Mock! Mock! Mock!

[kippurbird]

My Hatred right now seethes like a volcano on the verge of eruption. Not only do I have to sit up at the front desk for five hours today, but Paul is making me do Harvey's job with the newspapers. To express my annoyance, I'm going to tie up the system with the Serial Deletes.

To relieve my annoyance, I'm going to mock Paolini. And then maybe write porn.

Also, on a complete and utter nonsequitor my default icon looks like a floating head in space. A giddy, stoned, head in space.


Paolini mocking!


In the back of Eldest there is a short essay entitled "On the Origin of Names". This is where Paolini tries to make his world be deep and meaningful and indicate that it does, in fact have culture. "To the casual observer, the various names an intrepid traveler will encounter throughout Alagaesia might seem but a random collection of labels with no inherent integrity, culture or history." (page 672) This, of course, does seem how the world has been named, with random labels that were made up. There appears to be no difference between the elven and the dwarf names, just as there appears to be no difference between the elven and dwarf languages.

But the best sentence of all in this short essay on languages is, "The enthusiast is encouraged to study the source languages in order to master their true intricacies" He then gives off a list of his made up words and their translations. The biggest problem with this statement, "to study the source languages" is that there is no way to do this.

He says that we should should study them, but how do we do this. There are no books written on his forms of Elvish, Dwarfish and ancient languages. There are only the words that he has given us in the back of the book. The only reason why he says that we should try and study them is that he's trying to imitate Tolkien. The big difference between him and Tolkien is that Tolkien actually provided a way for would be scholars to learn his languages.

Tolkien had an entire appendix worth of language instructions; from how to pronounce words, to corresponding letters in the English and Elven languages, to grammar guides. Pretty much everything that would be needed to learn how to write and speak in that language. Why was he able to do this? Because, as we all know (bob)^[*] he was a linguist. This is what his first love was, the creation of languages. It took him eons to create and perfect his languages.

Paolini, who must have taken less that three years (assuming he started to create the languages after starting to write Eragon) could not have created such an intricate language as he claims to have. So, all of this claims of a language is in fact Paolini trying to imitate Tolkien and pretend that his world is greater- fuller - than it seems.

However, I say, this is totally unnecessary to create the illusion of a fully cultured and thought out world. There are hundreds of fantasy worlds out there that do not have made up languages in them that are richer than Paolini's Alagaesia^[+]. Why is this? It is because the writers of these world take the time to actually plan out their worlds instead of just copying things that they like from other worlds and patching it in, thinking that it'll make a cohesive whole. One of the things that I've constantly called Paolini's world is a patchwork quilt. You can see the seams and where the patches come from. And while it may do the job of being a world, it is still a patchwork quilt. Now the patches may be pretty, it is just the covering of the world. If it doesn't have any substance -any filling- it's not going to do any good.

Substance comes, not from things that are similar to other worlds, but things that are different. Things that make the world unique. Careful thought has to be put into such things. And when the writer is starting to think about the differences, they have to start thinking about how these things will work in the world. Or at least, they should. Basically, a world should be started from scratch. You can add elements in from other things, but these other elements shouldn't be overwhelming the original material. Cultures and lands should be at least sketched out, by this I mean, a character sheet should be created for it, including population, major cities, imports/exports, brief history, religions, relations with other neighboring civilizations. Everything that is needed to make a three dimensional character should be used to make a three dimensional culture.

I must admit that I cribbed some of this from one of my D&D manuals. Perhaps later, if I recall, I shall put up the format that the manual uses to give the basics of a land or city. If anything it should be useful.

Another thing, now that I think about it, that is useful, is the creation of a word bible. This would contain all the notes and everything that you have on your world in one place.^[@]
You could have a section on Flora and fauna, on religions, on kingdoms/countries/etc/, on main characters, on the history of the world, a time line. Everything you need all in one place. And it'd be easy to update and change as things happen. All the things need to make a world a richer and better place.

And this was a fascinating train of thought as I started out to mock Paolini and wandered into world building. Funny how that happens.













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^[*] This is just me being weird. In some texts the infodump is described as a character going, "As you know Bob, Infodump here" I couldn't let that go by. I'm sorry. Really.

^[+]
Which I'm sure I've mentioned before, sounds like analgesic, which is supposed to relieve pain. Highly Ironic since all this land does is cause pain.

^[+]
Which is something I really need to do as I have all sorts of things scattered about in different notebooks.

Comments

[christinaathena.livejournal.com]

Basically, a world should be started from scratch. You can add elements in from other things, but these other elements shouldn't be overwhelming the original material. I tend to work the other direction, actually. I often start out with a culture that closely models an Earth culture, and gradually mold it, work out what kinds of beliefs they have, how they interact with their environment, and over time it becomes increasingly different.

Which is something I really need to do as I have all sorts of things scattered about in different notebooks. Mine's largely in my head, with some up on the web.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

I tend to work the other direction, actually. I often start out with a culture that closely models an Earth culture, and gradually mold it, work out what kinds of beliefs they have, how they interact with their environment, and over time it becomes increasingly different.

Yes, well, you're still starting from scratch because you're just not implanting that culture into the world. You're molding it to fit it.

Mine's largely in my head, with some up on the web.

Mine is too... as well as in the notebooks. I just think it'd be nice to have it all in one place because I tend to forget names.

[christinaathena.livejournal.com]

Well, I wouldn't think of that as starting from scratch, even if it later turns out that most of the original structure was eliminated.

Of course, the net result is probably indistinguishable.

[dove-cg.livejournal.com]

Well, I wouldn't think of that as starting from scratch, even if it later turns out that most of the original structure was eliminated.

Yes, but look at it this way. Even baked items that are made 'from scratch' still have ingredients in them. It just depends on how processed those ingredients are and what is included, for us to be able to give it that 'from scratch' label. :3

So, if you made cookies from a recipe (whether it be yours or someone else's) then I'd definitely call it scratch. But if you took it out of a plastic wrapper and shoved it into the oven, it certainly isn't. And then there's that in between state, where you get the mix out of a bag but still have to put some effort into it.

Of course, the net result is probably indistinguishable.

Which is the key goal anyway. If people can tell where it came from, unless you're using a pretty well-known culture (meaning that people will draw vague comparisons anyway) or you intend for them to understand where it came from because it's allegory, then it wasn't done right. XD

[dryaunda.livejournal.com]

You know the kind of essay where the kid's not putting any thought in what s/he writes, instead writes whatever looks essayish? If you didn't, you will after reading Pao Pao's junk.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

This is very, very, very true.

[ambientfiligree.livejournal.com]

I thought you might be able to use this. It's a rubrik I've put together for world/country building, based on encyclopedia entries, DnD manuals and my sociology class.

Geography
+ Climate
+ Flora and Fauna
+ Major Settlements
+ Important Sites
Life and Society
+ People
+ Language
+ Religion
+ Science and Technology
+ + Medicine
+ Education
+ Recreation and Entertainment
+ + The Arts
+ + Sports
+ Attire/Fashion
+ Travel
+ + Transportation
+ + Advisories
Government and Politics
+ Class System
+ Military
+ Foreign Relations
Economy
+ Monetary System
+ Natural Resources
+ Agriculture and Fishery
+ Industry
+ Services
Regional History

I find it suitable that Paolini has barely touched on most aspects.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Ooooh... pretty. Can I post it up in a regular post? It's much nicer than what I was going to do.

I find it suitable that Paolini has barely touched on most aspects.

And the aspects he did touch on, they were mere glossing overs.

[ambientfiligree.livejournal.com]

Sure! You definitely have more enlightening things to say about portions.


And the aspects he did touch on, they were mere glossing overs.

Poorly thought over glossing overs. e_e;

[berseker.livejournal.com]

I´amazed at Paolini´s humbleness. Two bad books and the guy is thinking he has something to teach.

[jacedraccus.livejournal.com]

Hell, one bad book that hadn't even been published for mass distribution, and he was already doing book signings and stuff.

[papier.livejournal.com]

Hi there, haven't commented for a while but I'm usually quite dull with nothing interesting to say so it's no loss. :D

Just thought I'd let you know that I 'aquired' the audio book of Eragon. I've been listening to it yesterday and last night to help me sleep. So now that I actually have some experience of Eragon, here's what I've found wrong thus far:

One thing I noticed off the bat was that his sentences are always so short. When I was in high school, about 14-15 years old, my teacher told me that my sentences were too short in my English assignment, so now I have a habit of sniffing out sentences that are too short a mile off. It's jarring, and the prose is constantly starting and stopping.

His text is also predictable. He uses common metaphors and imagery, and doesn't expound on his descriptions beyond the necessary. It's not a terrible thing, but it's like he's following a text book example of how to write the easiest prose - of course, all he ever does is steal from other people's fantasy books, which is why it all sounds so familiar. There are no surprises. I've heard it all before.

I'm just at the part where Saphira hatches. From the egg harder than a diamond. *sporfle*

Anyway, slightly OT comment, but Paolini's egotism in his little essays is hilarious compared to the same-old-same-old book that I've been listening to.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Awww... that's not true! Any comment is a good comment!

Just thought I'd let you know that I 'aquired' the audio book of Eragon. I've been listening to it yesterday and last night to help me sleep.

I'm insanely curious, does it actually work? I know the book is dull, but I never thought it would be good enough for a sleep aid. Perhaps Paolini should market it as a cure for insomnia.

His text is also predictable. He uses common metaphors and imagery, and doesn't expound on his descriptions beyond the necessary. It's not a terrible thing, but it's like he's following a text book example of how to write the easiest prose - of course, all he ever does is steal from other people's fantasy books, which is why it all sounds so familiar. There are no surprises. I've heard it all before.

And when he does expound on his descriptions it's for things we never see again. Like the shelf in his bedroom. But of course it feels familiar, for the exact reasons you mention.

I'm just at the part where Saphira hatches. From the egg harder than a diamond. *sporfle*

Did you catch the part where Eragon picks up a frictionless egg?

Anyway, slightly OT comment, but Paolini's egotism in his little essays is hilarious compared to the same-old-same-old book that I've been listening to

Isn't it? It's so easily mockable.

[papier.livejournal.com]

I'm insanely curious, does it actually work? I know the book is dull, but I never thought it would be good enough for a sleep aid. Perhaps Paolini should market it as a cure for insomnia.

It did, but maybe it was because the guy reading the audio book has a nice, deep voice that's kind of soothing. He's an English guy, so I don't know if you Americans get the same person reading yours. I think he voiced some characters on my favourite cartoon when I was a kid, so it took me back to the olden dayz.
There was nothing exceptional about the story to keep me awake, though.

Did you catch the part where Eragon picks up a frictionless egg?

Yes! XD And when he held like three arrows and loosed one or something. And elf sue! She was so beeyooteeful! *gag*

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

It did, but maybe it was because the guy reading the audio book has a nice, deep voice that's kind of soothing. He's an English guy, so I don't know if you Americans get the same person reading yours. I think he voiced some characters on my favourite cartoon when I was a kid, so it took me back to the olden dayz.
There was nothing exceptional about the story to keep me awake, though.

I think that they just make one reading for everyone. I can definitely hear Eragon being read by a soothing English voice that lulls you to sleep.

Yes! XD And when he held like three arrows and loosed one or something. And elf sue! She was so beeyooteeful! *gag*

Wait until you get to the End with the Zombie Horses.

[topazlily.livejournal.com]

"To the casual observer, the various names an intrepid traveler will encounter throughout Alagaesia might seem but a random collection of labels with no inherent integrity, culture or history."

That's hilarious!

Sounds like the "You can't fire me, I quit" technique in action.