all of the details of a large novel in my head, so I write everything down. Because of the size of these novels, I tend to work in layers. First layer might be looking at the general setting (aka worldbuilding). Next layer might be the main character's story. Next layer might be the side characters. And so on. Similarly with the writing. It's almost impossible to pay attention to all the layers/details on the first pass. That's why we reread and edit.
🎵 LIAR LIAR, oh you don’t ever tell the truth – LIAR LIAR! Can nobody see you’re fireproof? 🎵
Seriously, if Paolini actually re-reads his crap (which he previously implied he doesn’t), then I’m Nicole Kidman.
Q. How did you go about making sure the rules of magic were realistic and consistent while still using magic to accomplish insane inhuman feats?
He didn’t.
Were there times you regretted using magic to solve a problem in the story or regretted the way you used the magic system?
Probably never, because he always uses magic as a cheap shortcut.
A. Hi! Glad you enjoyed them. Some good questions here.
1. The only real break with physics I had with my magic system was the assumption that living things could directly manipulate different forms of energy with their minds. That's it. That's magic. Everything else directly follows from that assumption. And as best I could, I tried to be consistent with that assumption.
Sure you did.
2. Maybe once or twice. Were I to write the Inheritance Cycle again, I would probably put a ton more restrictions on the magic -- make it a lot more object and ritual dependent.
Well, at least he realises in hindsight that he made his magic system way, way too overpowered.
Q. What color was galbatorix first dragon? And did Arya give Roran a ring with the yawe on like eragon had, feel like he should have given all roran did for the elves.
Wait, what did Roran do for the elves? On the one occasion he interacted with them it was pretty clear he didn’t like them and they didn’t like him.
A. I can't recall if I specified a color in the series,
…because you can barely remember half your own canon and don’t give a shit about your own main villain. Also the answer is no, you didn’t. You couldn’t keep the poor thing’s gender straight either. Uh, pun not intended.
And at the moment, I’m not prepared to commit myself to a certain shade (ha!). It’ll definitely be something mentioned in a future story, though.
Sure it will.
No, she didn't. But who knows what will happen in the future! (Now I want to see a conversation between Roran and Arya.)
Don’t ask me what they’d even have to talk about.
Q. On new order of Dragon Riders:
1. Who would have a final say in potential conflict of interests between Arya and Eragon? Theoreticaly Eragon have higher political position but I can't quite imagine him bossing her around. Is it going to work like 2 kings in Sparta or something?
2. Does Arya have higher possition than other kings because of her being a dragon rider? Will elvish houses try to influence riders through Arya? And in overall, how is this girl going to manage all the responsibilities you're placing on her shoulders?
3. Who will be training young riders before a trip to Mount Arngor and who is going to be the next egg courier (is it still Arya?)
4. How will new order ruling structure look like? Is it still going to be one lider and a council? Who will be directly managing riders once they go back to Alagaesia?
5. How will Eragon keep track of all the events taking place in Alagaesia? Just by Eldunarya and scrying mirrors or will he have his own metode
On dragons:
1. Is the newly hatched dragon bonded or wild?
2. How far will two-legs be involved in raising wild dragons? Will they just raise a few and then let the rest take remaining eggs and Eldunarya of wild dragons to let them be "as wild as possible"?
On human tribes:
1. Where do they came from? Are they the same people who came to Alagaesia with king Palancar?
2. Can humans from wild tribes living next to Mount Arngor become dragon riders? Will we see such riders in upcoming books?
On war and politics:
1. Why didn't dwarves and elves want more for participating in war? (Come on! Their casualties were severe and they got almost nothing for it!)
You know what, that’s a good point. What the hell did they even get out of it?
2. Will relations between the races (for example dwarves and humans) still be so peacefull and friendly in the future?
3. How Imperium's political system used to work like? It seems a bit like european feudal system but why then there is no landlord in Carvahall or other villages?
4. Did the war made an impact on Imperium's society (like improving villagers laws or reducing a number of nobility)? And how about other races?
Games:
1. What are the rules of Maghra, runes and other games being played in Alagaesia?
2. Will fans ever get a merchandize connected to this games or official set of rules to play on our own?
Bonus no-comment-question:
Uh-oh, they’re starting to catch on.
What terrible event made Grey Folk bond magic to the ancient language? Did it happened in El-Harim? Does it have anything to do with Unnamed Shadow/ Nameless One?
A. Lotta great questions here. Let's see:
“How am I going to dodge them this time??”
1. No one. They're of equal standing.
Please. As if you’d ever let any other character hold any authority over your precious little Sue.
The rest of Alagaësia might give Eragon a bit more standing, but the elves will side with Arya, and the elves are not to be trifled with. Plus, they're both Riders now.
2. Arya's position among the other leaders is high because of the amount of military and economic (and magical) power she wields. Not just because she's a Rider.
3. Yes, Arya and the elves will oversee the first stages of training for Riders whose eggs hatch in Alagaësia prior to traveling to Mount Arngor.
Because damned if they’re letting go of their hold over the order.
4. You'll have to wait to read Book 5 to find this one out.
*takes another shot*
Dragons:
1. No comment.
*…and another…*
2. Humans/elves/dwarves and even some Urgals will be very involved in raising the young wild dragons, since Saphira is the only semi-grown dragon around who isn't an Eldunarí.
Good thing Paodragons are basically self-raising, much like another special sparkly baby I could mention.
Human tribes:
1. They came to Alagaësia later.
From…?
2. Any human could become a Rider (in theory).
Gee, thanks for acknowledging that those “half-wild” barbarians are human.
War & politics:
1. The dwarves are going to get a huge amount from reopening trade with the humans. The elves don't care to expand their territory much beyond Du Weldenvarden. These things will be explored in greater detail later.
I’m sure. And I’m sure it’ll be even more paralysingly dull than usual.
2. No comment.
Wow, another shot this soon? I’m going to regret this tomorrow. *hic*
3. Morzan actually held title over the lands of Palancar Valley at one point. When he died, Galbatorix assumed control over his properties. Thus, Palancar Valley was essentially owned by the state, not any one noble/earl.
Then why the hell did “the state” not have any presence there? Where was the local law enforcement? The tax collector?*hic*
4. Huge impact. Again, something that will be explored in later works.
The longer you put it off, the worse it’s going to get. Ever find yourself procrastinating about doing the dishes for days on end, only to end up having to scrub every goddamn plate, cup and pot in the house because you used up all the clean stuff? That’s pretty much what we have here. At this rate there won’t even be enough room to tell a story amongst all the explaining he’s going to have to do. Not that he’s ever had much of a problem with ignoring story in favour of endless boring exposition, mind you. But this really isn’t helping.
Games:
Hmm. I’ll see about getting some rules posted on my website in the future.
The merchandise situation is tricky, as Fox owns a lot of the rights (they bought them along with the movie).
Guess you’re not getting that Saphira action figure after all.
The Grey Ones messed up a whole bunch of spells, which poisoned the land and nearly destroyed their society. The Ancient Language was essentially weapons control for magic.
Which was clearly a miserable failure considering what went down later on.
Q. So my question is, what three other authors would you pick to have on your team and how many six year olds do you think that team could reasonably take in a fight?
A. Bradley Trevor Greive (ex-Australian paratrooper), Brandon Mull (he's super nice, but very tall and has a great reach), and . . . Jim Butcher. Between the four of us, I think we could hold off a horde of six-year-olds pretty much indefinitely.
I don’t really have anything to add here. This is just so juvenile.
Q. Thanks for doing the AMA! I see you have an extensive bookshelf behind you. What is a non sci-fi or fantasy book you have read that you would recommend?
A. My pleasure!
Style by F. L. Lucas. Best book on prose style I've read. Also Shakespeare's Metrical Art. Best book on verse. For something different try The Ancient Engineers by L. Sprague de Camp (I think that's the book I'm remembering).
“How about that! I looked something up! These books behind me don't just make the office look good!"
Q. Hey Christopher! Huge fan since the Inheritance cycle. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars will be at the top of my list! Wanted to note that my wife and I both used to geek out about your books since we were just friends. We'd go to B&N to get the books on release day. We got married, then Inheritance came out and we read that as a married couple! All that to say, we had our first kid some years later, a son, and couldn't figure out what to name him. We went back and forth for a whole day after he was born. We mulled it over and both, independently were afraid to admit our first choice for a name was actually Roran. When I finally broke down and told her, I was so stoked to hear she had the same thought! So now Roran Scott is 4.5 years old and is an awesome little dude! Just thought you should know!
Oh good, you named your kid after a violent, arrogant, bloodthirsty lunatic who kills little girls and threatens teenage ones with his hammer!
Dude, what the hell were you thinking?
My question is more to do with your career up to this point vs going forward. How are you finding writing now? Do you still feel inspired? Do you feel shoehorned into being a YA author and do other things to break free to spite that, or is sci-fi something you always wanted to explore? I would imagine I would feel very intimidated had I had success so early in life. Sorry if that's too pointed but I hope you keep at it and still feel some joy doing it! You inspired me greatly and I look forward to reading more of your work! Cheers!
A. Oh, wow! That's awesome! So honored that you used that name.
…shut the fuck up.
If you go to my website, paolini.net, and write to me via the address there, I’ll send you a package of stuff signed just for Roran Scott.
“Are photographs of me posing on a couch wearing a satin shirt open to the navel okay? Just asking.”
Writing still inspires me. But I gotta say, I'm really, really, REALLY looking forward to working on something new. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars took up way more of my life than I expected. And no, I don't feel shoehorned. The new book is adult, and I don't think readers will have any problem accepting me as an adult author.
Prepare to be unpleasantly surprised.
The nice thing about early success is that it frees you to try whatever you want without fear of failure.
Please pat yourself on the back a bit more, Chris.
It's like ... whatever I do in the future, I can always point back at the Inheritance Cycle and say, "I did that."
I can’t help but picture a toddler pointing proudly at the giant shit he just dumped on the couch. And for rather similar reasons now I think about it.
On the flip side, I might never match what I accomplished in that series.
True enough. Success (financial and sales-wise) like that doesn’t come along very often, and you really can’t afford to rely on luck. I myself have no expectations of ever living up to or surpassing my own past successes, and for good reason.
Unless he’s referring to the, uh, artistic accomplishment involved, in which case boy is he setting the bar low.
But you know ... that's okay. I'm happy to have had this experience.
Good for you.
My Quantum Pony: energy is magic
Date: 2020-04-23 08:34 am (UTC)Increasing energy anthropomorphizes things: putting a kitten on a shelf or launching it out of a canon makes it smart enough to talk.
Burning aluminum creates force fields.
Crystals exposed to sunlight accelerate like crazy and magically heal any living thing they ram into.
You can power a train by enslaving ghosts.
Sometimes, if you drop something and try to catch it, a mystical force field will randomly send it flying, which will give it the ability to talk.
Pyramids collect stray radio waves and convert them into number one jams. I guess different materials would correspond to different genres. Metal is obvious. Maybe the Egyptians were really into soft rock...
Re: My Quantum Pony: energy is magic
Date: 2020-04-23 02:15 pm (UTC)Re: My Quantum Pony: energy is magic
Date: 2020-04-23 05:57 pm (UTC)The idea of objects animating through velocity is both hilarious and a bit concerning.
Re: My Quantum Pony: energy is magic
Date: 2020-04-23 06:15 pm (UTC)It’s all really weird. For example healing magic isn’t a thing, but you can reverse entropy by reversing time. So you can physically get younger by eating salt and vinegar potato chips throwing a broken cup at some quartz could make all the pieces snap back together in a sort of time bubble thing. It could be dangerous to trip and fall in a cave. You might suddenly de age into a baby.
Re: My Quantum Pony: energy is magic
Date: 2020-04-23 06:58 pm (UTC)Re: My Quantum Pony: energy is magic
Date: 2020-04-23 08:04 pm (UTC)Which would mean that any spell can only function as long as it has a supply of real energy, kinetic, potential (gravity, chemical, electrical, strong or weak nuclear), EMR, thermal...
Re: My Quantum Pony: energy is magic
Date: 2020-04-23 11:12 pm (UTC)