今天我有弗雷达·沃灵顿访谈的第二部分 与你分享。如果您错过了,这里是 第一部分 。希望您喜欢本采访的其余部分!
幻想咖啡厅:您在博客中提到从一本年轻的成人小说开始。你能告诉我们有关这件事吗?在不久的将来还会有其他书籍不属于《以太传说》吗?
弗雷达·沃灵顿(Freda Warrington): Bit wary of talking about it, as it’s only a proposal 在 the moment, 但是我’ll just say 那 I love the Alan Garner, Ursula le Guin, Susan Cooper, Joy Chant, Garth Nix style of dark fantasy 那 treats its young readers like adults, 和 I’ve always wanted to try something in 那 vein. I’m working on a couple of other ideas too, but nothing definite as yet. Sorry to be so vague!
FC:在 你写的帖子 精灵岛 BSC评论的灵感, you discussed how some writers do not seem to understand why someone would choose to write fantasy instead of mainstream literature. What about reading 和 writing fantasy appeals to you? What are some fantasy books 那 you find especially poignant 和 thoughtful in spite of the fact 那 they are not “serious literature”?
固件: Actually my answer to the previous question has set me thinking 那 some of the very best fantasy is written for children – it can be very dark, intelligent 和 grown-up (Alan Garner, Philip Pullman are two examples 那 spring to mind) while some fantasy aimed 在 adults can be quite juvenile. 黑山红月亮 乔伊·尚特(Joy Chant)的故事一直在我的脑海中stuck绕,特别是在一个角色通过与人交换位置以牺牲地球女神的方式来拯救某人的生命中的那段……他自愿去世的方式如此强大。 最后的独角兽 彼得·比格(Peter Beagle)撰写的另一个美丽,优雅而动人的故事。或想起佛罗多(Frodo),走向他的厄运 指环王……然后离开家与精灵一起去,因为他经历了艰难的日子后无法回到自己的旧生活。
That whole theme of bravery 和 quiet self-sacrifice touches me more than any lurid battle scene. Yes, it appears in mainstream fiction too… but you can use fantastic themes to get to the heart of matters 那 现实的 fiction just can’t reach. It’s the timeless, mythological archetype of the hero’s journey. And I’ve always loved the idea of going through the back of a wardrobe into another world! Obviously I’ve never grown out of it!
FC:我最近也注意到很多伟大的幻想也针对年轻人-克里斯汀·卡索(Kristin Cashore)的 火 ,莱妮·泰勒(Laini Taylor) 嘴唇接触:三遍 和 梅根·沃伦·特纳’s Queen’s Thief series all come to mind as some of my recent favorites. Why do you think so much of fantasy written for younger readers often ends up being some of the very best? Is there a different approach to writing books for young adults as opposed to adults 那 makes this possible?
FW:还有Philip Pullman –他围绕宗教,无神论,哲学等真正深层的问题构建了一个故事。您会获得激动人心但深刻的叙述,这对读者而言是不言而喻的。在任何情况下,成人和儿童都可能会喜欢大量虚构的小说。我个人的感觉是,针对年轻人的小说被允许是非常直接,非常简单的–我并不是要像在挑战中那样“简单”,而是作者有义务确切地说出他们的意思。对于成人小说,可能会趋向于将一切打扮成复杂或机灵的故事,但不一定会给故事带来任何好处。我认为,直接性可以发挥作用。如果作者有话要说,他们要做的就是 说出来 。无论是成人还是儿童,这都是真正好的小说的力量。
FC: In spite of the supernatural events surrounding them, your characters have such everyday problems 和 concerns 那 make them into very real, sympathetic people. How important is making your characters relatable to you? Which of them do you relate to the most?
FW:非常重要–我认为这就是为什么我现在对现代环境感到更加自在的原因,而且那些遇到“现实生活”问题和“幻想”问题的角色也越来越多。我想我与Rosie的关系最为密切-赶紧补充说,她的故事绝不是自传!或仅以较小的方式留给读者以想象。她发展成为一群我非常非常喜欢的人-在某种程度上是普通的,务实的朋友,但同时又美丽,聪明,机智和可爱。我觉得她是一个人,尽管她在生活中犯了很多非常人为的错误,但会成为一个好朋友。
FC:朱莉安娜夫人(Dame Juliana),来自 仲夏夜, is in her sixties. It’s a bit unusual to see an elderly woman as one of the main characters in a fantasy novel. Did you have any concerns 那 people may not like reading about someone outside of the norm – even a woman as vibrant 和 engaging as Dame Juliana?
固件: 天哪,从这里开始!这不寻常吗?我敢肯定,如果我们进行了一些研究,我们会发现很多幻想小说,这些小说描写了某个年龄段的坚强女性。我不认为朱莉安娜(Juliana)是90岁高龄的老人,太虚弱而无能为力,几乎无法接近死亡……尽管即使那样的角色,也要“穿过面纱”,绝对是绝对的。引人注目...对不起,那里的想法被追赶了!为什么只有十几岁或二十多岁的角色才能冒险呢?是否有一些幻想的约定,一旦您打到32点,您就不再足够有趣,无法参加奇怪的事件?
好吧,如果在她六十年代的幻想中扮演主角很不寻常,我很高兴。一般而言,这打开了一大堆关于性别歧视和年龄歧视的蠕虫–我们可以无休止地谈论这个话题!我当然认为有一个不幸的传统,将女性在类型小说中描述为遇险或邪恶的女巫。现在,我们看到了很多有力,踢屁股的女主人公-但他们还很年轻,而且,面对现实,他们仍然不像真正的女人那样。我在现实生活中认识的女性聪明,有趣,古怪,兴趣广泛。它们具有各种年龄,形状和样式。他们不是性对象,恶意的巫术或持武器的武术专家。他们是真实的人。因此,我喜欢在小说中将女性展示为真实的人,以尝试弥补这种平衡。实际上,真正的“规范”是我们都在变老。我认为我们想要年轻并永远生活(从吸血鬼小说或我永恒的以太系人物中看到)与我们变老和死亡的现实之间存在着张力。也许创造朱丽安娜夫人(她仍然充满活力和创造力,但对死亡的意识却太高了),可能是我挑战自己作品中实现愿望的方式。
So no, I wasn’t concerned 那 readers might feel uncomfortable with a character in her sixties. If they do – well, what does 那 say about our prejudices? Also, as I haven’t reached my sixties yet, I’m trying to cheer myself up 通过 proposing 那 there’s still life 和 creativity ahead! The world has come around to the idea 那 life isn’t over 在 40, 和 I think we need to see a broader range of characters in popular 和 genre fiction to reflect this.
FC: Yes, definitely! I thought it was a nice change to see a story in which an older woman played a huge role, but it also made me realize 那 I can’t think of a single main female character in fantasy older than somewhere in her thirties (and even those were pretty rare – most of the ones I can recall are in their teens 要么 twenties). Why do you think there is such a fascination in fiction with coming of age 和 the beginning life 和 not with transitions during middle 要么 older years?
FW:可能是因为这是角色第一次发生所有事情的时代。当我们年轻时,新的体验对我们产生最大的影响,每个人都将这些里程碑铭记为一生中最生动的时刻。当然,我们希望第一次看到这些事情发生在英雄身上,而不是第二次或第十次!神话和幻想的“英雄之旅”是我们经历的整个成年之旅的完美隐喻。它反映了从儿童到成年,发现自己是谁,与父母分离以及证明自己是一个负责自己生活的成年人的心理转变。王子必须打败龙,完成任务,找到他的真爱,等等,以便证明他值得继承他的王国……以及所有具有象征意义的东西!
And there is the more prosaic answer, of course, 那 young readers have a natural tendency to identify with characters of their own age. They may see older characters (say in their 30s 要么 40s) as of their parents’ generation, ie. ancient 和 boring! And of course, younger people are perceived as prettier, sexier, healthier, livelier – which they often are, so it’s just human nature to enjoy 那. I hope 那 as readers grow older, they’ll become more open-minded 和 realise 那 adventures (transitions) can happen 在 any age.
FC:您完全成功地在两本Aetherial Tales小说中写出了真正的女人,这就是我非常喜欢她们的一部分。他们不是完美的,不是遇险的少女,不是they子-看起来就像你可以在现实生活中遇到的女人(除了参与超自然的事件,就是这样!)。您为什么认为女性角色往往被描绘成一种极端或另一种极端(比平时更无助或比平常更独立)?您读过哪些书,您认为达到了适当的平衡并以“真正的女人”为特色?
固件: This question makes me realise I actually don’t tend to notice when a female character is well-portrayed 和 believable… it’s only when they are behaving in extreme, irritating 要么 unrealistic ways – as if being viewed through a sexist prism – 那 this tends to jump off the page, throwing me out of the story 和 putting me right off the author. Still, if a book is titled, say, “Slave Girls of Gor” you know pretty much what you’re going to get!
如果说妇女在错误的时刻脱掉衣服变得异常无助,漂亮,那么,这似乎将妇女在社会中的传统,次要角色与男性幻想混为一谈。 (该角色仅在最近40多年中才发生变化,并且仍在不断受到威胁)。踢屁股的女主人公是一种自然的反击,这很好–它可能是另一种男性幻想,但也有女性幻想。但是,我不想自己写这些,因为我想让“正常”的女人表现得很强。而且不仅强而有力,而且复杂而有缺陷。
It’s probably difficult to find examples of females in fantasy who are completely 现实的 , because the nature of the genre means 那 fantastic things are going to happen to them. Ones 那 jump into my mind are Lirael 和 Sabriel from the Garth Nix 阿布霍森 书籍,或是Philip Pullman的Lyra 他的黑暗材料 系列。安妮·麦卡弗里(Anne McCaffrey)的蕾莎(Lessa) 佩恩 尽管我读这些书已经很久了,但我还是以小说中的强者为特色。我爱布菲(Buffy)和柳树(Willow)–尽管拥有超能力和美丽! –因为他们也被显示为现实,复杂,聪明和机智的人,他们面对现实生活中的问题。我提供的所有例子似乎都是来自年轻的成人小说。哦–还有来自 库希尔 series (Jacqueline Carey). I don’t know 那 you’d see her as 现实的 as such, given 那 one of her main 在 tributes is getting a huge sexual kick out of pain – but a wonderfully portrayed, complex character, surrounded 通过 equally strong, interesting 和 no-nonsense females. And I’m sure there are hundreds more examples… try Virginia Woolf, Margaret Atwood, Ursula LeGuin… the list is huge.
I could talk about this all day 但是我 have to stop! Thank you for asking me to take part in this interview. It’s been great fun.
FC:谢谢您抽出宝贵的时间回答几个(很好)的问题,Freda!能更好地了解您和您的写作真是太好了。