Eberron - who all submitted to the novel call?

[RangerWickett]

I was re-reading my entry, at 4 in the morning, and I wanted to hear from some of the other writers who submitted, to hear how they feel about their story in hindsight. True, the winner hasn't been declared yet, but I look back at what I sent in, and I wonder what I could have done to make it better.

I'm still very entertained by it, but I guess I'm biased.

Also, I'm curious, who here is also submitting to the Open Call for novels WotC is having? What sort of stories are you planning to submit?

I'm writing mine to take many of the cliches of fantasy and write believable and endearing characters who are based on some of those cliches. Heck, one of the main characters is an angsty half-Elf ranger, and another is a dark Elf. The characters care more about finding their place in the world than they do about the quest they're on - sure, saving the world is great and all, but if the girl I like doesn't trust me, or if I'm not sure I'll have anything worth contributing to the world other than being an 'adventurer', I won't be quite as eager to fight evil.

The pitch line I'm working on is:

"Five adventurers discover friendship is better than job security as they try to save the world from dream monsters of the underworld."

I know it sounds cheesy, but is it intriguing cheesy, or trite cheesy?

Anyway, I'd like to hear your story ideas, both for Ebberon and the Open Call.

 

[JediSoth]

I submitted a plot to the Eberron open call. It dealt with House Orien wanting to repair the lightning rail line through the Mournlands, so they a minor noble of the House to look into the matter. Accompanying him were two half-elf sister (one of whom was a veteran of the Last War) and a warforged who returned from the war with repressed memories (he and the veteran were both witnesses to the Event that created the Mournlands). They find the Mournlands to be far less hospitable than they were led to believe (of course) and stumble upon a plot by the Lord of Blades to begin encroaching upon the lands to the west, taking them away from the undeserving soft-skins.

I probably won't submit anything to any of the other WotC open-calls in the near future, but I have a couple of plots I'm trying to flesh out into novels; one a fantasy story and the other sci-fi. Working full-time and going to school make it difficult to get anything done on them, but I hope to have a good start in one or the other by the end of the year. I hope to get published in Dungeon by then as well.

JediSoth

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

I submitted to the Eberron open call.

The protagonist is Halrik Losthammer, a dwarf retainer from House Kundarak. Hal has been "retired" after some dirty work in the war to a guard post on Dreadhold-- too valuable a vassal to dispose of, too dangerous to allow to simply retire to a civilian life.

When one of Hal's charges on Dreadhold, a gnome named Sik d'Sivis, escapes during a prison break, Hal vows to hunt him down and bring him back.

What Hal doesn't know is that Sik is a courier for his House. The message he bears is held in his mind-- the third and final piece of a stolen Cannith Pattern for making submarines. The plans were stolen by Zorlan d'Cannith from his kin Merrix, but the war ended before the Pattern could be completed. Now, Sik is simply trying to get back to Zilargo so the gnome shipwrights can finish the craft, and it can be delivered (circumnavigated, actually) to Zorlan in Korth.

The sub takes the "safer" route through the Lhazaar Principalities, and Sik begins to suspect that he was deliberately sprung by Prince Ryger, so that he could capture the craft for himself and cement his rule over the seas of Khorvaire.

From there, it gets complicated...

Fortunately, Hal has a way of simplifying things (a way not entirely unlike another dwarf protagonist of mine some of you may be familiar with).

Wulf

 

[Scribe Ineti]

I sent a proposal to Eberron as well. Basic storyline is that a war vet turned Ledger reporter experiences a gradually failing memory and finds that many of his war-mates are turning up dead. The answers to his problems lie in the Mournlands and in the own blocked memories in his mind.

I reread the proposal I sent, and I thought the 10 page sample was pretty good. I'd change a couple things, but it was a fun read. I think if WOTC doesn't take it, I might be able to file off the Eberron bits and slip it into a fantasy world of my own design.

I'm working on a novel submission for their open call as well. It's a near-future police drama with ancient Egyptian overtones and a shot of the supernatural thrown in. Should be fun. If WOTC doesn't like it, I have short stories in the same universe to write and submit to markets, and there are other publishers that might go for it.

 

[Estlor]

I submitted to the Eberron open call. I worked under the theme "You can't go home again," in which the hero was an ex-soldier that came home to find his farm had been given away by the ruler of his nation to a new noble as a reward for the noble's "valor in serving the country during the war." The noble offers to let the soldier "buy" his land back if he retrieves a lost artifact from the Mournland. Of course, since this is Eberron, the plot has twists and retwists to it that I won't go into.

My feelings on it... I hate writing under forced situations. When I write, I usually only have a beginning and an end. I let the characters take me from point A to B organically. For the open-call I had to jump right into meat of the story without a chance to let the characters take on their own life in the process. It's not everything it could be.

I am planning on submitting to the novel open-call. Of course, I'm using something I was working on anyway, and even if WotC isn't looking for that kind of book right now, it's something I want to follow through with and find some outlet for it.

 

[Darth Shoju]

I submitted an entry although I'm not sure if it made it in time or not. I was satisfied with the 10-page sample chapter, but my 1-page plot outline wasn't very well done. After I sent it off (the job ended up being rather rushed) I realized that my plot summary really didn't mention any of the character development or interaction I was going to do. I had a hard time getting all of the major plot points and characters to fit into a one page summary and ended up leaving out what is ultimately the strength of the story, IMO. I really did a pulp/serial adventure story, complete with the typical archtypes and cliches. I was planning on distinguishing it with the characterization, yet made no mention of that in the synopsis.

The central character of the story was a veteran-turned-inquisitive residing in Sharn. He is reunited with his group of war-buddies when they receive notice that one of them has gone missing. In the process of finding his whereabouts they are lead into the abduction of a Syberis-marked member of one of the Dragon-marked houses. They discover that he was abducted by a cult looking to use his Syberis mark to return a powerful Night-hag to the prime material plane. The protagonist and his friends find that their missing companion is part of the cult and then must race to stop him from completing their task. The climax of the story took place in the caverns beneath a volcano, with the "party" confronting their friend (thus the emotional climax of the story), foiling the cult's plans, then racing out of the bowels of the errupting volcano.

Actually, I probably should have used something like that as the intro to my story synopsis. Would have left me more room to expand on the important parts in the body of the summary. Crap.

 

[Darth Shoju]

Also, could someone post up the link to the WoTC open call for novel propositions? I can't access the WoTC site here at work and my computer time at home is rather limited.

Thanks!

 

[MarkAHart]

Here's the URL:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=books/main/opencall2004

 

[MarkAHart]

I submitted a story idea to the "War Torn" open call, although I have very few illusions as to my chances of being selected...a lot of potent talent out there. It feels sort of like playing the lottery -- you know you're not going to win, but you still dream for a little bit...

My idea involved a group of soldiers from what is now known as the Mournland. The lead character learns a rumor that somehow his wife and daughter survived the destruction but have been kept as prisoners within the Mournland. The story ties in some threads concerning aberrant Dragon Marks, as well as several power groups and houses who knew about the impending destruction of Cyre ahead of time.

 

[Vocenoctum]

I submitted to Eberron, the new Open Call is a bit too open for me (no word count idea, nothing to give a hint, and you have to write the whole thing before finding out if you're close.)

My only real problem with the Eberron call is them asking for a SASE if they're not going to send out rejection letters. If they're only notifying the winner (s) they could have sprung for that stamp themselves.