Episode Description
In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the opening pages of C. Steven Manley's Expedition: Brace Cordova Book One, an as yet unpublished space opera. They discuss setting, capitalization, flashbacks, and characterization.
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Show Notes
“Most fantasy tales use the logic of the example presented above. A word may be capitalized because it is part of a proper name, it bears significant importance, or it is another name for a person, place, or thing. In the example at the beginning of the article, the words ‘Forest,’ ‘Torch,’ and ‘Language’ were randomly capitalized with no explanation as to their origin or feat. In its own way, each could refer to something else. ‘Forest’ could be referring to ‘The Dreaded Forest.’ ‘Torch’ could be a shortening of the name ‘The One Torch,’ and ‘Language’ could be a reference to the old tongue, held in such high regard by the society that it deserves random capitalization.”
“In science there is a dictum: don’t add an experiment to an experiment. Don’t make things unnecessarily complicated. In writing fiction, the more fantastic the tale, the plainer the prose should be. Don’t ask your readers to admire your words when you want them to believe your story.”
