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Edain Shadowstar
Senior Scribe
USA
455 Posts |
 Posted - 30 Jan 2004 : 20:38:15
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| Editors, in my experience (and its limited), tend to stay in the background mostly. It helps for them I guess since they tends to be the ones who make many of the unpopular decisions in publishing. Personally, I think the editing has gotten better at Wizards of late. I mean, there were way less typos in Condemnation than in The Icewind Dale Trilogy, but maybe that's not exactly what you're thinking of? By and large, alot of the recent novels being annouced by Wizards (the cleric series, the rogue series, ect.) seem to be exactly what people have been calling for (largely over at the now defunct Wizards.COMMUNITY novel boards). In the end I do not quite understnad their business model overthere. They can be so all over the place at times. |
Edain Shadowstar
Archwizard of Rel Astra and Waterdeep
"Mmm…pie…"
- Gaius Solarian, Captain General |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2004 : 20:54:39
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Fair enough, Jim. and no offense taken. I guess I just didn't quite catch all the nuances of what you were saying the first time around.
Although I'm still not sure I understand how, when writers were asked to come up with a plot involving the Harpers, it was far less restrictive than asking them to come up with a plot involving, for example, rogues. But I wasn't a WotC writer then, so what do I know? |
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arilyn742
Seeker
Ireland
54 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jan 2004 : 00:39:15
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Hey, is there some list of people who migrated here from wizards.COMmunity, or something? (Other than the members list - I'm sure yawgmoth_742's not the only one not using his old Wizards username!)
Where are Rinonalyrna and Alrunic? I hear from Adrian Moonbow that Crust and Darkmistress have risen again from the ashes, but what of the others? |
Yonde iru, mune no doko ka oku de
Itsumo kokoro odoru yume wo mitai
Kanashimi wa kazoekirenai keredo
Sono mukou de kitto anata ni aeru |
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Kameron M. Franklin
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
228 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jan 2004 : 01:08:06
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| I'm not sure how the other Priest books were assigned, but there where guidelines for location, characters, and general plot with Maiden. Some of those restrictions from the open call guidelines have been loosened, where appropriate to the story. I'd be interested if the other authors were given similar guidelines or just told to use a cleric of said goddess. |
"You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." --Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride |
Edited by - Kameron M. Franklin on 31 Jan 2004 06:20:29 |
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JamesLowder
Forgotten Realms Author & Game Designer
USA
310 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jan 2004 : 04:12:38
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quote:
Fair enough, Jim. and no offense taken. I guess I just didn't quite catch all the nuances of what you were saying the first time around. Although I'm still not sure I understand how, when writers were asked to come up with a plot involving the Harpers, it was far less restrictive than asking them to come up with a plot involving, for example, rogues. But I wasn't a WotC writer then, so what do I know?
I forget that not everyone saw the old Harper submission guides. :) The use of the Harper could be in just about any role--hero, villain, major supporting character. Ring of Winter had an ex-Harper, and that was enough to tie the book to the series. There were no limits on setting, year the story took place in, tone or approach to the Realms (which is reflected in the first half-dozen or so Harpers books). So as guides go, it was pretty loose. And many of the other early Realms books--Spellfire, Azure Bonds, Horselords, the early trilogies done by Niles, Salvatore, etc--were even less restrictive than the Harpers. The authors pitched what they wanted to do, rather than the book department deciding content direction.
As I mentioned, some of the books spun off of Spider Queen seem to be going back to that mold--where the SQ authors were asked to pitch proposals, sell the company on a trilogy. And that's a good thing. With a line like the Realms, some in-house control is necessary, and some orchestration of "event" books is vital, but you also need to leave enough flex room for authors to surprise you with something you, the editor, never thought of. That's how TSR landed Salvatore and Drizzt for the Realms, after all.
Cheers,
Jim Lowder |
Edited by - JamesLowder on 31 Jan 2004 20:24:34 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jan 2004 : 16:39:00
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| Agreed. At last week's Realmsplay, Ed was raving about Richard Baker's forthcoming book. ["Raving" equals "he loved it," BTW.] |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2004 : 14:44:33
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Agreed. At last week's Realmsplay, Ed was raving about Richard Baker's forthcoming book. ["Raving" equals "he loved it," BTW.]
What did he love about it? |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2004 : 15:49:45
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Ed said it was superbly written. We asked what it was about but his reply was that he was honour bound not to let slip any details. Sorry.
And * I * am honour bound not to poke around in his writing study looking for any sign of it. Besides, I'd need a forklift truck. :)
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Lord Rad
Great Reader
United Kingdom
2080 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2004 : 17:41:08
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Greetings Hooded One........whilst you are definately "hooded", can you give any hints as to your identity? You seem to have very close connections with Mr Greenwood (ALL HAIL!), and know much about the workings of FR.
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Lord Rad
"What? No, I wasn't reading your module. I was just looking at the pictures"
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2004 : 18:12:27
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She's hinted enough already to imply she's one of two people named in published sourcebooks. Hoods have purposes, and I'd rather not break the suspense, which is why I edited a post of mine that hinted too strongly. (And this may not be the first time she's spoken about the Realms online!)
But I'd also like to welcome "the Hooded" to these forums, and hope she'll poke in from time to time. |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 02 Feb 2004 : 14:47:19
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Ed said it was superbly written. We asked what it was about but his reply was that he was honour bound not to let slip any details. Sorry.
And * I * am honour bound not to poke around in his writing study looking for any sign of it. Besides, I'd need a forklift truck. :)
Understood and thank you anyway. Won't poke around his study? How about his basement? I recall reading once there were still boxes of Realmslore in there or another part of his home. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 02 Feb 2004 : 18:40:26
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About twenty years ago, Ed moved from the burbs of Toronto to the countryside. A lot of his players helped him move all the books and papers (it took two trucks and four days of heaving and hefting). Real movers took all the furniture and stuff.
Ed has a barn attic, almost the entire basement, and an upstairs study (former bedroom) of a century-old farmhouse packed with books, gaming stuff, and papers. The basement is five feet high, has lots of bang-your-head pipes, and spiders. Lots and LOTS of spiders. It's also larger than my entire house. :}
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Lord Rad
Great Reader
United Kingdom
2080 Posts |
Posted - 02 Feb 2004 : 22:12:22
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Ed has a barn attic, almost the entire basement, and an upstairs study (former bedroom) of a century-old farmhouse packed with books, gaming stuff, and papers. The basement is five feet high, has lots of bang-your-head pipes, and spiders. Lots and LOTS of spiders. It's also larger than my entire house. :}
Errrrrrr, ok Scribes, abandon the "raid-Ed's-basement" plan.... I aint tackling those spiders for nothin'!!!   Alaundo can get some other mug to collect his Realmslore  Oof!  |
Lord Rad
"What? No, I wasn't reading your module. I was just looking at the pictures"
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 04 Feb 2004 : 04:39:08
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Don’t read this if you’ve just eaten, Rad. :}
I forgot to mention that Ed still hasn’t unpacked about a hundred boxes of Realmslore, and can’t get to several filing cabinet drawers that are literally buried behind floor-to-ceiling stacks of books in his upstairs study.
Not reading, Rad? Good…
I was a little disappointed in my last visit at Ed’s house, two nights back, to discover that during the installation of a new furnace Ed removed some old horizontal lead pipes (the lowest head-bangers, that led to horse-watering troughs in a barn that doesn’t exist any more), and that on these pipes were some long-dead spiders, hanging upside down, that were covered with blobs of glowing fungus (their bodies hidden in little balls, and with smaller balls at every joint of their legs, making them look like toys). These glowed in the dark like real-life Hallowe’en ornaments, and at least twice I’ve navigated Ed’s basement in the dark, giggling (no, don’t ask why) from spider to spider. But no more…
Oh, yes, I should mention that Ed assembled some metal shelves down there for MORE books. I could spend months reading my way through Ed’s basement. I could spend YEARS reading my way through his house. Sigh.
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Lord Nasher Alagondar
Acolyte
USA
27 Posts |
Posted - 04 Feb 2004 : 04:52:25
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| Ugh, I detest spiders. Oh well, there goes lunch..... |
"Very well, I am admittedly not as traditional in my methodology as you are. So what? The end result is all the same: target ceases to exist. If I happen to use a bit more flair, and a little less stealth to go about it, so be it. If drow were truly meant to skulk within the shadows, we'd not have stark white hair, now would we? Long gone are my days of creeping in the shadows and hiding in wait. Those means are for beings of a cowardly bent. We Bladesingers are risen above such dribble. So saying, it is boldly into the fray I shall go; if I should come to meet my maker, I will at least have done so with a sense of pride and dignity that your ilk will never truly understand. Now go back to hiding in your dark recesses, pathetic mewling...."~Vesz'aun Auvryath |
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Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 04 Feb 2004 : 06:04:35
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Yeech. I can't stand arachnids and insects. They seem so . . . unnatural, somehow.
At first I thought your description of his basement was the Underdark as a microcosm (I'm sure you've thought of that already, of course). Now I'm sure it's the part of the Underdark where Vhaeraun rules. Only his followers would decorate on a "dead spider" theme.  |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
Download the brickfilm masterpiece by Leftfield Studios! See this page for more. |
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Shadowlord
Master of Realmslore
USA
1298 Posts |
Posted - 04 Feb 2004 : 06:07:52
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Come on, Bookwyrm, we're not that bad......... |
The Chosen of Vhaeraun
"Nature is governed by certain immutable rules. By virtue of claw and fang, the lion will always triumph over the goat.Given time, the pounding of the sea will wear away the stone. And when dark elves mingle with the lighter races, the offspring invariably take after the dark parent. It is all much the same. That which is greater shall prevail. Our numbers increase steadily, both through birth and conquest. The dark elves are the dominant race, so ordained by the gods." Ka'Narlist of the Ilythiiri. |
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Lord Rad
Great Reader
United Kingdom
2080 Posts |
Posted - 04 Feb 2004 : 08:52:39
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Curiosity got the better of me! Urghhhhhhhh gonna be sick, gonna be sick!
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Lord Rad
"What? No, I wasn't reading your module. I was just looking at the pictures"
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 04 Feb 2004 : 14:12:04
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Ed's basement needs to be written up for Dungeon, or at least "Elminster's Guide". Or do a QuickTime tour for when his website appears.
Is there no way for the government of the People's Republic of Canadia to sponsor someone to rescue and scan the Realmslore before it gets eaten or something? |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 05 Feb 2004 : 04:30:38
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It's an old farmhouse basement, with uneven floors, dangling lightbulbs, Ed's workbench of heaped junk and "tools I might need to use SOMEday" (why do males collect weird tools?). It used to look like something out of a horror movie, but to cut down on some of the dust and soot (from the old furnace), we persuaded Ed to get the walls painted white, which brightened it up considerably.
The scary thing is: this hundred-year-old house, with literally TONS of Ed's books two floors above, is supported by...tree trunks. Yes, old cedar treetrunks, with wedges. And anyone familiar with drying-out cedars will already know the scary part: they get spiral cracks running all the way up them.
It makes you not want to walk on any of the floors, once you know this.
Ed, however, seems quite happy...but then, he IS crazy. :) |
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Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 05 Feb 2004 : 06:26:10
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Ack! Possible danger to Realmslore! Well, I suppose it's as dangerous as a leak from above. ::shudders at the horrible thought::
Well, when you create something like the Realms, you get a lot of faults forgiven. Especially eccentricities. |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
Download the brickfilm masterpiece by Leftfield Studios! See this page for more. |
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