Dodos and Dunces
Chapter 4 of AW is up! Thanks for the moral support! I don't really have anything in the way of quotes and cites and such. But, comments and queries I always welcome. I am sorry it took so long for the update.
It was late when I posted, and I really could not think of anything to say about the chapter. Thanks again to the awesome F-list who held my hand.
A couple of thoughts. After a PM with Snacky, it occurred to me that Digory could go in an unexpected direction as a man who studies religion, but is not religious. This will explored more -- I've got a few paragraphs of dialog and reflection on the subject that were written for this and previous chapters, but were cut.
Peter's journey from school to service is hitting on two things I'd vowed I would NOT do -- 1) deal with deciphering the British educational system in the 1940s (there was also a very significant reform thereto); 2) write Peter in the military. My lack of understanding of how these things actually worked shows. It's not quite right, but I'm relying upon research, numerous PMs with Theoretica (thank you again!), and Deus Ex Leo.
The Edmund flashback. As one reviewer already pointed, there is loads of stuff crammed in there for those who are following both parts of the storyline. Not many are reading the H&M story, but it's in my head, so it's here too, and it was that story that was to, eventually, address issues like the departure of the Four and the succession. I'd thought about going straight to the traitorous Moles storyline in this flashback, but I held back. TQSiT ended with that Very Important Flashback with Peter coaxing Cyrus out of the tree, etc. and it made sense to come back to that. Ed's thinking about Morgan, but she's not the point of this -- something that I hope is clear. She's the bridge. And, again, credit to E who gave me the line in her chapter 1 review that the reason Edmund keeps getting smacked around during this time is because Aslan is trying to get his attention.
I now have misgivings about featuring Morgan in the flashback then jumping to Mary as a POV character. It struck me as overkill and might lead people to think there are connections between these two OCs that I didn't intend. These two OCs are more different than they are alike, though both have their oddities. They are in this chapter for totally different purposes. As mentioned, Edmund is thinking about Morgan, but she's important because she is the bridge in Edmund's thinking. And Mary is there because I realized that her meeting Edmund and Lucy had not occurred and I needed to include it, even though she's had a lot of page time from the previous chapter.
That museum segment was the last one I wrote and I really struggled with whether I wanted to introduce a third POV, and an OC at that. But, I really like writing Narnia Friends from the perspectives of others and it allows the reader to feel smarter than the POV character. Alice's Adventures is a wonderful vehicle for exploring identity -- especially the lines about not being the same person that you were when you got up that morning.
As for the Raven and the writing desk, well, those who have read the other side of this vision know that Edmund had Crows and Ravens on his desk A LOT -- it occurs in By Royal Decree, The Palace Guard, and H&M. None of this occurred to me until I wrote it yesterday. yes, really, I make this up as a go along.
Thanks again.
It was late when I posted, and I really could not think of anything to say about the chapter. Thanks again to the awesome F-list who held my hand.
A couple of thoughts. After a PM with Snacky, it occurred to me that Digory could go in an unexpected direction as a man who studies religion, but is not religious. This will explored more -- I've got a few paragraphs of dialog and reflection on the subject that were written for this and previous chapters, but were cut.
Peter's journey from school to service is hitting on two things I'd vowed I would NOT do -- 1) deal with deciphering the British educational system in the 1940s (there was also a very significant reform thereto); 2) write Peter in the military. My lack of understanding of how these things actually worked shows. It's not quite right, but I'm relying upon research, numerous PMs with Theoretica (thank you again!), and Deus Ex Leo.
The Edmund flashback. As one reviewer already pointed, there is loads of stuff crammed in there for those who are following both parts of the storyline. Not many are reading the H&M story, but it's in my head, so it's here too, and it was that story that was to, eventually, address issues like the departure of the Four and the succession. I'd thought about going straight to the traitorous Moles storyline in this flashback, but I held back. TQSiT ended with that Very Important Flashback with Peter coaxing Cyrus out of the tree, etc. and it made sense to come back to that. Ed's thinking about Morgan, but she's not the point of this -- something that I hope is clear. She's the bridge. And, again, credit to E who gave me the line in her chapter 1 review that the reason Edmund keeps getting smacked around during this time is because Aslan is trying to get his attention.
I now have misgivings about featuring Morgan in the flashback then jumping to Mary as a POV character. It struck me as overkill and might lead people to think there are connections between these two OCs that I didn't intend. These two OCs are more different than they are alike, though both have their oddities. They are in this chapter for totally different purposes. As mentioned, Edmund is thinking about Morgan, but she's important because she is the bridge in Edmund's thinking. And Mary is there because I realized that her meeting Edmund and Lucy had not occurred and I needed to include it, even though she's had a lot of page time from the previous chapter.
That museum segment was the last one I wrote and I really struggled with whether I wanted to introduce a third POV, and an OC at that. But, I really like writing Narnia Friends from the perspectives of others and it allows the reader to feel smarter than the POV character. Alice's Adventures is a wonderful vehicle for exploring identity -- especially the lines about not being the same person that you were when you got up that morning.
As for the Raven and the writing desk, well, those who have read the other side of this vision know that Edmund had Crows and Ravens on his desk A LOT -- it occurs in By Royal Decree, The Palace Guard, and H&M. None of this occurred to me until I wrote it yesterday. yes, really, I make this up as a go along.
Thanks again.