Finland; colonialism; time scale.

[mrissa]

How to tell that George Maude, author of Historical Dictionary of Finland, and I have different worldviews, the one-sentence version: "Without Russia on its border, it would be very difficult to justify the maintenance in the current form of the Finnish armed forces." So true, George. So true. And without the presence of water, it would be damned hard for the British to justify all the money spent on boats. And, in fact, if there were no editors in the world, my postage expenditures would look pretty weird as well.

(There's good stuff in this book, and I'm glad to have it. But I suspect that the fact that I write alternate history does not account for all the differences of opinion I have with the said Mr. Maude.)

In other news, all my thoughts about colonialism in this book were dead wrong, and all my new thoughts about colonialism are far better, by which I mean more amusing to me personally but also more plotty and more based in thinking about geography, trade, and technological development. And probably more subversive, if that's what you're looking for in plot points related to colonialism. And really, I think most people who are looking for plot points related to colonialism at all are not that averse to a bit of subversion here and there. At least that's my guess.

Also it allows for more things to go boom later, which is no bad thing in fiction.

Also, why do I keep getting ideas for books set 200-400 years after the books I'm writing, in the same worlds? I'm not sure this is a bad thing. I'm just also not sure it's a good thing.

Comments

[scottjames.livejournal.com]

So, do you have to be definitively done with time x in order to move on to time x+300ish?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Not at all. I don't write linearly anyway. So if I can write nonlinearly on the scale of a year, why not on a scale of centuries? is what my brain seems to say.

[scottjames.livejournal.com]

I was just wondering if you were concerned that you'd write a story that would change the history of your other story in such a way that things would have had to go differently. "Kill your own grandfather" kind of stuff.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Things that are already written have already happened. They send out ripples in the fabric of spacetime. This is actually more of a problem on the scale of a single novel than on a scale of 400 years.

[callunav.livejournal.com]

I, personally, am very keen on subversion in plot points related to colonialism, and I'm not just saying that.

I'm even more keen on colonialism (in SF, I mean) which is well integrated with a society's history, geography, economy, trade, and technology. I do loathe huge social innovations/institutions which exist in SFF novels because an author felt like sticking them in there, without their being an organic part. That is another rant, and shall be ranted at another time, especially because I'm quite sure I'm ranting to the ranters, or something like that - that is, that you already write in the way I prefer, without my needing to comment on it. Really all I wanted to say is that this post focused my interest in reading this story from, "I like her writing and she's cool, of course I'd like to see it" to "Oh, hey. Cool. Lemme see that."

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Good!

[mamapduck.livejournal.com]

If it's any help, I LOVE books that are about the same place but centuries apart. Pern, for example. I adored all the background stuff that came out in Dragonsdawn. But the other direction is equally good.

[careswen.livejournal.com]

Is it time for me to cry, "Up the rebels!" yet?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Any time you like! I write out of sequence, so the Ostos coming howling down out of the mountains in revolt was part of today.

[careswen.livejournal.com]

Considering geography, perhaps it should be, "Up Down the rebels!"

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

"Down and sort of sidewaysish the rebels!"

[careswen.livejournal.com]

Yep, sounds like something a Feegle would say.