Novels -- Paper Mage

Paper Mage - Novel Notes

Paper Mage started as a short story, back in 1991, before I started traveling. I was inspired by a number of things, the description of a paper folder from "Folding Universe" by Peter Engle, and how something unpredictable and tiny can set an ordered system to chaos from "The Turbulent Mirror" by John Briggs & F. David Peat. It was unwieldy as a short story, involving going from China all the way across the Silk Road to the Byzantium Empire and back.

When I returned from my big travels, I tried rewriting the story, but it was still too long and awkward. I knew that it was good, that there was something in this story that needed telling. I used it as my submission story to Clarion West. Once at Clarion, the other students encouraged me to expand the story into a novel. I wrote a novel outline based on the story as an exercise. I only used some of this original outline in the final novel.

I had never considered myself a novelist. But through Clarion, I built the writing muscles to think about it. I finished Clarion in fall of 1997. In January of 1998 I started doing serious research for the novel. I did research for six months while I wrote and rewrote the outline. It took me about six months to write the first draft, then I took another four months to rewrite it. (I sometimes joke that I'm not a writer, but a rewriter.) After some of my friends read the novel and gave me critiques, I rewrote the novel and sent it to an editor. That editor asked for another rewrite, which I turned around in about six months. That was the version of the novel that I sold. Of course, my editor asked for more rewrites.

Paper Mage - Character Name Pronunciations

Xiao Yen - X - generally pronounced "sh", i - generally pronounced "ee", so it's Sheeou Yen

Bei Xi, Master Wei. Mei-Mei - ei - generally pronounced with a long "a" sound, like in Way, so it's Bay Shee, Master Way

Fu Be Be - e - generally pronounced 'eh', so it's Foo Beh Beh

Gan Ou - a as in 'ah', ou as in 'ou' (ouch), so it's Gahn

Jrh Bei - jrh - generally pronounced like the 's' in measure, so it's Zhr Bay

Udo - long u, long o, uudoo

Vakhtang - VAHK-tahng

Tuo Nu - t like the 'ts' in cats, long u, long o, run together, so it's Tsuuoo New

Zhang Gua Lao - z like the 's' in measure, ua is run together, like in guava, ao like in 'ou' (ouch)