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Daron
Acolyte
USA
8 Posts |
 Posted - 11 Feb 2004 : 06:59:17
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So I was wondering, what are the guidelines for the authors of the series? Is there just a general idea of what the story should be and where it's going and each author can just tell his/her part of the story as (s)he sees fit? Is each book outlined precisely and the author has little say what can go on in a book? It seems like the series just flows so well together for having so many different authors.
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2004 : 13:47:08
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There's a broad, general series outline that some of us generated over the course of a one-day meeting. In a broad, general sort of way, it specifies the things that need to happen in each volume to progress the plot toward the resolution we envisioned.
But like I said, it's broad and general, and thus, it leaves each individual writer to come up with most of the stuff in his or her particular novel. |
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Thomas M. Reid
Forgotten Realms Designer & Author
334 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2004 : 15:50:31
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What Richard said. 
I knew that Mr. Byers had to go from Point A to Point B, and that I then needed to go from Point B to Point C, which is where Mr. Baker would pick things up. In between B and C, I had a story to tell, with a handful of elements advancing the series plot, but the rest of the story was up to me to craft.
In some ways, it was a little tricky, because I started writing my first draft with only Mr. Byers' first draft to work from, and Mr. Baker had to do the same thing with only my first draft in hand. With the overlap, there was some adjusting on the fly that had to be done. There were also a few plot elements that created problems between books that had to be changed.
For example,
(BEGIN SPOILER)
In Mr. Byers' first draft, he had Quenthel figure out that it was Gromph who was sending all those demons to attack her, but I needed that to remain a mystery so that Quenthel could ask Pharaun to help her in my book (which leads, of course, into Pharuan deciding to play one off against the other). So I very politely asked Mr. Byers if he could change that. By the same token, after I finished my first draft, RAS liked Aliisza (a character that was not part of the original series bible, but which I picked up from the body of game material and fleshed out) so much he asked the rest of the authors to include her in their portions of the story, so Mr. Baker had to work her into his final draft.
(END SPOILER)
In the end, though, it we each got to tell a great story within the story, and we each got to add our own little nuances to the characters while still keeping them distinct, recognizable personalities.
Thomas |
"A knight is not truly virtuous, only truly resolved to be so."
www.thomasmreid.com |
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Freakboy
Seeker
USA
63 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2004 : 17:05:16
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| Thats some great insight guys. Wish I could have been a fly on the wall at that first meeting though... Maybe after all 6 books are published, a web enhancement or interview with the authors segment could be done where you guys could talk about just these sorts of things. The series is so good that it would be fascinating to see the authors comment on the process and some of the more interesting things that changed as the series went along. Don't know if WotC would be interested or even allow such a thing, but it would be too cool... |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2004 : 03:38:39
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quote:
Originally posted by Thomas M. Reid
For example,
(BEGIN SPOILER)
RAS liked Aliisza (a character that was not part of the original series bible, but which I picked up from the body of game material and fleshed out) so much he asked the rest of the authors to include her in their portions of the story, so Mr. Baker had to work her into his final draft.
END SPOILER)
Mr. Salvatore has a very good eye as Aliisza has provided some delightfully memorable moments in the series. An even better eye to the author who noticed her. Hellgate's Keep was it? Way to go Thomas Reid and thanks for these insightful comments. |
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Daron
Acolyte
USA
8 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2004 : 06:18:56
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| So, what exactly was/is Mr. Salvatore's role in the development process? Editor? Information source? Moral support? |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2004 : 12:56:33
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Bob was one of the guys who helped create the broad, general outline for the series that I mentioned previously.
After that, I guess the proper description of his role would be consulting editor. When we novelists handed in our outlines for our individual books, and the initial drafts of those books, Phil Athans, the head honcho editor of FR books, would review them, and Bob would, also. Then Phil and Bob would palaver, and the two of them together would come up with the feedback that told the novelist what parts of the story he was supposed to revise. |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2004 : 14:24:52
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Richard Baker gave some insight into writing within the WOTSQ series in an online interview
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=books/fr/diggingdeeper
One of the key comments I recalled, even before finding the URL again, was the fact Mr. Baker mentioned that his "first draft of Condemnation simply advanced events in Menzoberranzan too quickly and got well into Book 4 and Book 5 material."
Interesting enough, my only disappointment with Condemnation was that I thought the Menzoberranzan events were moving too slow. |
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A question about the WotSQ author guidelines
