I am writing and revising two high
fantasy novels. They are set in the same
location in sequence but as the second progresses I have added new locations and new characters
to push the story forward. Already, I am
stumbling over consistency in my geography, my topology and the political
layout of the map of my imagined realm.
Inventing a world is not easy.
Lindsay Buroker, who is my
favorite fantasy and science fiction author, seems to create worlds for the fun
of it. I have traveled with her through three of them so far (and looking forward to more). Each one is full and rich as well as
consistent and distinct, peopled with characters who are as distinct as their environments. I could not imagine Amaranthe from The
Emporer’s Edge series strolling down
the capital of Iskandia any more than I could see Ridge Zirkander from Dragon’s
Blade flying over the skies of the Empire.
Ms. Buroker is a generous author.
Not only are her city- and countryscapes richly described and rendered,
but every character is fleshed out with a full and complex personality. Each is given a full share of humanity,
complete with strengths and many weaknesses. As such, I would recognize Maldynado or Cas or any of her creations if I met them
in real life.
Q: When
you are working in a series, do you meticulously plan the world that your
characters inhabit or do you discover it along with them as the plots unfold?
LB: Oh, I’m not
meticulous at all. About anything in life. ;) I do try to plot out the basics
of a series and have an idea how things will end before I get started, but I
find that new ideas crop up along the way, so I like to leave room to explore
them.
Since I tend to do a lot of world-building as I go, I’ve
started writing the first two or three books in a series before going back to
edit and publish them. This gives me more time to discover the world and add
some depth. I did this with the series I launched with my pen name last year,
and it worked well, so I’m doing it again right now with a science fiction
adventure series that I plan to launch this summer.
Q: How do you maintain the distinct voices of
your characters?
LB: This is a
challenge as I write more and more books. I’m up to 30 full-length novels now
and I don’t know how many novellas and short stories. From series to series, I
think my heroines will often have a lot of me in them and perhaps be a little
similar in that regard, but I try to give all of my characters distinct
backgrounds and quirks that make them feel a little different from each
other.
Q: In addition to very strong female characters,
your books always include well-developed male characters as well. Do you
find any difficulty in writing the opposite gender and any tips for doing so?
LB: Thanks! I think
there’s always some guessing and a bit of the unknown when it comes to writing
the other sex. I tried listening to the audiobook version of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
once, but mostly I just remember what it was like being in the army. I was the
only woman in my platoon for a while, so I was inundated with the guy humor and
the guy perspective on life. That scene where Maldynado pees his name in the
snow? That happened on a field exercise. :D (The guy had a shorter name, so it
wasn’t quite so impressive of a feat.)
For tips? I would just say eavesdrop on some all-male
conversations. And the same goes for male authors: listen to some all-female
conversations. We often edit ourselves when the other gender is present. You
get the genuine stuff when they don’t know you’re listening!
(Lindsay Buroker’s books are available at bookstores and
online. For more information and
excerpts, I recommend her blog at www.lindsayburoker.com).
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