wherein Liz despairs over Narnia (well, technically over Archenland and Calormen, but whatever)

[edenfalling]

So far, I have made over half a dozen attempts to write the third part of "The Courting Dance." A few never got out of mental outlining phase, for various reasons. Three made it to the page, but it became evident somewhere between 150 and 600 words that they were not working, so I scrapped them. I am currently on written attempt four, which seems to actually be going in a vaguely useful direction. It is kind of a combination of the functional parts of the previous attempts, plus random summer forest scenery. Why forest scenery? Search me; it just felt right.

(I am kind of shamelessly basing Anvard's surroundings on Finger Lakes geology and geography, because I like gorges and waterfalls. Deeper reasons can go jump in the lake.)

Also, I got a review that prodded me into laying out some of my thoughts about Calormene society in a more concrete form... which somehow resulted in 700 words (so far) of a story in which Aravis, her father, and her elder brother go to the lake of Mezreel and Kidrash Tarkaan gets seduced into a courting dance by Ilroozeh Tarkheena, who will end up as Aravis's stepmother and the mother of her younger half-brother. (Nothing is said in canon about whether Aravis's younger brother is her full brother or her half-brother, but I think the age spacing works a little better if he's a half-brother.)

*headdesk*

I hate writing. Hate it, hate it, hate it.

*scuttles off to write some more*

Comments

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

Ohhh! Which review? Need to go see? I've been plugging this story on NFFR. I love reading other people's reviews!

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

Ahhh, Anastigmat weighed in, which is lovely. She's done a lot of thinking about Caloromen worldbuilding in Gold. As for Linikiril, hmmmm, a new reviewer who has been popping up in some stories I follow. I can sort of see her perspective about Aravis slipping into the high speech, but I don't care as it is a favorite little bit of the story for me. I adore that moment. And well DUH about the second point. Yes, we assume it's all misogynistic and chauvinistic, but isn't it more fun to work around our assumptions to a picture of a culture that is far more complex than They Are Bad? Anyhow, I'm glad there are reviewers around who are slinging a bit more than, Lurve it pudate sun!!!! Plz but ... well that's a whole other post

Oh and write on! Please

[edenfalling]

Anastigmat is such a wonderful writer. :-)

I think it is a lot more fun to take all the various hints and implications about Calormene and build them into a rounded nation and culture than to write them off as, I dunno, evil, treacherous, war-mongering, slave-owning devil-worshiping tools of the patriarchy. Obviously those elements are there to various degrees, but there's a lot of good stuff too, and things that aren't good or bad, just different from the western European feel of Narnia and Archenland.

[alchymie.livejournal.com]

I think you're just in love with worldbuilding, Liz, and will look for any excuse to indulge in it. ^_^

My own problem is, since setting you that challenge, my stupid brain has been plotting the scene! It's from Cor's perspective, not Aravis's... and the crisis point comes as a result of a perfectly logical development of the fact that the Pevensies have vanished.

And I just don't have time to write it. Hell's bells, I don't have time to finish my WIP on Portkey.

Anyway, I will await with equanimity your take on Cor's eventual proposal to Aravis. (Cute as it might be to have her propose to him -- and as in keeping with their personalities -- Aravis is only a Tarkheena whereas Cor is the King's Son of Archenland. He's got to be the one to do it.)

[edenfalling]

I think you're just in love with worldbuilding, Liz, and will look for any excuse to indulge in it. ^_^

Well, this is not exactly news. *wry*

I am selfishly glad the plotbunnies are attacking you and not me, as I already have FAR more than enough stories on my to-do list. (And if you do ever find time to write that, please send me the link; I'd love to read it!)