#source: lois mcmaster bujold

[theravenpiper]

Things I Learned About Writing By Reading

New writers often ask, "Do I have to read if I am going to write?"

After teaching university English and more recently writing fiction and non-fiction, my answer is, "No. However, by reading you learn more quickly, and you may come across pointers you might not discover on your own."

For instance, here, in no particular order, a few writing tips I learned from reading and where they came from:

From Percy Bysshe Shelley: Verbs are the strongest category of words.

From Sylvia Plath: The right word can make readers think again about even ordinary subjects.

From George Eliot: (specifically, Middlemarch): Psychology is action)

From F. Scott Fitzgerald: The cadence is as important as the narrative.

From Raymond Chandler: The right metaphor describes more clearly than several pargraphs of detailed description.

From George Orwell: Clarity is a writer's first concern.

From Roger Zelazny (This Immortal): A distinct voice carries a story more effectively than action.

Lois McMaster Bujold (A Civil Campaign): Interlocking plots can unify a story.

J. R. R. Tolkien: A sense of place is as important as character or story.

The list is only a selection. It is far from complete. Nor does it have any authority except in my own development as a writer. Others would almost certainly derive other lessons from the sources I mention. And I can't even guess whether I would have reached the same conclusions had I never read these works.

However, what I can say is that diversity of sources is important. The more variety in your reading, the more you can potentially learn. To read is to have more teachers, and the more teachers you have, the more lessons you might learn.

So read, and read again. Your writing will be richer for it.

[tomoleary]

Kelly Freas (1922-2005) “Labyrinth” by Lois McMaster Bujold Science Fiction Analog cover (August 1989) Source

“Illustrates the 4-armed musician character Nicol”

[dragonpressgraphics]

re: Sam Jones: that one isn’t based on a book, but it’s an original story that takes place in CJ Cherryh’s Alliance-Union universe!

oh oh! thank you!

and if you don't mind me asking further - since you're the first person who's recognized the song when i mention it - when you say not based on a book, was it just written directly as a song as part of that universe, or do you mean it was a short story in some anthology /magazine/ or short story collection somewhere? (And if so, do you know where i can find it? lol) Like, I recently listened to the audiobook "Falling Free" by Lois McMaster Bujold, finding it purely by accident because i love the sharing knife series and so audible rec'd it to me and i went... Falling Free? ISN'T THAT A SONG???? i was so ecstatic to finally read it! (and there have been other songs that i was able to find the original source material for, but many more that i have NOT)

it is in these moments that i regret that i am apparantly of the right age and obliviousness to have totally missed out on the filk COMMUNITY at cons even when it was RIGHT THERE. (I met Tom Smith and Frank Hayes before i even knew who they were)

[kissingdeadgirls]

Count Vorkosigan pursed his lips, and ran his hand thoughtfully across the chair back. "This is all very true. But Elena—means enormously more to the Sergeant than I think you are aware. She is a symbol to him, of everything he imagines . . . I'm not sure how to put this. She is an important source of order in his life. I owe it to him to protect that order." "Yes, yes, right and proper, I know," said Miles impatiently. "But you can't owe everything to him and nothing to her!" Count Vorkosigan looked disturbed, and began again. "I owe him my life, Miles. And your mother's. In a very real sense, everything I've been and done for Barrayar in the last eighteen years is owed to him. And I owe him your life, twice over, since then, and so my sanity—what there is of it, as your mother would say. If he chooses to call in that debt, there's no bottom to it." He rubbed his lips introspectively.

warrior’s apprentice- Lois McMaster Bujold

been gnashing my teeth about it since, you can’t owe everything to him and nothing to her

[everlovingt]

For some reason, I recall that Lois McMaster Bujold said that Miles would probably die at around the age of 60, but I can’t seem to find a source for it. Did I hallucinate this, or does anyone know for sure?

[beatrice-otter]

Worldbuilding 2023 Recs

Worldbuilding Exchange was a lot of fun this year, although pretty stressful for me at the end. I received a lovely Pacific Rim fic, Catch the Drift. And there are a lot of other great fics in the collection. Here are my favorites! Catch the Drift (1643 words) by Anonymous Fandom: Pacific Rim (Movies) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Raleigh Becket, Yancy Becket, Original Characters Additional Tags: Worldbuilding, Journalism, News Media, The Drift (Pacific Rim), Drift Compatibility (Pacific Rim) Summary:

A writer for Smithsonian magazine has a rare chance to see beyond the pop culture portrayals of the Drift to the more complicated reality behind the revolutionary technology.

Call of the Five (1011 words) by Anonymous Fandom: Chalion Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Ordol (Chalion Saga), the Father (Chalion), the Mother (Chalion), the Daughter (Chalion), the Son (Chalion), the Bastard (Chalion) Additional Tags: Fictional Religion & Theology, vocation, The Calling of a Divine, Pseudo-academia, In-Universe Meta, no beta we die three times for the house of chalion Summary:

"Some are born to be divines, some take up the call gradually, and some have divines' vows thrust upon them." - an excerpt on vocation from Ordol's Fivefold Path

Design Documents for 61st Annual Hunger Games (1489 words) by Anonymous Fandom: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Characters: Gamemakers (Hunger Games), Plutarch Heavensbee Summary:

The year everyone froze to death, beginning to end

the wonder of the universe (3142 words) by Anonymous Fandom: Torchwood Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness, Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato Additional Tags: Aliens, Caretaking, Ianto's Duties, Ianto Jones-Centric, Slice of Life, Weird Little Aliens, the care and keeping of Torchwood Three's non-human residents, Alien Flora & Fauna, Telepathy, Partial Mind Control, self-surgery, Ianto is a Secretive little bastard by habit, sentient slimemold, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Comedy of Errors, Canon-Typical Disregard for Personal Safety Summary:

Ianto had meant to keep his head down, not draw any notice to himself at Torchwood Three, but somehow he keeps attracting attention from the strangest sources.

(Despite his best efforts, Ianto adopts a bunch of aliens)

The Aslan Clause (1200 words) by Anonymous Fandom: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Original Narnian Character(s) Additional Tags: Museumverse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Modern Setting, Matters of Succession, Comment thread Summary:

In the modern, democratic age of Narnia, the argument continues over whether the Aslan Clause should be reworked… or altogether retired.

On Witnessing For the Self (6101 words) by Anonymous Fandom: The Goblin Emperor Series - Katherine Addison Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Original Male Character(s), Original Female Character(s), Thara Celehar Summary:

Eventually Thara Celehar gets better at teaching. Sometime much later, this happens.

A Dull Careful Person May Manage (1595 words) by Anonymous Fandom: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Dag Benin & Pel Navarr, Dag Benin & Miles Vorkosigan, Dag Benin & Fletchir Giaja Characters: Dag Benin, Pel Navarr Additional Tags: Book: Diplomatic Immunity, POV Dag Benin, Canon-Typical Problematic Things, Cetagandan eugenics and accompanying mindsets, non-graphic mention of Barrayaran practices of taking body parts as trophies, Ambiguous/Open Ending, star creche, Cetagandans, Cetagandan Ghem caste, title is a Dorothy Sayers quote from a Peter Wimsey book Summary:

Dag Benin considers the nameless ba's plot.

Re: Re: Transporter Duplication - Lt JG Bradward Boimler (3285 words) by Anonymous Fandom: Star Trek: Lower Decks (Cartoon) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Brad Boimler, William Boimler, William Riker Additional Tags: Epistolary, Documentation, Transporter Malfunction, Clones, Humor, POV Outsider Summary:

After a transporter accident results in an extra Boimler, Starfleet Personnel is notified so that the situation can be sorted out. There are procedures for this sort of thing.

Listening and Untangling (1536 words) by Anonymous Fandom: Young Wizards - Diane Duane Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Rhiow (Cats of Grand Central), Lone Power (Young Wizards), Urruah (Cats of Grand Central), Original Mouse Character Additional Tags: The Wizards' Oath (Young Wizards), Ordeal (Young Wizards), Worldgates (Young Wizards), Coming of Age Summary:

Surely something that was going to eat her wouldn't speak to her so civilly?

Listening and Untangling (1536 words) by Anonymous Fandom: Young Wizards - Diane Duane Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Rhiow (Cats of Grand Central), Lone Power (Young Wizards), Urruah (Cats of Grand Central), Original Mouse Character Additional Tags: The Wizards' Oath (Young Wizards), Ordeal (Young Wizards), Worldgates (Young Wizards), Coming of Age Summary:

Surely something that was going to eat her wouldn't speak to her so civilly?

These Ink-Stained Hands Are Red (4616 words) by Anonymous Fandom: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Original Male Character(s), Seneca Crane, Coriolanus Snow Additional Tags: Worldbuilding, Hunger Games-Typical Death/Violence, Designing A Hunger Games, 72nd Hunger Games, Angst, Politics, Tragedy, Unlikeable Protagonist, Drama, office politics Summary:

A middling Gamemaker is given the chance of a lifetime. Things do not turn out for the best.

Five Times Abigail Met People From the Demi-Monde, and One Time She Didn't (9157 words) by Anonymous Fandom: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Abigail Kamara & Brent Characters: Abigail Kamara, Brent, Melissa Oswald, Original Characters, Original Female Character(s) Additional Tags: 5+1 Things, Podfic Welcome, Don't copy to another site, Demimonde Necessity Has Made Us Allies (5000 words) by Anonymous Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Characters: Bail Organa, Original Characters Additional Tags: Rebellion, Recruitment, Action/Adventure, Worldbuilding, Rebel Alliance Factions Summary:

Old wounds from the Clone Wars still fester, and not everyone who wants the Empire gone wants to restore the Republic.

comments Comment? https://ift.tt/8QlmohL

[pentanguine]

Half an hour ago I finished The Hands of the Emperor, and I truly cannot decide whether I liked this book.

This book was recommended to me by so many people, and multiple sources have compared it to Lois McMaster Bujold, so my hopes were so high! And parts of those hopes were fulfilled! And yet!

It’s like...did I enjoy the part where the Emperor goes on holiday and learns to make friends? Yes. Did I feel cheated out of subsequent scenes with the Emperor when this turned into a Coming of Career book for Kip? Yeah.

Did I really enjoy the themes of being torn between two cultures and two sets of people who love you and value you in different ways? Yes, and I almost cried at some of the lines! Was I ready to tear my hair out by the twenty-fifth conversation wherein Kip was hurt that his family didn’t understand he was in charge of world government and launched into a three page speech about it? Oh boy yes.

The thing is, some of the positive reviews of this book describe it as competence porn (a happy fantasy of someone being Very Good at their job and Doing Good Deeds with it), and most of the negative reviews describe it as Kip being the Specialest Statesman of All Time, but I don’t feel like either of them capture what bothered me about Kip in the second, very repetitive half of this book. 

This is probably a very me response to have to this book, but I just wish everyone had been a bit less nice.

I don’t think it’s unrealistic that Kip is That Good at managing world government (sometimes you really are just That Good at something super complex and it really does feel second nature to you, oh well), but what I do find unrealistic is how everyone loves and respects him...even people who don’t love and respect him??

What I find unrealistic is that he has an eloquent five page rant in him for every occasion, and his principles never falter, and his language is always precisely chosen even when he’s furious. And everyone loves this quality of his, and he is truly beloved on a personal level by everyone in his hometown, and he just...can’t seem to do anything wrong!!

I want someone to dislike him! Not a cartoonish political foil like Prince Rufus, but one of his old friends, someone he cares about, maybe someone in the palace who shares his goals for world government but finds his air of non-stop efficiency absolutely maddening. I want him to say something gauche that doesn’t get immediately re-inscribed as acceptable by laughter at Kip’s fiery temper! I want him to fuck up! I want the world to be more fucked up! I want famines and wars and vicious people who do terrible things and assholes who have all the benefits of the world Kip’s created and who choose to screw over other people anyway! I don’t want to read about the Perfect Man in a Perfect World!

Unfortunately...that’s what this book is! Like, that is 100% the project the author set out to write here, and she wrote it, and it’s so much more of a treatise about a Good Man in a Good World than I’d prefer. I love slow, slice-of-life, character-driven books, and I love books that focus on unlikely protagonists, like bureaucrats who stay in the background while quietly running an entire government. And I loved all of that in this book, and I liked more things besides. But there were also so many things that drove me nuts, and I often put the book down for a week or more because I just was not having a good time. Oh well.

Since I’ve named the book in the post this will probably show up in the tag, so I hope all of the fans are enjoying the cozy utopian fantasy that is clearly so dear to them, your book is not my book and that’s ok.

[bisonomy]

I got this trick from an off-hand comment Lois McMaster Bujold made about liking Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London books. Enjoy the books with young protagonists VIA their older mentor characters.

Also, Lois McMaster Bujold is a Great source of stories with middle-aged and tired main characters.

For Fantasy, [male protagonist] try Curse of Chalion. [female protagonist] Paladin of Souls]

For Romance fantasy try Sharing Knife (I like Passage best)

For Sci Fi, try Shards of Honor, sometimes published as a duology omnibus- Cordelia's Honor.

[wearethekat]

January Book Reviews: The Physicians of Vilnoc by Lois McMaster Bujold

A novella in the long-running series of Penric novellas, probably unwise to start here. Sorcerer Penric and his demon Desdemona are summoned to the town fortress to investigate a mysterious plague that has infected the garrison. Can Penric manage to track down the source of the plague, aid its victims using dangerous demon magic--and keep himself uninfected?

It's interesting how Plague Times inspired some authors to write fun, indulgent novels (Ilona Andrews, Courtney Milan). And inspired others to write extremely graphic plague-based novels, which is surely a bit on the nose. Anyway I think I've aired my opinions on Bujold's writing often enough on here. This is sleek and perfect and beautifully written. I just wish she'd write longer novels again, as these are a bit short.

[vorbarrsultana]

~ c. 2839 AD: yuri vorbarra’s massacre

— “Emperor Yuri, in the later days of his madness, became extremely paranoid about his relations. It became a self-fulfilling prophecy, in the end. He sent his death squads out, all in one night. The squad sent for Prince Xav never got past his liveried men. And for some obscure reason, he didn’t send one for my father, presumably because he wasn’t a descendant of Empreror Dorca Vorbarra. I can’t imagine what old Yuri thought he was about, to kill my mother and leave my father alive. That was when my father threw his corps behind Ezar Vorbarra, in the civil war that followed.”

— “The night your father and Prince Xav came to me at Green Army Headquarters with their peculiar preposition. Day One of Yuri Vorbarra’s Civil War.”

[hanribanri]

Friends, family, health-- all true wealth is biological.

[frothlad]

You absolutely could. I set my first long-term campaign in a combination of Glen Cook's Black Company and PC Hodgell's God Stalk. It was fanfic before I really knew what fanfic was.

What I would suggest is that you be a little careful to assume that the players aren't as familiar with your sources as you are. So you have to be a little careful to set the tone and what sorts of stories you're going to run. If you, say, ran a series set in a Lois McMaster Bujold world, I would have no idea what to expect.

But you gain the freedom to make the setting bend to your needs.

so i've been thinking about wanting to try to run a d&d campaign (or other tabletop ig? i just know the most about d&d) and part of what intimidates* me is building a whole world from scratch

but like, why do you necessarily have to? why couldn't you set a campaign in an existing universe, like a fanfiction full of self-insert OCs? why couldn't I run a Locked Tomb campaign or a Murderbot campaign or a Witcher campaign or a Star Trek campaign?

eta: omg intimates/intimidates worst autocorrect ever

[lostlightincorrectquotes]

Brainstorm: You go on. You just go on. There’s nothing more to it, and there’s no trick to make it easier. You just go on. Chromedome: And what do you find on the other side? When you go on? Brainstorm: Your life again. What else? Chromedome: Is that a promise? Brainstorm: It’s an inevitability. No trick. No choice. You just go on.

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Title: My Father's Dragon

Author: Lois McMaster Bujold

Rating: 4/5 stars

Bujold gets a lot of things wrong, but I was never able to take a hardline anti-Bujold position. If she's the source of your childhood enthusiasm for Science Fiction, you've got a pretty good book on your hands, and if not it's still fun to read.

(4/5 stars)

[theladyragnell]

I don't think it technically counts as a sitcom, but maybe recs based on Leverage?

I mean, the easy answer to this is that my blog is just a collection of Leverage-esque recs? It hits SO many things that I love that when I love something else, there’s a decent chance that it’s got some Leverage vibes to it. So, in things I’ve already recced with this meme, I’m going to recommend that you check out Killjoys, Murderbot, and the Wild Wynchesters romance novels in particular.

Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga is a good beginning, though! Particularly Warrior’s Apprentice, early on. Miles Vorkosigan is a mastermind to put Nate to shame, he steals an entire mercenary fleet in his first book and forges on happily from there.

A lot of Inception fic can get heist-y, considering the source canon! For some found family and people Executing (sometimes literally) Plans, try In Our Line of Work by enjambament.

Sarah Gailey’s River of Teeth is an alternate history heist, and there are hippos. There’s a second novella, too! They’re not quite my cup of tea (a little brutal for my taste), but they’re worth a shot if you want some specfic heists and have already done Six of Crows and The Queen’s Thief.

[elena1701a]

Not actual dialogue from the books*, but could be 😀

* It’s from an episode of Doctor Who, where River is talking about the Doctor

Galeni [about Miles]: You trust this man?

Ivan: I absolutely trust him.

Galeni: He’s not some kind of madman, then?

Ivan: … I absolutely trust him.