I’m a bit crunched for time this week, and the SFF Seven topic is about mistakes in that first novel. And frankly, I’m always learning with every novel I write. And back when Thorn of Dentonhill was coming out, I owned up to one of its more glaring flaws– I mistake I wouldn’t make if I were writing it now. As it’s still appropriate, I’ll put it all out here:
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So, I’ve been holding off writing this post for a while, but with this article recently making the rounds, it’s probably high time I talked about this.
I don’t know much about this movie (The Art of the Steal), beyond what’s shown here on the poster, but the poster is very telling. We’ve got eight characters: seven male and one female. So, a bunch of guys of all different types and The Girl. In other words, we’ve got The Smurfette Principle in full effect. Furthermore, while Katheryn Winnick isn’t being overtly sexualized in this image, it still stands out that she’s wearing shorts while everyone else gets pants.
(2018 addendum: I’ve now seen The Art of the Steal, and it’s a fun enough movie, but it is VERY much a Smurfette Principle movie.)
Images like this one are pretty common, not only for movies, but for stories in general, especially of the action/genre/sf/fantasy types. Here’s another example. Another. Another. Another. YET ANOTHER. I didn’t even have to remotely try hard to gather those. It’s so typical, such a pervasive paradigm, that movies, books and TV shows can have little-to-no female presence, and it doesn’t stand out as strange. I mean, who’s the most significant female character in Hunt for Red October? It’s Jack’s wife, who only appears for a couple lines in the very beginning. How about Saving Private Ryan? I’d argue it’s Mrs. Ryan, who doesn’t even have lines, but is talked about as someone who deserves to have at least one son come home.
I could go on about this sort of thing, but there’s one big problem: Thorn of Dentonhill falls into the same trap. An image not entirely unlike the Art of the Steal poster could be used to show the main cast of Thorn.
I didn’t mean to do that, which is exactly part of the problem. While writing it, it didn’t seem strange that there was only one significant female character. Now, I could make excuses or arguments that the world we’re looking into with Thorn is made of spaces where men intentionally isolate themselves in some way– the all-male dorms of the University of Maradaine, for example– but that would be pure rationalization.
The real reason is I wasn’t fully aware.
Now, this doesn’t mean that Thorn is, in and of itself, a problem. Frankly, I think it’s a great book, and the early reviews have been very strong. But it is part of this problematic trend, and I need to be aware of that as I move forward in my writing career.
I felt compelled to be up front about this. If this means that Thorn is a problematic read for you, I respect that.
All I can say beyond that is I believe I’ve done better with each book that’s following.
I m sorry that you find the lack of women characters in your first Dentonhill novel a mistake. I dont think a novel or movie has to have gender equality, neither in numbers nor in roles. If you want to write about a guys or a girls world, you can do that too and both can be wonderful books. Now i understand, why you consider the lack of female characters in the first novel a mistake, since in your later novels you create a different world, where gender roles arent those of a classic guys world and in such a world, the lack of female characters in the first book seems strange.
In my opinion your biggest mistake in the first novel is trying to make Kaiana tough, by making her hit people. She hits the hero hard several times. She hits other men and when she is overpowered by 3! men (profssional cutthroats), she could have escaped, if she didnt choose to protect the magician. If she was a ninja assassin that would be fine, but she is supposed to be a normal girl. Beeing the daughter of a soldier is no explanation. You fell into the trap of many authors, who think women can only be tough when they are physically strong. What i liked about Kaiana is, how a normal girl, saves our hero several time by patching him up and lying.
However The Thorn of Dentonhill is my favorite fantasy thief and vigilante and i hope there will be a 4th book. Thank you for creating those wonderful books. And remember that some of the greatest works in literature are not perfect either.
BK- It’s less that it, in and of itself, is a mistake, and more that it was done without consideration of what it means, or why I made that choice. Because, yes, there can be good reasons why a story is all or mostly men (or women). In the case of Thorn, the main problem is that there is no reason for it, I just did it that way. If that makes sense.
Glad you enjoy it. Veranix is returning, but you’ll see him next in the third Streets novel, The Fenmere Job. And a fourth Thorn novel is on my agenda, but still a ways off on the horizon. Thanks!
Thank you for your reply. Now i understand your post better.
I dont know if you are aware, but the first Thorn audiobook was just released in German. It was wonderful. Thats when i realised none of your books have audiobooks in English. I dont know if you have any influence on audiobook releases of your books, but maybe you could suggest it to your publishers.
Ok, i m done molesting you and going back to reread your books.