The reasons why "novel-talk" is taboo on WotC Boards?

[Faraer]

Writing a good Realms novel has two parts: 'novel' and 'Realms' and a sourcebook writer (Jeff Grubb, Richard Baker, Stephen Schend) may well be better qualified to write a Realms novel than an established author new to the setting; the style compromise and versatility needed for writing in shared worlds isn't something every author has. 'Hiring your friends' isn't the only explanation.

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

I'd respond, but I think all the salient points have been covered; what is and isn't fact has been clarified by an authoritative source, just as what is truly a person's opinion identified as such.

I'll only re-emphasize the uber-Canon worship that were the WotC Realms Boards back in the day. Anything WotC published that in the most minute way differed, revised or expanded on older lore was seized upon as an excuse for rabid fans to slander game designers and novel authors with all sorts of wild claims. And for months on end the WizOs let it slide.

I’d put, oh what was his SN….Silverthorne (Silverthrone?) at the top of the list of havoc-causing, hate-spewing regulars.

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

All I'm saying is that there's a relationship between the way WotC (and all game companies for the most part) choose writers for their game fiction and the critical reception of that fiction.

Speaking of Relationships, don't forget the Editor's in all of this. Many novelists (Lovecraft, Howard, and Douglas Adams) have their manuscript edited to some degree (or are forced to re-write parts) to teh managing editor. In Lovecraft & Howards case it was the magazine editor the were submiting too. (I think Adams' editor's main purpose was to lock him in a room so he wouldn't miss another deadline).

A editor can have a great influence on a author, esp if that editor is managing an entire LINE that assures placement on a shelf in a highly competitive market.

I'm no fan of the current "Flavor-text" style I'm seeing, The Scions of Arrabor Trilogy sticks out the mpst. One point the author almsot said "Timmy no longer has to use material components since he made a level & took Eschew Materials." They may as well say, Bob the archwizard failed his concentration check, thus he losese the spell slot til he re-memorizes them tomorrow (Actually I think they did say that). It gets old quick, yet seems to pervade the entire line. I expect management/editors have a great say in these authors' style.

This hit home this very day. I was getting fed up with the new Queen of the Depths FR novel due to all the Cut/Paste gamer speak in it. So I set it down & started reading Elric: Tales of the White Wolf, an Elric/Moorcock inspired Anthology put out 10 years ago. I was reading a short story I really liked entitled 'Kingsfire' by Ricard Lee Byers. The name sounded familiar. Richard is the Author of Queen of the Depths.

So, is it Richard's Writing I detest, or his Employer's Instructions?

 

[Dark Psion]

I was wondering why too.

When the Eberron novel "Marked for Death" was released, allmost all threads discussing the Dragonmark of Death were locked on the Eberron boards.

That is the one thing about banning novel talk I don't like. If it is in a book and you talk about the same subject in RPG terms, it may be locked on you.

 

[Faraer]

Damn, I'd forgotten about Silverthrone.

We know the editors have a large input into the Realms novels, as is usual with franchise fiction, but we rarely know the details. Not that I want full disclosure, but I'd like to see an interview with Peter Archer letting us know a little of their processes and thinking.

 

[diaglo]

Damn, I'd forgotten about Silverthrone.

he is like Bugaboo on ENWurld.

 

[PaulKemp]

Damn, I'd forgotten about Silverthrone.

We know the editors have a large input into the Realms novels, as is usual with franchise fiction, but we rarely know the details. Not that I want full disclosure, but I'd like to see an interview with Peter Archer letting us know a little of their processes and thinking.

I can only speak of my own experiences writing WotC novels, but I've not experienced any editorial heavy-handedness. No major rewrites; no demands that this or that be removed or included (with one exception where I pushed the PG-13 rating of a novel into the R range); no requirement that gaming concepts get introduced, etc. Even with my next series, which is to feature a "Realms Shaking Event," the approach was: "We want you to write an RSE; here are some story ideas we've been kicking around internally; throw out yours and let's see where we land."

Make no mistake, though: Editors still do their jobs as editors -- critique plot, characterization, etc. But it seems to me that WotC editors are as hands-off as they can be while still acting as effective editors. My perception of the zeitgeist at WotC books is that the editors very much want to encourage the development of an author's unique style and voice. And I think you can see the result of that approach in the different styles evident in the FR line -- there are books that have a more traditional take on heroic fantasy, there are books that feature anti-heroes and have a darker feel, and there many others that fit in between those poles.

 

[lukelightning]

The first rule of Novel Club is don't talk about Novel Club.

 

[Faraer]

Well, editorial controls we know of have included restrictions on multiple plots and characters (cutting of original Spellfire), line-by-line cutting for length (reissued Spellfire), deciding characters' fates (Hand of Fire), requirements of fast light action, assigned titles and subjects and starring characters, editorial direction of amount of Realmspeak (imposition of miles, etc.). Some of these seem egregious, others sensible, others it would be nice to know the thinking behind. (In other cases -- character names -- I wish Realms fiction was more regulated.) Some are past, like the Code of Ethics, others current. What direction does Peter have in mind for the line? How does he see the Realms (Wizards has described it recently as both 'swords and sorcery' and 'high fantasy')? What's the role of the novels within the Realms in general? What are the challenges of the job? What kinds of authors is he looking for? How is it decided when hanging elements should be used and potentially used up (the Lords Who Sleep, Fflar, Sammaster) and the pace of RSEs? How are sales trends interpreted? We get the authors' viewpoints both on wizards.com and on messageboards, but what is that of the books department?

As for the 'game mechanics in fiction' thing, on the one hand authors do sometimes err (relatively to the Realms norm as I see it) one way or the other, but since some people talk of 'hearing the dice rolling' if there's the slightest compatibility with D&D and others of 'ignoring the rules' if the book is more than a D&D sim, it's hard to be too judgemental there.