Jo Walton ([info]papersky) wrote,
@ 2008-07-06 02:34:00
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Lifelode -- Questions?
I have to write an essay about Lifelode to go in the book.

I've written one sentence("Lifelode is unquestionably the most difficult book I've ever written") and since then I've been staring blankly. I thought it might be useful and stimulating if you were to ask me some questions about it that I could answer -- not here, but in the essay. So, whether you've read it or not, got any questions about it?

Also, I've lost my list of beta readers on my original Caliban's hard drive. If you read it, please remind me, so I can thank you!

In other news, we've been to a megalithic tomb, a reconstructed Celtic hillfort, and a Roman town since I last posted, all within an easy day's drive of Cardiff.

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[info]caindog
2008-07-06 07:10 am UTC (link)
Which aspect of writing the book was the most difficult? Was it creating the world, seeing the world from the characters' points of view, or some other part of the creative process?

What most compelled you to tell this particular story?

Can you really prevent my identity from being stolen, even if I paint my Social Security Number on the side of a truck and broadcast it on TV? (Wait, sorry, that's a question for the folks who created "Lifelock". Ignore that one.)

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[info]purplecthulhu
2008-07-06 08:19 am UTC (link)
What is Lifelode about?

What makes it different from your previous books?

In what ways is it similar?

And is it the similarities or the differences that have made it difficult?

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[info]davidgoldfarb
2008-07-06 08:48 am UTC (link)
Can you explain the role of Lifelode in world history?

More seriously, I think you might discuss Vinge's "Zones of Thought" universe and how it affected your worldbuilding.

I did beta-reading, but somehow I think you knew that already.

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[info]ellen_denham
2008-07-06 10:47 am UTC (link)
Having read and enjoyed the beta version, one question I have is:

what, if any, "what ifs" led to writing the book?

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[info]redbird
2008-07-06 01:18 pm UTC (link)
I was one of your beta readers, but I'm not sure I had much useful to say.

Having read it, though, maybe there could be something in the essay about taking homemaking seriously in genre fiction, as real and respected work.

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[info]sartorias
2008-07-06 02:22 pm UTC (link)
I still think about that ending, which is one of the most vivid and satisfying I have ever read.

What sparked this story? Why did you choose the POVs you did?

Not sure if this question would be right, but I still think about one character who nearly runs away with the story, and wish her own story coalesced into narrative. Might that happen?

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[info]kgbooklog
2008-07-06 03:06 pm UTC (link)
Lifelode is unquestionably the most difficult book thing I've ever written, except for this essay?

Why did Mr. Otherwise-Sensible-Guy insist that Ms. Non-Linear-Time narrate the story?

If 2 days pass at point A for every day that passes at point B, what do the days look like halfway between?

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[info]pameladean
2008-07-06 03:39 pm UTC (link)
I can't quite phrase it as a question, but you and I talked briefly in the comments to some entry or other of yours about how weird it is to be researching one's own life -- well, that's how we put it, but if you don't want to further confuse the issue of how autobiographical this book is, I suppose we meant researching events, especially small ones rather than big historical ones, that happened while we were there to experience and witness them. I'd be interested to see you talk about that.

P.

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[info]davidgoldfarb
2008-07-06 05:22 pm UTC (link)
That sounds more like a question touching Industrial Landscapes of Elfland than Lifelode.

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[info]pameladean
2008-07-06 07:16 pm UTC (link)
*eyeroll at self* Yes, that's because it is. My brain got cross-wired. Sorry, Jo. Maybe they'll make you write an essay about that one too, but you probably hope not.

Thanks, David.

P.

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[info]wild_irises
2008-07-06 03:54 pm UTC (link)
Why did you choose to write a difficult book? Did you know it would be difficult before you started? Was it ever difficult enough that you wanted to give up and try something else?

And the big question: was it worth it?

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[info]kate_nepveu
2008-07-06 11:11 pm UTC (link)
I beta'ed. Things I recall: the remarkably seamless way it slid between times and the effect that had; and the question of unilateral changes to established relationships.

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To read? To write? For similar or quite different reasons?
[info]cem
2008-07-07 01:46 am UTC (link)
"Lifelode is unquestionably the most difficult book I've ever written"

To read? To write? For similar or quite different reasons?

Will the reader have to be juggling, running between the spinning plates, track things rather after the manner of tracking characters in War and Peace?

Will it take nearly as long to read it as it took to get it written?

Did you ever think Tor really might be interested?

Why wasn't well begun half done?

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[info]jinian
2008-07-08 02:29 am UTC (link)
I beta read it and am very happy to have done so! I'm trying to think of questions that haven't been covered, but none are coming to me.

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[info]brightglance
2008-07-08 04:44 pm UTC (link)
Off topic, just to point to quick review of Farthing here - http://nhw.livejournal.com/1059404.html

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[info]nanne
2008-07-09 12:44 am UTC (link)
I beta-read it and I still have the addressees of the original email you sent to some (or all) of your volunteers... 4 Nov 2005! Just sent you the list.

Good luck on the essay.

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[info]papersky
2008-11-24 06:58 pm UTC (link)
Thank you for this, I don't know what I'd have done without it. I was just checking it again.

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[info]nanne
2008-11-25 02:13 pm UTC (link)
Glad I could be of help.

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