The Automation – Page 27 – Further Annotations

“The first 100 pages were build up” or “The Fantasy Writer’s Dilemma”

Posted on January 29, 2015January 29, 2015 by blablablaandgabbler

Some wise words from V.E. Schwab.

So I’m sitting here, working on my 10th book—how did that happen?—and thinking about pacing. As someone who writes fantasy, I’m always faced with a dilemma, a push-pull problem: the need to introduce the world and its rules, without dragging down the plot. I like to think I do this—I certainly do my best—but the simple fact is that those first 100 pages can’t JUST be plot, not in fantasy.

They have to lay foundations.

They have to set up the rest of the book, so that it all makes sense and pays off and the clues add up and the twists work and the punches land and you’re left with a feeling of YES. Because here’s what I think: it’s worth it. Those opening pages, which lay that foundation—I’m not talking about info-dumping, that is nightmarish and just bad writing—and establish your world, they are worth it. They…

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On anti-fame and the importance of identity (fake or otherwise):

Posted on January 2, 2015September 5, 2026 by blablablaandgabbler

“‘When she performs, she chooses not to face the camera, but believe me, this is her singing live,’ announced Ellen in her introduction of Sia’s performance, accompanied by the faceless cover of the Aussie artist’s forthcoming album, 1000 Forms of Fear.

According to Sia, whose hits include Clap Your Hands and Breathe Me, the decision to shy away from the audience is in an effort to protect her mental health. The artist has never been secretive about her battle with painkiller addiction and alcoholism, disclosing all in an interview with Billboard last year (she covered the same issue with a paper bag over her head).

But is her attempt at fleeing the limelight thrusting her straight into it? Will it start a Bruce Wayne style obsession with unmasking the real Sia? Or is this a bold statement by an artist wanting to be judged by merits alone?

Daft Punk have successfully paved a masked empire…”

Read the rest.

[“BLA and GB Gabbler” (really just a pen name – singular) are the Editor and Narrator behind THE AUTOMATION, vol. 1 of the Circo del Herrero series. They are on facebook, twitter, tumblr, goodreads, and Vulcan’s shit list.]

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Agalmatophilia:

Posted on December 21, 2014October 22, 2022 by blablablaandgabbler

“These representational trends have paved the way for what was the most daring outcome of the belief in living statues: agalmatophilia, or the desire of certain men to make love to statues.”

[“BLA and GB Gabbler” (really just a pen name) are the Editor and Narrator behind THE AUTOMATION, vol. 1 of the Circo del Herrero series. They are on facebook, twitter, tumblr, and goodreads.]

B&N | Amazon | Etc.