h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This is an entry I wrote about one of my favourite fantasy series, the Belgariad. That means this entry only handles the first five books of the complete Belgarion Story, but I decided to do it this way because it would've been a very long entry if I did it all at once. Or, which is also not an option to me, I would have to skip a lot of things that are significant to the story. It's mostly for the people who've already read the books and want to remember it all over again. It contains quite a few spoilers for everybody that hasn't read the series. But anyway, take a look at it and let me know what you think

Kheldar

http://www.h2g2.com/A422434

Will read it later - it's shorter than the books

C hawke - scout

That was kind of what I had in mind when I wrote it . Enjoy the reading, and I'm always open for feedback on it

You'll hate me for this...

http://www.h2g2.com/writing-guidelines
1. Write About Reality
4. Be Instructive, Informative and Factual

I think you need *much* less emphasis on the story - the whole bit from "the actual story" on is basically destined for the chop at the hands of the sub-ed.

suggestions:
-Change the title to "The Belgariad" - you're talking about the books, not the story.
-Talk about the style of writing. What sort of book is it? Fantasy Epic, of course - but with more detail than that. Is there humour? Is there good characterisation? Is it a fully explained world with maps, in the tradition of Tolkein, or a more sketchy work? To what extent does it conform to or diverge from standard fantasy models?
-Talk about the races, characters, involved. Where do they all live? What does the world look like? Is it flat?
-Talk about the position at the start of the book - both globally, and from Garion's perspective.
-DON'T spoil the story. Your entry should encourage people to read the series, not give away the ending.
-Talk about influences on the author. Do certain races or people represent or mock certain groups or individuals? How does the Belgarion relate to the american dream, for example? How do the troll gods relate to Edding's landlord at the time? (hint: they don't)
-whatever you do, submit your work to the h2g2 literary society at http://www.h2g2.com/A328664

Sorry to be so negative, but the sooner you know, the sooner you can start moving the entry in a direction which is likely to be successful... good luck!

Having read it I tend to agree with MRD above, the entry should be more of a over view of the world, the characters and not too much of a summary - some basic idea of the plot wouldn't go amiss.

One point - as David Eddings admites the books really should be credited (as all his recent ones) to David and Leigh Eddings.

C Hawke

Thank you, both of you . That's exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping for. I wasn't too sure about the entry myself, that's why I asked. And if I was only looking for compliments, I would've asked for *only* positive feedback.
I don't know if I can find the time to write a new complete entry atm, but I will definately keep these things in mind for when I do

You might consider a format something like this:

http://www.h2g2.com/A471368

It meets the criteria set out by the other comments - mentioning the land, characters, creatures, influences on the author, etc.

I'm not claiming it's perfect, but it has been Recommended.

Or you might look at this one on mine if you want to write about the author, rather than the series... http://www.h2g2.com/A454079

MRD... that article is certainly a big one.

size doesn't matter...

I suspect the sub-eds will cut large swathes of it out anyway... I can hear the red pen being sharpened as we speak...

They sharpen the PENS round your way!

Well, actually this was the first one I wasn't sure about. My other submitted entries have been either recommended or are already in the Edited Guide...

Hi again, Khel.
The entry seems to be still a work-in-progress, so I'm going to recommend that this thread be moved to the writing workshop. Who knows, maybe you'll be able to chat with the nice fella from the Arthur. C. Clarke entry, and compare notes?

You may notice a slight giddiness - that's just Mark Moxon dropping us into hyperspace. It'll soon pass.

Sure, sounds like a plan to me . If nothing else, I'll just take up that conversation you mentioned

So how's it going Kheldar? Are you still here?

~grin~
Awaiting part 2 I take it ?

sort of, yes

But before that, I was wondering where this piece of work was heading. This thread is going to have its second birthday in a couple of days

Well...I don't have the time to do a complete makeover for the article at the moment, but feel free to make the necessary changes

So you think I have the time to read buuks (or however you spell these things where you need to physically flip pages) ?

LOL!! The reading bit isn't really the hardest part y'know . But serious...it's on my to-do list (and it has been for quite some time), but there are a few things that are a bit more pressed for time than this article...