interview with Verity

[ewein2412]

On women's roles in wartime and the writing of CNV, over at the Daily Fig on figment.com. It was an inspired idea to write this from V's point of view, but OH. MY. GOD. How I wept over that final paragraph while writing it. Thank god for ball point pens.

http://dailyfig.figment.com/2012/05/22/verity-speaks/

Comments

[3rdragon]

Ouch, yes.

I'm not sure she sounds quite the same as the book version -- is this one slightly more of a meta-character? (Hopefully you're conversant with that parlance, since I don't really know how else to describe that odd instance of a character who is, yes, herself, but slightly outside her framework, often with access to knowledge the canon version of the character hasn't got.)

[ewein2412]

yes, I see what you mean - writing a set piece, rather than emoting as the whim takes her, but ALSO (and this is real difference, I think), there is no context for this. I mean, it could be anywhere in the narrative, but it isn't. And you can't really figure out exactly where it would go if it was.

But the bit about writing - we were both definitely thinking that. If I can only get this done, if I can only get this down, it will ALL be worth it.

(Actually she does say that at one point - I mean, she actually does say it in the book - about it all being worth it)

[ewein2412]

and why does that sound so familiar to me suddenly? Because it's the last sentence of The Sunbird, too.

[3rdragon]

Laughter!

[3rdragon]

Lack of context is definitely part of it.

Hm. Maybe it would feel a little more seamless to me if I had more of a feeling that Women's Roles in Wartime was an item on the list.

[ewein2412]

OH HO HO HO, on re-reading the interview I realize that in fact it has been edited for clarity here and there by the interviewer, and that's probably what's striking the slightly false note with you (as someone probably quite a bit more tuned in to Verity's voice than most people) - things like the addition of "who is forever reading over my shoulder." I did get to see this before it went public and I did approve it, but you're right, it's not exactly her voice.

[3rdragon]

**sheepish look** Hi.

Er, yes, that would do it.

[tiboribi.livejournal.com]

It's telling, rather than showing, which is what Verity usually does. It's like she's actually doing what she was asked, telling and not showing what a woman could do during the War.

[ewein2412]

she does tell every now and then, though - this section is a lot like the bit where I think she's leading up to describing "some WAAF trades" when she says that Maddie could have done any number of different jobs. But, yes.

Or even... OH LOOK, a TOPIC I CAN ACTUALLY WRITE ABOUT WITHOUT FEELING GUILTY!

[tiboribi.livejournal.com]

That is true. I was just trying to figure out why it didn't quite feel like the same voice.

[ewein2412]

mainly I think it lacks the urgency of the threat of kerosene.

[anderyn.livejournal.com]

Which I, for one, am quite happy that she's not under. Ew. That made me quiver all through the book, you know, that kerosine threat -- and I've never quite been able to forgive Engel her flicking matches at Verity.

[ewein2412]

you have to consider the unreliable narrator when you interpret that match-flicking, you know. There might have been unmentionaable cigarettes involved.

[ewein2412]

GAH. Is it too early in the game for me to set up that "CNV: ALL SPOILERS, ALL THE TIME" chat group? People are starting to suffocate!

[3rdragon]

We need some sort of forum. And people who haven't read it yet can avoid going there.

[tiboribi.livejournal.com]

Maybe I should just write a Goodreads review that is chock full of spoilers, hide it so people who want to avoid spoilers don't actually find anything out, and then comments could be the forum.

[ewein2412]

I think that a group could be set up on goodreads, but I'm not sure how they work.

Or yahoo? the yahoo groups I find pretty easy to navigate.

[tiboribi.livejournal.com]

I am really not at all sure how this works, but I have created a public Goodreads group to be a Code Name Verity spoiler friendly conversation area.

It is here: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/70433-code-name-verity-spoiler-friendly-zone

[anderyn.livejournal.com]

Oh. Oh dear. I am so sorry to have mentioned spoilers. Should I just delete my comment? I had hoped that it was early enough in the mss. that it wouldn't count as a huge spoiler, not in the way that, say, my unspoken hopes for M. would be.

[ewein2412]

no, no, it was *MY COMMENT* I was talking about. Yours was FINE. I just felt like I couldn't answer your comment about the matches properly without giving away entire hidden agendas.

And it was such an innocent comment, too!

[3rdragon]

There's also something about the flow of the long sentences. Not that book-Verity doesn't use long sentences, because she does, but these are slightly different. (I just tried reading it in my Verity voice, and it's ever-so-slightly rhythmically different somehow.) I don't know if that's inherent, or if it's the editing showing though.