I think you’re right about that tower in the Eye of the World! That’s how Mat knew where it was in The Gathering Storm, because he and Rand had seen it clear back in book one.

I had forgotten about the bracelet, but I was pretty sure it was Moiraine because of the tiara, not to mention the dark hair and blue cloak and dress. What about those burning pages, though?

It was Knife of Dreams when he lost his hand, wasn’t it? That’s probably the scene.

I had totally forgotten about those mindboxes—in fact, I still can’t remember then. Geez, I guess I need to reread the whole series again. I’m not sure I have the heart to do that, though.

Moirane grabbed the bracelet away from lanfear, im sure what saved her, before entering the doorway – so i am pretty sure that is her, holding onto the lifesaving bracelet!

Knife of dreams – he looses his hand to balefire, i think.

on winters heart, i thought it was rand cleasing the source, then the guy in the middle with the ball was the guy holding one of the mindboxes, sending in those he controls to try and stop rand.

Ah, I think you’re right about Dragon Reborn and Winter’s Heart. They are pretty generic scenes.

Eye of the World – It definetly looks more like the White Tower than this, but wasn’t there a funny white bridge in the town where they docked on the river boat? That’s the only other option I can think of.

Dragon Reborn – If I had to speculate, which obviously I don’t – but I will anyways – I would say that is towards the beginning of the novel when they are in hiding up in the mountains and Rand is hanging out trying to decide what to do without being anybody’s puppet.

I’m pretty sure Morraine did disappear in Fires of Heaven.

Winter’s Heart – Isn’t that Rand clowning around with the (t)(s)angreal (it’s been too long and I don’t care to look up the correct magical device) but it is the one where the little statue connects him to the giant statue of which there is a man and a woman version. I think it is what he and Nynaeve end up cleansing the power with.

R.

By the way, any comments on what scenes are supposed to be represented by these covers? There are a few I can’t identify.

The Eye of the World—Rand sailing on the river. (But is that the White Tower in the background? That wouldn’t make sense.)

The Great Hunt—Mat blowing the Horn of Valere.

The Dragon Reborn—?

The Shadow Rising—Mat coming out of Rhuidean (right?).

The Fires of Heaven—Is that supposed to be Moiraine? Is that the book where she disappears?

Lord of Chaos—The battle of Dumai’s Wells.

A Crown of Swords—Is that supposed to be Nynaeve and Lan in the water? I can’t remember which book that was in.

Path of Daggers—Using the bowl of winds. (Which characters were they? Nynaeve, Elayne, and Aviendha, if I remember correctly.)

Winter’s Heart—?

Crossroads of Twilight—Obviously Perrin leaving his axe behind, although I don’t remember this scene specifically.

Knife of Dreams—?

In contrast to Riotimus, I’d say it’s all about the story in the end. If you’re telling a compelling story through the characters — which is what nearly all good novels do — then the characters will probably also be compelling. I guess it’s not a huge leap to suppose the characters could start kind of telling the story themselves in your mind.

I think that like so many aspects of writing, this one gets romanticized and overblown. If it’s your own authentic way of writing (and it seems to be for a fair number of people), then that’s cool, but it does tend to get exalted in the writerly zeitgeist as this mystic force that you either have if you’re a “real” writer, or don’t if you’re not. Which is not cool.

We’ll leave the painfully obvious fact that (regardless of voice-in-head status) I’m not a real fiction writer out of this for now.

R.

If it is plot driven then the characters have to play nicely within the bounds established by the author. If a character won’t comply, it gets modified so that it can’t derail the carefully designed outline/synopsis. Tad Williams used this approach on the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series. He never said, “I neutered my characters if they weren’t going where I want them to,” but he had a massively detailed outline and he stuck to it. He surely cracked a few eggs.

If it is character driven, then the story will revolve less around the necessary checkpoints/quest-steps/clue-finding. The author probably will create a detailed character, stick them in a horrific/tense/miserable situation and see where they go. If the character takes the author on an interesting voyage it becomes a story. If not . . . toilet paper. Ouch. I’ve got this heavy grade printer paper. Makes me glad I’m not a perfectionist.

I don’t think you see the second type very often in fantasy. If you do, I think it tends to be episodic RPG-turned-to-novel type stuff, as was done well by R. A. Salvadore with the Icewind Dale stuff and sucks butt from pretty much every other novel published by TSR (Hickman and Weis catch a break from me here because they just had so many good ideas – and great characters).

Having spewed all of that I’d like to state for the record that just because a novel is plot driven that it can’t have great characters. It really has everything to do with the author’s process.

I don’t think you are missing out. As long as a character is compelling it doesn’t really matter whether they are guiding the tour or playing the author’s scavenger hunt.

R.