A post about OSC from concordantnexus

[conuly]

I can't comment on *anything* here, of course. What's really interesting are the comments.

Why are people who don't know the guy so eager to condemn him/his condemners?

Comments

[prezzey.livejournal.com]

I can verify that he really doesn't have that great of a grasp on something he supposedly wrote.

Erm. Am I the only one who doesn't know everything that s/he wrote in intimate detail? I thought that was normal. When I write with a deadline looming over me, or under a lot of stress, I can be surprised at the results later on... "Did I really write that?!" And with him being a professional writer, I suspect it's all about deadlines. :O

[arazia.livejournal.com]

It depends. If you're talking about college essays or something of that nature, I agree, I don't expect anyone to remember years later, intimate details of it, or even remember they wrote it.

On the other hand, we're talking about a novel which became a series of four books, and now has a sequal/parallel series of another four or five books. I would -hope- that an author has a firm grasp on the world he's playing around in when he's been playing in it that long. I've been working with a sci-fi world of stories for nearly ten years now (shorter than OSC and his Enderverse for sure) and I know that world inside and out. I understand my characters, their motivations, and the situations they are in as well as the more global plot arch that runs through it.

What surprised me a lot at Ender-Con is how little OSC actually knew about the world he was writing about. He had absolutel zero throught to the technology behind what he was suggesting, and his books blatently contradict each other when it comes to things such as layout, development, and history.

Perhaps it can be explained as simply forgetting over time, but I would think that is a sign of an author who has bitten off more than they can chew if they can't even keep track of the world that -they- created.

Anyways, I'm rambling again.

[prezzey.livejournal.com]

If you're talking about college essays or something of that nature, I agree, I don't expect anyone to remember years later, intimate details of it, or even remember they wrote it.

Actually, I was thinking of a recent incident, where I had to confess to the editor [of Galaktika the major Hungarian SF magazine] that I was profoundly unsure what a short story of mine contained. "Will there be any major changes or can this go into publication?" "Erm... Um... I dunno, you see... I wrote it in a hurry and haven't looked at it ever since I sent it to you..." [which was months ago] -.-;;;

(It's about an autistic woman who gets held up at the airport. As for the rest... I'm not sure I recall :O I remember that I looked up the US security clearance system for some detail. It had taken more time than writing the story and it ended up being half a line of information.)

On the other hand, we're talking about a novel which became a series of four books, and now has a sequal/parallel series of another four or five books. I would -hope- that an author has a firm grasp on the world he's playing around in when he's been playing in it that long.

Hmm, well, you sound right on that one. I've been meaning to write a novel for ages, and in the meanwhile I have worked out the background in really fine detail. But then again, I'm an absolute freak for detail *cough*Asperger*cough* and I realize other people might not be - just look at Star Wars for example, it has so many incongruencies it's... ah well. I'd better not start flaming Star Wars because I actually liked Episode 3! It was the visuals that did it for me though, not the coherence LOL. Also, there is this anime series called Saishuu-heiki Kanojo (She, the Ultimate Weapon) that manages to completely botcher up the background in 13 small episodes. It should've been heart-breaking, according to the local anime ML, but frankly it just left me annoyed.

Sorry if I sound completely incoherent, in the past 40 hours or so I've slept a grand total of two hours (plus-minus ten minutes). Finals time tra la la. I have gotten beyond the point of being able to decide over such meagrish things such as the grammaticality of a given sentence. Even if they were created by me! OK I'll shut up. ;]

Well just one more thing
He had absolutel zero throught to the technology behind what he was suggesting,
that's pretty sad. Something similar is how people put psi/magick into their stories and then proceed to disregard the effects completely. (RPing GMs know psi can be Teh Plot Killer and they're right. "How did you find out about all this?" "I'm a telepath. Work it out." - Babylon 5) But that's my pet peeve. (What is a "peeve", anyway?)

[arazia.livejournal.com]

Aye, I know what you mean about the detail orientedness and such. I really don't have much that I'm firmly basing my assumption on other than my own experiences, and like yourself, I'm on the autistic spectrum. I've seen some wonderful authors who when playing even in a world of science fiction, have found sources for mechanical engineering, sciences, etc. even for something as small as figuring out how a certain type of car works.

I also have a bit of a different perspective, due to actually attending EnderCon and seeing a lot of OSC's reactions to things first hand were. They had a group of engineers who had actually worked up how Battle School could possibly be done, and he just sat there without word one on if it even fit what he had in mind. Just seemed strange for him to say he hadn't thought of what battle school looked like or worked, and yet he wrote two storys that take place there. (Not to mention EG and ES disagree on a lot of issues with Battle School.)

Anyways, I'm being perseverant and obsesive, you have some points that I'll agree with. I need to find some non-spectrum friends who are writers and ask them how they work out their world concepts ;)

*chuckles*

[leora.livejournal.com]

In my experience, it's a matter of how much you love your work. If it's a piece of writing you just tossed out and didn't think much of, it can be easily forgotten. But if you poured yourself into it and loved it, you don't forget it easily. I've written both sorts of things. And I think fans who love a work expect the author to also love the work. It would be very disappointing to find that the author didn't care much about his/her own writings that you took seriously. At least to me.