The questions I can't answer and promises I can't keep.

This is, I think, why Robert Jordan came up simply with "Read and find out." We the fans joked a lot about that, but more because of the long delays and the sheer number of major plot threads. We began to suspect that he didn't answer because he didn't know the answer (in a different way than what you mean, where you have a better idea, but that he didn't have any idea yet).

At the same time, anybody who doesn't accept some form of "I can't tell you that yet" when asking an author for what amount to spoilers for upcoming books, anybody who would take that "no" as arrogant bitchiness, Just Doesn't Get It, and that reflects on that person, not on you.

What the first two posters said.

What, you mean the whole thing isn't in your head already, perfectly formed and waiting to get out?

(That was sarcasm, if my deadpan didn't carry over the internets. ;-) )

You can take the tactic I use when people to tell me to "guess!!!!" rather than telling me what the heck is going on (a pet peeve). I guess, all right. Wildly improbable hilarious things, like "giant albino rhinos armed with force shields and squid cannon have just invaded thailand." .... Though this may explain my reputation as a smartass. Maybe this is not the best pr tactic. Hmmmm. Well. My sympathies. (and eternal thanks for Raj , who causes me to squee in delight)

giant albino rhinos armed with force shields and squid cannon have just invaded thailand

Ooh, I so want this to happen. (Sorry, Thailand, nothing personal.)

Darn! I was going to ask you about the biology of Katie being half-equine, what with a horse's stomach system being quite different from that of humans.

:-)

*snerk*

I think of that (horse's digestion) every time I fix oatmeal. (but only because of an episode of Bones).

I've run into that on a smaller scale with some of the fan works I've posted as WIPs. I would get people asking questions that would have badly spoiled the future chapters, just as you describe with these fans of yours.

What worked quite well in my case, was to say something like "I'd hate to spoil you -- it's classified at this point in time." Or "Come now, you don't really want me to tell you that here. Not when you could read it properly if you just wait a bit..."

Admittedly, that's a little easier on the scale of fanfic and fic readers, but the tone of such as these might help a bit.

What the others are saying: if you haven't written it yet, it's not written, period. A pleasant response of "well, I haven't written that yet, but you've given me something to think about, thanks!" could do it.
And even a simple "I don't know" or "I can't say" isn't bitchy, it's simple fact. Your books are your business and your living. As one wouldn't ask a top Apple exec what the next i-product is and expect an answer, so one shouldn't ask an author. (sorry for th epoor grammar, it's the only way I could make sense.

I can think of one slightly skewed way in which this can be seen as a good thing. That is that you've created something with enough internal richness that some people imagine it as having an intrinsic life and history even beyond that which you've imagined. I'm reminded a bit of "Galaxy Quest".

Ya...not very helpful...I know. :)

Man, Galaxy Quest is the best.

/threadjack

I think it was Bujold who said, "The author reserves the right to have a Better Idea." Sounds very reasonable to me.

(sarcasm tag)Frankly, I am surprised that you can't hold several entire universes and infinite timelines and all the detailed events in the lives of all your characters past present and future in your head! I thought you were a writing goddess! I am so disappointed. (/sarcasm)

I think that a few others have made good suggestions for responses. I would add that you could point these people at this post as well. I think you make excellent points here.

Also, thank you for writing books and this blog.

I'm sorry, I have to say... the best response to :"What is the solution to the Reimann Hypothesis is..."

"You expect my answer to follow some Reimann Reason?"

Seriously, though. I treat my novel writing like I'm playing a D&D game, only I get to control my characters -and- the scenario and the plot. Most of the time, I don't know who the murderer is in a murder mystery, or how the heroes will win in the end -- or IF they win in the end. If someone asks me where a certain character is going to be, or if they find out just who the eyeball they found at the bottom of a mine on Mars belongs to, I just smile and say, "I'll figure it out when I actually write the scene. Until then, your guess is as good as mine."

"How can you not know? You're the one writing this!"

I always explain it like this:
When I'm running my RPG, sometimes the best plot twists come from the characters themselves -- I have them now trained to say: 'Oh gods, I just gave the GM a horrible idea. He's SMILING'. I have an idea of where I'd -like- the adventure to go, but I don't believe in railroading the PCs into a spot where they feel like they didn't have a choice. So my characters in my stories work out the same way. Sometimes a minor character takes off in a completely different direction than I expected, and then the story plot follows them around because I like them better than my main character. Other times, I don't like my main character as much as I thought I would, or they develop differently than I initially thought them to. Still other times, some unplotted part of their past gets blurted out in response to a question another character asks them.

Writing isn't like recording a song. You have the general musical theme in your head somewhere, but the actual lyrics don't get written until you get to that particular verse, and sometimes you scribble out bits to put -better- lyrics in. That's part of what filk is about -- you keep the tune, but you make new lyrics.


-Traveller

Don't answer this.

What you say makes perfect sense to me. Your characters have taken on a life of their own, as you write, they reveal matters to you.

I love the fact that you are an organic writer, allowing the characters their voices instead of forcing them to dance to your outline. I love the thought of you sitting there, busily writing and suddenly having an epiphany as it all comes clear.

Personally, with regard to Tybalt, I'm betting he isn't entirely sure himself how long he's loved her and I'm entirely certain that Toby doesn't entirely know it even now. I hate to say this because it makes me feel bad about myself, but I was glad that Connor didn't survive One Salt Sea because ... I really didn't like him and I didn't think that he was good for Toby. Too comfortable, you know? He didn't challenge her enough. When he died, I thought 'great! now Tybalt has a chance!'

I felt the same way!

"How do I say "no" without coming off as an arrogant bitch?"

I agree with the suggestion of polite refusal, with an option for canned responses. Actually, the two sentences starting with "If something isn't in a book..." make a pretty good explanation of why you can't answer some questions.

One thing I haven't seen anyone really acknowledge here is how exhausting it is to politely say 'sorry, no.' over and over again.

I strongly suspect that evolving a cheery catchphrase for this is how professional writers deal with it, so that even though you're repeating the same thing over and over again, it's charming. I am reminded of River Song's constant refrain of "Spoilers, sweetie!"

You are not obligated to spill the beans on your character creation before the proper time of unveiling. Just because people now have unprecedented access to their favorite authors doesn't mean the rules have changed. You still have to wait for the book to come out, or for the author to release a chapter or short story in-universe. Just like it's always been.

*sending strength*

"Things change. As far as I'm concerned, if something isn't in a book that you can buy on the shelf, it isn't set in stone."

This is true, and a tough one: and how do you deal with changing things when you write short stories in one of your novel universes? I've had a bit of that problem with the novel I'm working on now--I've sold a short story in its world, and as I engage more deeply in the novel-edit, I find myself thinking, I really should change/clarify this, but I have to keep it consistent with the story...

I wouldn't worry about the short story. I have encountered short stories set in a universe in which books I've read are set and which did not seem to be consistent and I just figured that neither work was done concurrently and things changed in the author's mind. Now if it is a property or mechanism that affects a set of characters upon which other plots have been based and this property is majorly changed or not present, I would find that jarring and a problem for me.

AWBRL: All Will Be Revealed Later

...although I guess that's just another way of saying RAFO; but if you make the acronym obscure enough, true fans will be rewarded by searching for its meaning. :-P

As an author, you _are_ allowed to keep certain things to yourself (frustrating as that might be to the rest of us).

I think the your original post answered those questions just fine with a little tweaking..

"Dear :

Thank you for your question about (X). I wish I could answer you..

However, these are questions I can't answer, because I don't want to lie to you?

Things change. As far as I'm concerned, if something isn't in a book that you can buy on the shelf, it isn't set in stone. I mean that literally: while there have been very, very few last-minute changes, there have been at least two instances where the ARC came out, I did my ceremonial "I will now read the ARC to see how it feels as a book," and have then called my publisher in tears, begging that something be fixed. Even the ARCs can change. If you had asked me who the important characters in the Toby series were going to be before the first book came out, my list would not have included Quentin, Raj, April, Walther, Etienne, or Danny. Danny actually didn't exist until after Rosemary and Rue had been purchased.

If I say "oh, don't worry, X is happening in book Y," there's a good chance I'm wrong. The original villain of One Salt Sea isn't in the book. At all. The original first chapter of An Artificial Night didn't even make it to my publisher. And those are just the examples I can give that don't come with associated spoilers.

All I can ask is that you keep reading, and if it fits the story, maybe I will be able to answer your question in the future.."

I remember Robert Woodhead of Animeigo with some amusement as he time and again rocked back on his heels and recited the disclaimer from memory about 'I am not at liberty to discuss or alude or mention any, some or all part of ongoing discussions related to or any part of -' yadda yaya breakfast.

Because 'are you going to take on (pick a title) as your next project?' Required such. If there were in negotiations for that license or not. He'd tangled enough times with the legal system over the finer points, and he'd gotten very good at it.

Very good. Glint in the eye, swagger in the stance and humble smile. I'm pretty sure that I'd be taking a page from that approach, were it my problem to navigate.

You? You're the one with the stories. They're the ones with questions that will be unanswered and as such, there will be some letdowns. A 'd'aw, thanks but I can't tell you' is plenty nice, I think. The rest is up to them.

I don't see that as being mean; you're just being honest about the process.

I have my own questions about Toby. You know what? Those questions make for great wine-and Doritos-soaked debates among fellow fans (yeah, we throw a classy party at my house). When in doubt, don't pester the author, especially when she's as gracious and fan-friendly as you are.

Correction: pester George R.R. Martin. Although I guess he's got another 28 year free pass until the next book. ;)

Having listened to you field questions that stray into this territory at a few of your appearances now, I think you handle this very well in person. Unfortunately text makes it easier to come across much harsher than intended. I would also think that emails are more likely to catch you when you're mentally unprepared for that sort of thing, though I certainly could be wrong there, as I don't know you well enough to say. I'm impressed that you manage to be good-natured with us when responding to things you've probably been asked many times, though not by the same audience (I hope not, anyway). I think most of us readers don't mean to ask questions that require an evasive response, and are understanding when you can't answer. Unfortunately, it only takes a few unreasonable people to become really annoying.

I know the feeling. I've been writing something, and then all of a sudden things change. A small character gets a bigger part, something that was previously unimportant becomes very important, stuff like that. This is largely my own fault for not working with a detailed outline, but that's how I've always done things. As for wanting to find out major things ahead of time, my answer to that is a question: Why? I'd rather read them as the author intended to tell the readers the information, rather than have a major plot point revealed and then read the book wondering when this is going to take place. I don't know you can answer the person asking the questions politely, but I guess if they don't want to run the risk of being offended don't ask the question in the first place.

OMG
Please, do not be worrying about sounding mean.
It's a serious question, and you are taking it seriously.
But there really is a point where you can't please everyone.

This all reminds me of the readers' letters section in the Superman comics of my youth.
E..g.: "You showed Clark Kent going into the phone booth in a blue suit, but after Superman saved Lois, Clark comes back wearing a brown suit.
Did he go home and change, or does he have some secret stash of clothing at the Daily Planet Office?"
And so on, indefinitely.
In those long-ago, pre-interwebs, days I thought this obsession with the minutia of someone's creative vision was pretty weird.
Little did I know....

My thoughts?

This kind of hedging and filling of the world of a story is ultimately the stuff of fanfiction, which at its best exists to fill these vacuums, because no writer can fill in every detail about an invented world.
There is always going to be some corner you haven't gotten to.
(I haven't even looked, but I am sure there must be scads of Toby-goes-to-my-high-school and the rest of it out there.)
If you haven't filled in a spot, people may go play there, off-canon, as it were, or may just Want To Know this or that factoid.

Readers will have that basic Want to know when stories really work for them.
When a writer makes a world sufficiently enticing, we want to go off the limited territory of the story and poke about in the undefined spaces.
But later a writer may need just those very open spaces.
You may want to tell us about the zombie frog in the biology lab, and the resulting amphibian phobia.

Maybe someday, to fill your copious spare time, you will give us Tybalt's sense of the birth and growth of his feelings.
If you need it somewhere, if it fits, when it fits.
(BTW, I had an English teacher from the deep south in ninth grade when we read Romeo and Juliet, and hence always hear in my head a poly-syllabic Ta-Eye-Ba-Ault. almost a full glottal stop in the last syllable. I would give a lot to have that version of the name out of my head!)
Or maybe, Tybalt's feelings just aren't any more clear to him than they are to the reader who asked about it.
Sometimes the empty spaces are there for the reader, and are a part of the story.
You've already provided as much information as anyone would have who doesn't live either in Tybalt's mind, or yours.

Every author leaves lacunae, even the most prodigious of world-builders.
What were Aragorn's days as a Ranger like?
Where, exactly, does Gandalf go to research stuff - does Gondor have a library system?
And tell me these, and I'll have a dozen more, endlessly.
No matter what, you literally cannot paint in all the corners.
For one thing, life is short, art long.
For another, you may want that space for something else, someday, and don't want to have pointlessly given up the freedom to do with it as you will.

Um, so is there a short polite way to say all this?
I dunno: "I'm not sure either. It'll turn up in a story when I know."

You're not being mean for not answering these questions, really not. You just don't want to spoil your readers, which is a social service to us. But, I for one will promise not to ask them.