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So, what do we think of them? Opinions please. I'm planning to put a glossary into Royal Exile and keen to learn what people like/dislike about them. This is a first for me. Thanks for sharing thoughts. F

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A nice glossary tucked away somewhere at the back can be helpful if I'm at my forgetful best, but I've seen them used in place of clarification within the story. At the same time, having a glossary means things don't need to be explained over and over and over... I guess there's a delicate balance and it all comes down to execution.

I don't think I've ever had so much difficulty answering a seemingly simple question.

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I prefer not to have to interrupt the flow of the story to have to check a glossary.  Susannah Clark's - just gone blank on the name of her novel - Johnathon and somebody or other - nearly drove me nuts with the footnotes.  I couldn't not read the blasted things despite really hating the interuption to the flow of the story.

And yet sometimes a glossary can be a nice way of finishing a novel.  Particularly, if it has pronunciations for names, etc.

Md

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I'm a fan of glossaries. Especially when they explain comonly used words in a new language. I've read quite a few books which would have been easier reads for me if there was some sort of glossary...

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Sorry's not fish! What good is sorry?

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Absolutely no footnotes for me. Hate them too. It makes reading hard work instead of entertaining. No this is more like a trio of pages with all the characters, which group they belong to, as well as details on some of the magic, etc and then a few bits and pieces about everyday stuff.

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As long as the story makes sense without the reading having to refer to the glossary, then I think it makes a nice addition to a novel.  Md

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I have a similar opinion to Merryd in that I prefer not to have to refer to a glossary every 5 minutes but I am prepared to do so if I need to but I love to have them there to be able to find out extra details about the characters and their relationships within the story and assoications with other characters that may not be apparent.

I find that a good examply of a glossary that I enjoyed using was in Anne McCaffrey's White Dragon that was able to give the associations between different characters but also gave all the characters titles and roles within the story and information on places within the story.

I think it is set out similar to what you are looking at Fiona with different sections for different information and then a complete this of characters at the end with the previously mentioned information.

Hope this helps for some reason I don't think what I have written makes much sense.

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HAIL the fantasy writer!

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i never really use glossaries. they make the actual story look shorter when theres word meanings taking up valuable space at the end of a book.

they can be useful if there's a really tricky word in there or something in a different language...

... but think the book should just end and leave the reader hanging for the next one.

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I personally think if they're necessary then it means the book may well be hard work and it puts me off. If they aren't necessary - as mine isn't - then they're just wanky. This grew out of a suggestion from Robin Hobb to use a glossary as a reference tool during writing (not to publish, I might add). I'd never used one - never entered my mind it could be a tool but then I never write anything down connected with my books so that explains why keeping a running reference would not occur to me. Anyway, as I was just setting out on this brand new series I thought I'd give her suggestion a go. Listening to her talk about it at the World Fantasy Convention in Texas it all seemed to make a great deal of sense but at the time I couldn't do much about it because I was writing book 2 of Percheron. So I waited patiently. Along came Valisar. A friend of mine who really, really loves detail agreed to put it together for me because I certainly wasn't going to. She did the most amazing job, taking my first five chapters and returning to me this amazing document that gave me everything from seasons to money, to characters to language. But the jury was still out. I couldn't see how this was going to make my life easier .... that was until I started using it alongside my writing. And my world changed. Suddenly I could tell within seconds what colour someone's eyes were or what that stupid spelling was I used or which season I was in or even how a particular magic worked. It was beautiful in its simplicity and its use. Sonya refined it several times and now has all of book one summarised via the glossary. It was always a working document but as a special thank you to Sonya for her work and her vision in fact I want to publish an abridged version because I do think there are readers out there who find a glossary comforting. I just find them plain annoying but as a working author, I found the full blown version of it invaluable. Thanks Sonya. x

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There are books where a Glossary is perfectly fine and then a book where it is just a waste.  I think Stephen Donaldson's use of the glossary for the Thomas Covenant series was well warranted, but what is also great about his work is that it is not ultimately necessary to refer to the glossary in order to understand and follow the story.  I got more enjoyment from his glossary in using it as more of a connector and a brush that colored more of the story.  And sometimes, when I'm thinking about the books or I want to reference certain parts of them for friends in my blogs or whatnot, I can quickly do a refresher by thumbing through the glossary.

 

Used properly, a glossary for a reader can be a helpful addition.

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Slàinte!

 

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I dont think glossaries are necessary - but i like them being at the back of a book anyway. So if i forget a character name or something, instead of reading back through the whole thing i just flick back to the end of the book and find it! Makes it waaay easier LOL

 

But im not fazed either way!