McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft

Better to play in someone else's yard or get your own?

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Rechan:
While there is Fan Fiction out there, that's not what I want to talk about, but it relates.

Is it better to write in an established setting (The Dresdenverse, the Forgotten Realms, etc) - where the Rules and such are established - or is it better to create your own?

I'm contemplating writing some Urban Fantasy. But unless I, for instance, set it in the Dresdenverse, then all the rules need to be made up before I start working. Not just Magical, but the various Groups, and their politics. In essence I have to do a lot of worldbuilding before I get to the writing (because what I want to write about is tied very strongly to one of those world buidling elements).

Is there any time when playing in someone else's back yard (a pre-existing setting) is better than making your own? And, unless that setting is owned by a company (Forgotten Realms for instance), can you even get away with publishing it?

arcanist:
if you want to write in anyone elses worlds with intent to publish you'll need their publishers permission. probably the authors as well. and the likelyhood of that happening is small.

belial.1980:

--- Quote from: arcanist on July 30, 2010, 04:01:14 AM ---if you want to write in anyone elses worlds with intent to publish you'll need their publishers permission. probably the authors as well. and the likelyhood of that happening is small.

--- End quote ---

Exactly.


--- Quote from: Rechan on July 30, 2010, 02:18:02 AM ---In essence I have to do a lot of worldbuilding before I get to the writing
--- End quote ---

So this doesn't appeal to you? Why not just start writing? Make things up as you go along. Of course your first draft will be a mess, but first drafts almost always are. Then go back take the cool parts you came up with along the way and polish them. Not every novel is planned from the ground up. Many writers start with very little planning to begin with. If you just start writing the story you feel, you may surprise yourself and come up with cool ideas just shooting from the hip. When it's time for revisions discard the stuff that didn't work.

There's always going to be a little bit of world building involved but you don't have to sit there and plan out every aspect of your world before you start writing. Consider writing something about as detailed as your average Wikipedia article for some of the major points of your world. Probably best not to get into too much detail anyway since you'll likely find things need to be changed along the way. Some people get so deep into world building that they never get to writing. Just don't let that happen! Good luck, whatever route you decide to go.

Rechan:
The other part of "Doing it your own way" is dancing the fine line of coming up with something unique vs. something familiar, and not copying too heavily on someone else's creation. I mean, if you like the way one world does X, you still can't use it because that's someone else's. So now you must do it a different way. And your different way might be too close to someone else's.

I mean, if you don't deviate from someone's idea too much, then you might be plagarizing or at least too close for comfort. But if you go too far just to avoid that, you might end up losing the feel in the first place, or making something you don't Like.

KevinEvans:
A shared universe is hard to manage. My wife and I have sold close to 190K words to the Grantville Gazette, a SFWA pro market. The 1632 story cycle is now over four million words of "paid for" fiction and making sure that every thing is conflict free, is a significant effort. It only works because the base setting is well defined, and the rules are comprehensive. This reduces the need for the primary author (Eric Flint) to check every last word, but it still keeps an editor and a six person editorial board busy maintaining continuity.

Other franchise story cycles, rarely allow "entry level writers" a chance, mostly such contracts go to more established writers.

In any case strict attention must be paid to the style sheets and submission guidelines.

Regards,
Kevin

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