Wizard in the Wardrobe

by wjw on October 21, 2007

So. It’s official.

Dumbledore was gay.

“Oh, my god,” Rowling concluded with a laugh, “the fan fiction.”

JBodi October 24, 2007 at 12:03 am

I really like her sense of mischief.

She’s taking some flack, oddly enough (see today’s Salon), for talking about the characters out of text. I could see the outrage if she were a judge but jeez, she’s a fantasy writer.

dubjay October 25, 2007 at 8:57 pm

Neil Gaiman had a really sensible response to that Salon article, in which he pointed out that authors =always= know a lot more about their characters that they can get on the page.

Certainly I do. I know a great deal about my characters, including aspects of their sexuality that might surprise readers. But I don’t include the information directly, either because it’s not relevant to the story I’m telling, or because I’m saving it for later.

Heinlein was also very good at that. He’s on record as saying that Rico, the narrator of Starship Troopers, was killed along with his unit and his father on the drop following the conclusion of his narrative. And he’s also mentioned that the narrator of The Moon is a Harsh Mistress was basically the patsy of Mike the Computer, who stage-managed the whole lunar revolution as a means of guaranteeing its own independence, and who stopped talking to the narrator not because it was damaged but because the war was won and there was no longer any point.

What you can certainly say about Heinlein is that he knew when to end his stories.

Lance Larka November 23, 2007 at 11:16 pm

Can you provide a source for the Heinlein info? I would really like to learn more about his processes for his characters.

Thanks, Lance
tumble[at]tumbleweed.cc

dubjay November 24, 2007 at 1:35 am

Unfortunately I’ve forgotten where I learned those tidbits about Heinlein.

Sorry.

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