Re: The Land of Stories Main Thread

[arina]

Yes! Froggy is the role I wanted Chris to play if he would ever be in a TLoS movie.

I would love to see him in this role too! But watching the video, he seemed rather like he rather would't be in this movie (if TLOS movie happened), only because he had to answer something, he said froggy.

[Glorfindel]

^Yeah, I saw the video. But still: it would be exciting to see him as Froggy. He's my favorite character in the book, and Chris would do the melancholic side of him so well. Plus he would get to be a prince Charming and wear special effects make-up!

But maybe if it really was up to Chris he would want to play the Evil Queen.

[msjoanlucette]

I haven't been on in awhile so I have a lot to catch up on, but I thought I'd like to share that I gave my ten year old cousin a copy of the book and she's in love with the series and can't wait for the next book to come out. She seems to love all the characters and thinks Conner's really funny. I really hope Chris comes out with more than two books for the land of stories so kids like my cousin that love the series can continue to read it.

[sheny]

You can nominate Chris Colfer for a Shorty Award in the Author category!
Click here or here to vote, add something after “because,” and tweet!
It’s also a less competitive category, and if we get him at least 100 votes he’ll be in the top 5! (All you need to be considered for the award.) He’s in 8th!

[mae55]

Yes! Froggy is the role I wanted Chris to play if he would ever be in a TLoS movie.

I would love to see him in this role too! But watching the video, he seemed rather like he rather would't be in this movie (if TLOS movie happened), only because he had to answer something, he said froggy.

Froggy is the character I'd picture him playing as well, but if I could really have anything I want, I'd like an animated movie with Chris doing all the voices like he does in the audio book!

[Glorfindel]

I don't know about other languages, but I know there will be a Dutch and a French translation as well.

[brisallie]

Great. Now I'm waiting for the spanish version.

[Jellyrolls]

Chris is tweeting about TLOS2 right now!

[MoviesAreLife]

Does anybody else think that TLOS would make a great concept for a theme park?! Like a scaled down, cheaper (these are all good things) version of Disney Land/Disney World. And seeing as how much Chris loves everything Disney, I'm sure he'd love to do something like this someday. It would be a great move on his continued journey to becoming a mogul/artistic entity.

It's just the way he described all of the different kingdoms within TLOS....all so different...made me think of this.

My personal favorite would be the Fairy Kingdom, with all of that glitter!

[Glorfindel]

^Give it time and it will happen.

No doubt that Chris has the lay-out of it in his head in meticulous detail already.
He wanted to be a Disney engineer after all.

[MoviesAreLife]

I know! All of the signs are pointing to a LOS theme park within the next 10-15 years.

Just think:

Fairy Kingdom: Shiny and beautiful with all of that glitter. Sunglasses required.

Dwarf Forests: For anyone who wants a good scare.

Red RidingHood Kingdom: Cute and quaint.

The Charming Kingdom: Grand and elegant.

Troll and Goblin Territory: Ugly and dark.

And so on. No idea what the rides would be like, but I can just imagine how everything would look. Each kingdom has its own look, feel and personality.

[sheny]

French edition of Struck by Lightning novel is out May 16th



Struck by Lightning signing planned on June 15th

[MoviesAreLife]

I never noticed how artfully messy his hair was! :D

[Glorfindel]

Okay, taking this here from the Snark & Bark thread:

Training and practice is very important (vocally and with writing). It's just that most writers have written quite a few books that fail to sell before they get one published. I know Chris's writing will improve with practice, but now he has to do THAT in the public eye, too. A good editor (NOT GHOSTWRITER) could have helped him a lot--given him tools for his next books--and let him keep his unique voice, just like a vocal trainer could teach him technique to make his singing stronger.

I agree that Chris could use some training in technical writing (although as a layman I still see nothing wrong with the examples you put in your post, but I'm sure the 'flaws' are there) and his editor really should not have that "He said" thing going on. He definitely needs a more firm editor for TLoS2.
But still I love his first books as much as I love his first songs on Glee. And like his singing his writing will improve too. Chris is stubborn with a clear vision, but I don't think opposed to learning something from someone else, like his Glee vocal coach.
And this may sound weird coming from a vocal coach, but although I love the development in singing techniques that Chris made, and he still has got all his emotive powers, something did get lost after he started training his voice in earnest: some innocent pureness perhaps, that touched me to the core. And personally I'm glad we got TLoS1 the way we got it, because you can feel this little kid who can't believe he's allowed to play in the big league now in that book, same as it was in 'Defying Gravity'. Maybe putting a product (song, book) out there that's not technically superior is unethical, but it is very endearing and frank: you just want to like it because you can read how much it means to him. If that makes any sense, lol.

As for Chris' first book being published when other writers have failed, well yes, that was partly due to his succes as an actor. There was an opportunity and he took it. The threshold of quality writing probably was lower too, but still: he had to turn in a few chapters first before they okay-ed a 2-3 book deal, so they must have had some faith in him as a writer. And they eagerly jumped on turning SBL in a book too.
Of course a lot of those books were to be expected to be bought by Chris' fans, but if the first book had been deeply flawed the other books would have failed, so they did take a risk here. And the New York Times can't be all wrong, right?
Chris got the book deal after he got the Golden Globe, right? So that was in early 2011. And TLoS came out in July/August? 2012? Is that a too short time to write a children's book that he had already written and re-written a few times as a child?

[MoviesAreLife]

Okay, taking this here from the Snark & Bark thread:

Training and practice is very important (vocally and with writing). It's just that most writers have written quite a few books that fail to sell before they get one published. I know Chris's writing will improve with practice, but now he has to do THAT in the public eye, too. A good editor (NOT GHOSTWRITER) could have helped him a lot--given him tools for his next books--and let him keep his unique voice, just like a vocal trainer could teach him technique to make his singing stronger.

I agree that Chris could use some training in technical writing (although as a layman I still see nothing wrong with the examples you put in your post, but I'm sure the 'flaws' are there) and his editor really should not have that "He said" thing going on. He definitely needs a more firm editor for TLoS2.
But still I love his first books as much as I love his first songs on Glee. And like his singing his writing will improve too. Chris is stubborn with a clear vision, but I don't think opposed to learning something from someone else, like his Glee vocal coach.
And this may sound weird coming from a vocal coach, but although I love the development in singing techniques that Chris made, and he still has got all his emotive powers, something did get lost after he started training his voice in earnest: some innocent pureness perhaps, that touched me to the core. And personally I'm glad we got TLoS1 the way we got it, because you can feel this little kid who can't believe he's allowed to play in the big league now in that book, same as it was in 'Defying Gravity'. Maybe putting a product (song, book) out there that's not technically superior is unethical, but it is very endearing and frank: you just want to like it because you can read how much it means to him. If that makes any sense, lol.

As for Chris' first book being published when other writers have failed, well yes, that was partly due to his succes as an actor. There was an opportunity and he took it. The threshold of quality writing probably was lower too, but still: he had to turn in a few chapters first before they okay-ed a 2-3 book deal, so they must have had some faith in him as a writer. And they eagerly jumped on turning SBL in a book too.
Of course a lot of those books were to be expected to be bought by Chris' fans, but if the first book had been deeply flawed the other books would have failed, so they did take a risk here. And the New York Times can't be all wrong, right?
Chris got the book deal after he got the Golden Globe, right? So that was in early 2011. And TLoS came out in July/August? 2012? Is that a too short time to write a children's book that he had already written and re-written a few times as a child?

There is a certain roughness there that is endearing. But I cannot wait to see his writing become more professional and poished over the years, just as he's improved greatly on his singing voice.

[arina]

Because I am not a native speaker and I have rather poor knowledge of english I wasn't able to see many flaws about TLOS. So to me mostly what bothered me was his said said said (which he used in SBL alot as well). I think Chris said once he does not read reviews, so I would have hoped someone from his team would point it out to him. I don't understand why the editor hasn't, from what I understand the repeating of said is the most noticable (even for laiks) problem and if he realized that and focused on that a little it wouldn't be that hard to get rid of it. I know there are other flaws but it would be good start I think.

That said I am often angry that I don't know english better but in this case I was probably lucky because I was able not to be bothered by mistakes and enjoyed the book very much. I love fairytales :-)

[Lottie2303]

I talked a bit for the flaws yesterday and yes, I hope Chris will improve for future books. It is noticeable it is his first published book and he still needs to learn. However I agree with Marie, that even though I read and understand the technical mistakes mentioned, they don't bother me. As an average reader without a lot of knowledge, I thought the book was written fine (I ignore the 'said' now, as is was mentioned already several times).

However, there are also so many positive things about LoS I do not believe a average author can achieve without having natural talent. The story itself is fantastical with an easy concept (I had a: ugh, of course children fall in a fairytale book moment! That is such an obvious idea. But no one has done it before!), that provides so many twists and turns for the readers. All the different fairytale kingdoms feel real and Chris has done a good job describing them.

The characters and dialogue are his very strong suit, as I laughed quite a few times. Especially females characters are represented with such a variety, strength, intelligence, wit and fun that I am happy that children finally have a book with so many women/girls they can look up too. That is unfortunately not always the case.

Also I'll take creativity always over technicality. Chris oozes with that and you can feel it in the book. I mean during the entire book he managed to include all those little tidbits and moments that made the book feel real. Also this is a book for age 10 -99 and that isn't easy to accomplished either.

I don't have a blind spot for Chris, as I am a rather critical person and I wouldn't defend the book if I wouldn't like it. I also wouldn't be afraid to voice my opinion. More importantly, I would like this book if it was written by John Smith. Of course Chris used some contacts and advantages by being famous, but no oe can fault him for that. I'd do the same, as everyone else does. Also, it is still a children book which is not an obvious idea. I wouldn't be surprised if anytime soon other TV actors suddenly decide to publish their own books. It would be probably rather fun to watch .

[arina]

I agree with that. And I also don't think I am overly biased, I don't like everything he does (I really didn't like his singing on Candles, Some people or chorus of I Have Nothing for example or sometime I am kinda embarrassed for his freestyle dancing etc) and while I read the book I didn't even think about it was Chris who wrote it, I didn't have to force myself to continue reading but I liked reading it because it was entertaining and I was curious what happens next. And the audio book is even whole different story.. I hope he does another one for the second book. Chris would be excellent in dubbing in Disney or other fairytales I think.

That said it's nice to hear more constructive criticism from someone who is from the branch. Colfergirl who I think studies writing also once analysed the book a little bit on this forum and it was also interesting reading.

[Glorfindel]

I talked a bit for the flaws yesterday and yes, I hope Chris will improve for future books. It is noticeable it is his first published book and he still needs to learn. However I agree with Marie, that even though I read and understand the technical mistakes mentioned, they don't bother me. As an average reader without a lot of knowledge, I thought the book was written fine (I ignore the 'said' now, as is was mentioned already several times).

However, there are also so many positive things about LoS I do not believe a average author can achieve without having natural talent. The story itself is fantastical with an easy concept (I had a: ugh, of course children fall in a fairytale book moment! That is such an obvious idea. But no one has done it before!), that provides so many twists and turns for the readers. All the different fairytale kingdoms feel real and Chris has done a good job describing them.

The characters and dialogue are his very strong suit, as I laughed quite a few times. Especially females characters are represented with such a variety, strength, intelligence, wit and fun that I am happy that children finally have a book with so many women/girls they can look up too. That is unfortunately not always the case.

Also I'll take creativity always over technicality. Chris oozes with that and you can feel it in the book. I mean during the entire book he managed to include all those little tidbits and moments that made the book feel real. Also this is a book for age 10 -99 and that isn't easy to accomplished either.

I don't have a blind spot for Chris, as I am a rather critical person and I wouldn't defend the book if I wouldn't like it. I also wouldn't be afraid to voice my opinion. More importantly, I would like this book if it was written by John Smith. Of course Chris used some contacts and advantages by being famous, but no oe can fault him for that. I'd do the same, as everyone else does. Also, it is still a children book which is not an obvious idea. I wouldn't be surprised if anytime soon other TV actors suddenly decide to publish their own books. It would be probably rather fun to watch .

I agree with your entire post,and especially the bolded. Chris' female characters in both TLoS and SBL are so interesting. Some are just funny, some are strong, some are flawed, some are deeply troubled. That's a variety you don't often see.

I read a lot of books, most of them in english, because that's a hobby of mine. I can see flaws sometimes, but they don't always bother me. Whether I read a book or more books of one author depends on if I like the writing style and the story he/she is telling. If I don't: I stop reading their book midway or often even sooner.
For instance: I don't like the writing style of Eoin Colfer at all (Artemis Fowl), so I don't read his books, but I can admit he's a good writer. OTOH I can thoroughly enjoy a superficial Danielle Steel book every once in a while, because I like her female characters and it's an easy read (call it a guilty pleasure, lol). I love the complexity of the characters of Orson Scott Card's books, but I usually don't sympathise with them, nor like Card's stories themselves, but still I've read almost all of his books because I want to know how they end (I even sometimes scold him for 'forcing' me to read on, lol).
And all writers have their blind spots and 'quirks' in their writing.

Technical skills are measurable and it can give you a very good objective inclination of quality. But on the other hand: loving writers is just as subjective as loving singers, or actors. Skills play a part on a basic level, but it's the person's spirit and soul that goes into the work which lifts the result up to a higher level (for the people who love their work). And I love TLoS and SBL because of that, and many people with me. As you said: TLoS is accessible and appealing to readers from 10 to 99, and that is quite a feat.
The main character in SBL is quite unlikeable at first, and his mom is a very twisted person, and although the story has many jokes there is a lot of gloom in it too. So SBL is not an accessible story at first glance. But still many people identified themselves with Carson and sympathized with him. That is quite a feat too.

Yeah, Chris is just starting writing professionally, and he definitely needs to learn and grow, I'm not blind to that, even though I am his fan. I was even afraid reading TLoS at first, because I may be Chris' fan but I'm also an experienced reader who easily loves or hates. I was afraid I wouldn't like it and Chris didn't have the chops.
So I was critical going in, and the first few chapters were quite uneventful because it was setting up the story, but then the story and especially the characters caught me and I was hooked. The big "Okay, I love this" came for me when Froggy was introduced. I love Froggy.
Chris has a natural storytelling talent which is imo the driving force and adds that special something in all of his work. It's his 'X factor' so to speak.

[Lottie2303]

There are many books were I do not agree with the majority or the opposite, let it be positive or negative. My taste in literature is by no means groundbreaking nor does it represent the norm. I also tend to root for unlikable endings, as I was for instance totally behind the idea of killing off Harry Potter.

However, as I already mentioned, I started to get very cautious about women/girls in literature/television. It is scary how many times females only exist to prop up male protagonists. Also that emotions, dignity and pity are represented as negative traits really makes me mad. Nowadays female characters are considered strong when they have male traits and that is so disrespectful for our gender. Glee is no better, as they really have no balance between male/female and the females, while generally being more ambitious, extroverted and likely to succeed, have no purpose whatsoever without a male co-star. That is sad, scary and makes me mad.

LoS specifically has something I rarely see: a very, very, very wide variety of female characters who are not necessarily stereotypes. Chris also has no problem to paint them in negative lights,as a good character, has those features as well. Red Hiding Hood is clearly a representation of todays Reality TV personna. He basically manages to criticizes this behavior while also using her as a comedic entity. I loved her scenes as they were so funny to read. Chris voice is even better. On the other hand we have Cinderella who strives at that point of her life to be a mother, which nowadays also seems to be considered a negative thing. I like that all those different types are there and almost none of them are presented as right or wrong. Goldilocks as different motivation than Cinderalla, but both have a purpose and reasons why they act the way they are.

Froggy is by far one of the best parts of LoS and he is Chris own creation. I really want Chris to 'play' Froggy one day. At least I want to have his voice borrowed.

[Glorfindel]

^THIS.

Froggy is by far one of the best parts of LoS and he is Chris own creation. I really want Chris to 'play' Froggy one day. At least I want to have his voice borrowed.

Yes, please. Chris just has to play Froggy.

[MoviesAreLife]

Something that I love about the book was that is was a pair of twins....male and female...who were starring in it. This gives little boys and little girls their very own "stand in" and a character they can identify with...as if they were peering out at the fairytale world through either one of the twins' eyes. I wonder if the twins have always been a female/male pair, even in the beginning when Chris thought of this story at 10 years old? (Or was he seven?) Children that age normally don't think in such a mature manner...the opposite sex is still "cootie land" to them. Kids that age usually don't identify with protagonists of the opposite gender, right? Well, Chris did. Also, a pair of twins of both genders is so, so rare (especially identical twins, which is what I think Alex and Conner are). Any regular kid would have thought of twins like from The Parent Trap or the Olsen twins. You know...your typical "two girls", "two boys" representation in the media.

Also, kudos to Chris for having the balls to admit that, yes, the boy and the girl are both him. All of us, after all, have our female/male sides.

[Glorfindel]

^Uhm, sorry, but a girl and a boy twin can never be identical.
The difference in gender sort of gives that away, lol.

[MoviesAreLife]

Woops! Fraternal, then. Like the Olsen twins (actually fraternal, not identical). I remember Chris mentioning in the book that they "shared the same looks" and "looked almost identical", but fraternal twins tend to look very much alike anyway.

[ColferInspired]

Η Χώρα των Παραμυθιών: Το ξόρκι των ευχών

The Land Of Stories, greek version

Release date: 05/13/2013 - Translated by: Anastasia Lambropoulou






It has also been translated into Italian and Russian also.

I am so happy to see this.

It just warms my heart.

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