tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6612236787910598522.post6218389572675517477..comments2024-03-08T21:56:20.959-08:00Comments on Will Wiles: Flaw planAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15010578099446949633noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6612236787910598522.post-62938055662505173712011-06-25T10:03:09.995-07:002011-06-25T10:03:09.995-07:00Jimmy, thanks for the fascinating comment. I remem...Jimmy, thanks for the fascinating comment. I remember sketching out my own fantasy maps as well - at the time I probably imagined it was preparation for writing my own epic fantasy stories (which I certainly attempted) but more often I'm sure the sketching of the map scratched the world-creation itch without me going to all the trouble of actually writing anything. The map was there as the ramework for any number of plots, without committing one to paper.<br /><br />Kosmograd: I remember being charmed by the inclusion of the map in Deadkidsongs, but I don't remember referring to it or needing it at all. Film adaptations can be such a problem to the imagination - I remember being very frustrated with the film of Bonfire of the Vanities. Wolfe describes all the interiors in great detail and so I felt my mental picture of the book was particularly well furnished. Then the film goes and differs. I certainly feel very pleased to be laving out the plan, let other people conjure the space for themselves.<br /><br />Meg, thanks for the comment. The Name of the Rose is a good one. I remembered after writing the post that Ellis Peters' Cadfael books, medieval detective fiction, have maps of 13th-century Shrewsbury at the front. I think that's probably true of other works of historical fiction.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15010578099446949633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6612236787910598522.post-7245197937860164092011-06-23T15:52:09.471-07:002011-06-23T15:52:09.471-07:00Great post, look forward to the book. First non-fa...Great post, look forward to the book. First non-fantasy book with a map that springs to mind is The Name of the Rose .Megnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6612236787910598522.post-67583179137819454172011-06-23T08:49:44.466-07:002011-06-23T08:49:44.466-07:00Looking forward to reading your book.
The Amplewi...Looking forward to reading your book.<br /><br />The Amplewick of Toby Litt's <i>deadkidsongs</i> is a barely disguised Ampthill in Bedfordshire, where Litt grew up (as did I). It's quite weird seeing a map and reading a story set in a fictitious town based so clearly on the town where I grew up.<br /><br />So I think you did the right thing in not trying to forcefeed the appearance and layout of the flat into the readers heads, to avoid the disconnect between the reader's imagination and the authority of the map/plan.<br /><br />Of course, when the film version of your book is made, there'll be another version for readers to grapple with.Kosmogradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08320899872288614980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6612236787910598522.post-1459744981628385232011-06-23T07:41:36.624-07:002011-06-23T07:41:36.624-07:00I remember going to my Dad's office to photoco...I remember going to my Dad's office to photocopy the maps in all my fantasy books. As I read (and reread) through them, I would trace the routes of the heroes, attempt to draw the cities, and sometimes even create new continents for the fantasy world. Those maps truly did allow me to enter into the worlds they charted.<br /><br />The same can be said for maps of cities and urban plans in fantasy. I'm currently rereading Robert Jordan's <i>Wheel of Time</i> series and was surprised to see that there are several city plans throughout the text. Rather than discourage me from building my own metal image, I find that these plans actually strengthen my image of the cities. Like the maps, they provide just enough information to help me solidify the nebulous impression of place without defining it completely. <br /><br />But I agree with you that these useful evocations and allusions to an imaginary world break down at the scale of the floorplan. I think you made the right decision. All too often, words fail in their attempt to describe architecture. Not only are architects generally terrible writers, architectural criticism tends to rely too much on perfect, overproduced photographs or overwrought analysis. In my own work, I'm currently experimenting with integrating fictional narratives with real architectural criticism. I'm interested in the notion that we can come to know a place through someone's experience of it rather than a straightforward image or description. Using only text to evoke a true sense of place in the mind of the reader --not only what it looks like, but what it feels like-- is a difficult task, but it's a challenge worth undertaking. If you're successful at it, I think the reader will feel more invested in the story. They'll have projected some part of themselves into their image of the apartment.<br /><br />I very much look forward to <i>Care of Wooden Floors.</i>Jimmy Stamphttp://lifewithoutbuildings.netnoreply@blogger.com