[alison]

is it unique to Fantasy, where our characters can do and be anything, that we invest so much of our souls in our books?

You know, Gary, I really think it's true of any writing that's worth reading. If a writer isn't prepared to commit themselves heart and soul to what they're doing, what's the point? But I do think there's something liberating about fantasy, since we live in a society which tends to distrust imagination.

[Gary Wassner]

The key to that response was 'any writer that's worth reading'. Unfortunatley, what you and I might consider 'worth reading' may not be what the general public might consider. Sometimes I worry that I put too much of myself into my books. My concern is not that I am giving myself away or making my personal issues public. The concern is that I just get too serious sometimes, and I feel the weight so heavily upon me that my characters become too contemplative. I am very Socratic in my methods of reasoning as well as in my belief in the process of reasoning, and I allow my characters to talk out their issues in the course of their adventures. I use the dialogue to do this, as opposed to descriptive text.

[alison]

My concern is not that I am giving myself away or making my personal issues public. The concern is that I just get too serious sometimes, and I feel the weight so heavily upon me that my characters become too contemplative. I

I wonder the same things, sometimes; I have a tendency to the beetle-browed. But I think many people _like_ a bit of seriousness, it's part of the reality of the book. The kind of reader who just wants an action hero boffing vile enemies every two seconds probably wouldn't enjoy my books. I dislike the kind of fantasy that winks at the reader (apart from Terry Pratchett, whom I always enjoy, but he's doing something else anyway). It's sort of trying to have its cake and eat it.

I try to mix the seriousness up with action, maybe a bit of comic relief and, er, food...I guess it's all about balance.

[Radthorne]

I try to mix the seriousness up with action, maybe a bit of comic relief and, er, food...I guess it's all about balance.
Food? :rolleyes:

[alison]

Oh yes, bless my buttons, food. I care greatly about what my characters eat, and so do they!

(And, btw - I got to THE END! I'm so happy!)

[Radthorne]

(And, btw - I got to THE END! I'm so happy!)
:D :D :D

Congrats! Let's head for the bar! (Now where has Sheepie gotten herself off to?)

[alison]

Yes, where is that Sheep? I'll see you there later - I'm having a short collapse first...

[Rocket Sheep]

Yaaay! THE END! The best bit! Even with the distraction of message boarding.

[alison]

Hi Rocket - I'm proud of me too! And oh so relieved. About 30 pages from the end I began to have that awful feeling that I would never finish the book. Doesn't happen often to me these days, and it makes more sense for it to happen at page 1 - but hey, what's sensible about writing?

Actually, there was also the distraction of the Australian Open - but I find that watching handsome men in shorts hitting balls over a net can be very inspiring -

[Radthorne]

More so than, say, watching fantasy authors playing ping-pong in their knickers?

(Sorry, folks, in-joke from another thread...)