Last month, we gave YOU a chance to put your questions to Philip Pullman! We got so many questions in, and below are the few that we liked the best, along with Pullman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s answers. Congratulations if your question was asked!<\/p>\n
\nWhen you were writing <\/em>His Dark Materials, did you randomly take objects from your environment and make them meaningful, or did you take places that meant something and make them stand out?\u00c2\u00a0 I have tried to write a novel myself and it just sounded incredibly stilted.<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0– Craig<\/strong><\/p>\n
PP: I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think there was anything random about it. Either I chose things because they were meaningful already (such as Iorek Byrnison\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s name \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it had to be Nordic, of course) or things that just appeared to me turned out to be full of meaningful connections later one (such as the idea of d\u00c3\u00a6mons).<\/p>\n
As for finding your writing stilted, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worry about that. Just keep going. Your own style will develop the more you write.
\n
\nDo you have extensive experience in dealing with adolescents\/ teens?\u00c2\u00a0The ability to connect with that age group is singular and really only found in the best authors.\u00c2\u00a0Do you use your own children\/ grandchildren as a model or do you actually drop back into that feeling yourself?<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0– Craig<\/strong><\/p>\nPP: I did teach children of Lyra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s age for twelve years, so I suppose I was familiar with the sort of thing they were interested in. it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not so easy using your own children for that sort of research, because they grow up so quickly. Teaching is better, because every year there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a new lot of twelve-year-olds or whatever. And there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s my own memory, which as I grow older becomes more and more important to me.
\n
\nWhy is the name of Lyra’s d\u00c3\u00a6mon “Pantalaimon”? I know, that “Pan” means “all” in greek and “Eleimon” means “merciful”. So is it correct, that the name should be “Allways merciful” – if so, why? It doesn’t seem to me, that Pan is more merciful than the others. Or is it just because you liked the name of St. Panteleimon?<\/em> – Alex<\/strong><\/p>\nPP: I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know anything about St Pantaleimon. I just knew that that would be his name. I suppose I just liked the sound of it. Perhaps that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of those things that turn out to be meaningful later on (like the answer to the question above).
\n
\nClearly parents name a child, but who names the child’s daemon?<\/em> – Lincoln<\/strong><\/p>\nPP: The parents\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 d\u00c3\u00a6mons, of course.<\/p>\n
Exeter College in Oxford is the basis for Jordan College, in Lyra’s Oxford.\u00c2\u00a0Exeter has its own logo, does Jordan College have its own logo\/coat of arms? If not, what would you\u00c2\u00a0consider its logo should represent?<\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c nanaki<\/strong><\/p>\n
PP: Well, firstly, it wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be called a logo. It would be a coat of arms. If I had to design a coat of arms for Jordan College, I suppose one element of it might be a representation of a river (for the river Jordan). Then I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have to think about who founded the college, and when, and in what circumstances, and work out how to represent those things, if they were important.
\n
\nDo you watch <\/em>Doctor Who, and if so how would you go about writing an episode for it?<\/em> – Peter<\/strong><\/p>\nPP: I do sometimes, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know enough about it to write an episode. Anyway I prefer to work with my own characters than with someone else\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s.
\n
\nAre there any plans for an adaptation of <\/em>The Tiger in the Well?<\/em> – Ronni<\/strong><\/p>\nPP: Not at the moment. There was a script that someone wrote to follow the BBC productions of The Ruby in the Smoke<\/em> and The Shadow in the North<\/em>, but I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t happy with it. Nor did I like the first two enough to be very keen to see them do a third. All in all, I was disappointed. But there we are.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Stay tuned for our October contest, coming soon!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last month, we gave YOU a chance to put your questions to Philip Pullman! We got so many questions in, and below are the few that we liked the best, along with Pullman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s answers. Congratulations if your question was asked! … Continue reading