2) Precisely! While knowing magical theory ("Arcanology") helps a little with understanding any magical working, not everybody is going to know what a particular stitch and a specific color do when combined. I have amusing visions in my head of the heroine doing something innocently clumsy and setting fire to a sleeve.
3, 4) That is my hope. At 1,667 words a day, I'm pretty sure I can make it all work.
5) That's probably what I'll resort to. I'm starting to think that the capitol might be better off as "St. Katherine's City" because "Katriansk" is starting to sound offensive. So, since I'm having a hard time nailing down Slavic place naming, I'll probably just aim for whatever my Beta says is most accurate and leave it all as English translations.
6) Yay! Someone else noticed it! Actually, that's a minor point of plot/history that comes into play (having to do with a previous Tsar marrying a "Venetian" noblewoman and the traditions she brought with her). It's not as big as other plot points, but it's there as a subtle nod.
New Question: Absolutely. That's the thing threatening the old magic. The fact that new industrial magic is faster, more potent and cheaper, while old magic is reliable, longer-lasting, and safer. So the two are forever butting heads and there's a lot of trouble caused by the whole thing. Even at the end of the novel, I don't see the conflict as being resolved, just put to an awkward truce. Hell, the next novel might bring in a Ponder Stibbons-type to give the heroine an effective foil.
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ninetydegrees
Re: Late again - I could go on about how I'm not normally like that but... :/
on 2010-07-14 04:43 am (UTC)3, 4) That is my hope. At 1,667 words a day, I'm pretty sure I can make it all work.
5) That's probably what I'll resort to. I'm starting to think that the capitol might be better off as "St. Katherine's City" because "Katriansk" is starting to sound offensive. So, since I'm having a hard time nailing down Slavic place naming, I'll probably just aim for whatever my Beta says is most accurate and leave it all as English translations.
6) Yay! Someone else noticed it! Actually, that's a minor point of plot/history that comes into play (having to do with a previous Tsar marrying a "Venetian" noblewoman and the traditions she brought with her). It's not as big as other plot points, but it's there as a subtle nod.
New Question: Absolutely. That's the thing threatening the old magic. The fact that new industrial magic is faster, more potent and cheaper, while old magic is reliable, longer-lasting, and safer. So the two are forever butting heads and there's a lot of trouble caused by the whole thing. Even at the end of the novel, I don't see the conflict as being resolved, just put to an awkward truce. Hell, the next novel might bring in a Ponder Stibbons-type to give the heroine an effective foil.