Hello, all! I’ve been notified by Alan Beatts that I’ll be moderating the World Fantasy Convention panel titled “Coarse Dialog and Graceful Description–The Balancing Act,” Saturday, October 31, at 2:00. The other participants are authors Guy Gavriel Kay, Ellen Kushner, and Patricia McKillip, as well as editor Jim Frenkel. I’m very honored.
WFC describes the panel this way: “How does the writer balance dialog that is matched to their characters with evocative and literary narration? Or should one try to do so at all? Should characters use a modern vocabulary and sentence structure or does this impede the suspension of disbelief and reduce the sense of wonder? Obviously there are no hard and fast ‘correct’ answers but what are some of the factors that an author considers relative to these questions?”
I would love the input of any readers here as to what particular topics they’d like to hear discussed on the panel. Please do leave a comment if you can take the time.
5 Responses to “WFC Panel Input”
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I'm a freelance copyeditor specializing in fantasy and science fiction. SF/F novels I have copyedited have been finalists for (and have sometimes won) the Hugo, Nebula, Arthur C. Clarke, Endeavour, Golden Spur, John W. Campbell Memorial, Quill, Locus, Philip K. Dick, British Science Fiction, British Fantasy, and World Fantasy awards. In 2007 I became the first and only copyeditor ever short-listed for a World Fantasy Award.
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The problem of okay comes to mind first–such a useful word, but I don’t think it works in fantasy that has nothing to do with modern America. Others obviously disagree.
Anyway, I’ll be there listening!
Howdy! Long time no chat! I’m so jealous…I’m not going to WFC. :-( (Well, okay, I got to take a business trip/vacay to Europe instead, so I really can’t complain…)
I hope you will post a general synopsis of the panel after the convention so those of us enjoying Bittercon will be able to benefit.
I think “evocative and literary narration” needs a little bit of expansion. A definition so participants know what is being discussed.
Are we talking about a sliding scale from “Greetings, treasured associates!” to “Oi, dat’s me leg!”, or is it more of just a simple reality versus readability issue? Some readers might not be looking for wonder or immersion.
But then, what about different audiences? The reader who is savoring the authenticity of the dialogue isn’t necessarily the same one who is glossing over the colorful euphemisms to track what’s happening between characters.
Is it a trick or technique to call attention to a particular character, or a change of scene? Or even the world of the book? Modern language in King Arthur’s court to make it understandable to a modern audience.
I mean, I think I understand what it means. The need to be clear and well-written which might come off to some as too structured and declarative, as opposed to true to speech patterns which might confuse or disinterest some readers.
But then, perhaps that’s a writer-centric view! Might there be a copy-editor expectation, an editorial expectation, and so on?
So, many different agendas from all sides, about something that can vary according to the process of reading and writing! Not that there shouldn’t be an attempt to answer the question, for even if it’s wrong we might find insight to our own formulas.
Assuming a definition, then you stir the soup by discussing examples, which might prove interesting. How much time does this panel slot have though, because maybe this is making it too complex for say, a 45 minute panel.
Thank you for the thoughtful comments, Sherwood and Ferg. I will definitely keep those in mind!
And I’ll try to do a write-up on the panel afterward, E. :)
It always seemed to me that the balancing act is mostly a matter of how formal to make the dialog sound. Some people try to do it just by not using contractions, which I think sounds stilted. Modern Americans are very casual (I agree about the use of okay, which I think in medieval fantasy is so NOT okay) so you don’t have to ramp up the formality very far to be different.
Another trap is having “my lord” and “my lady” in very single blooming line of dialog.
Best tool there is: read it out loud.
If I can make it, I’ll try to go to your panel, but it depends on whether I’ve manager to grab lunch by then or not. But anyway, good luck!