Q&A: Part 2

Q&A – Part 2

Join us as we plunge into another revealing exchange between two collaborators.

B: So now it’s my turn to take the mic and ask the questions. Last time we were discussing some of the challenges and complexities of world building. I know I covered everything important, but did you have anything to add?

C: Okay, okay! Just calm down – put down the fillet knife, and I’ll talk.

I guess I would just say that the job is never done. Like our own world, fantasy worlds are constantly in flux. It’s easy to assume that just because a book is in black and white that it is set in stone, but it’s crazy when you realize that every written world is truly alive. As anyone who has gone back to re-read a series of books would know, it is never the same place twice. That has its plusses and minuses. The upside is that writing and creating in a make-believe world is like being a kid in a sandbox with infinite possibilities. The downside is that infinite possibilities equals infinite possible mistakes – the rules and logic of the world must be upheld with every new addition and adjustment.

B: And it gets hard to keep track of all the rules and stuff that’s been established. So how about the characters? What would you say has been particularly difficult or rewarding about that development process?

C: Bringing a new character into existence is a lot like parenthood – it is a heart-racing thrill to have brought someone to life, but after that initial high wears off you wonder “So now what?” So you ask them. And then, like a real child, they start talking. And walking. And they make you laugh. And they make you angry. Then, inevitably, you get into a fight, and they stop talking to you. That’s the tough part, when you bend over backwards and do everything you possibly can to reach out to them, but your characters give you the cold shoulder.

B: I think I see where you are going with that– even though we are obviously in control of their fates, it does feel like we discover their motivations and desires, and their actions stem from that, sometimes unexpectedly. I know especially with Goodwin, we were very conscious about trying to avoid cliche “I want to take over the world!” purposes and typically ‘villainous’ tropes.

C: Yes, but it’s important to make sure they are still bad guys. Bucking too hard against the standards can be just as annoying as going full-stereotype. I have a passion for villains, as do all animators. You can take them as far as you want to, and then push them even further, and its okay because they need to be extreme (or at least they need to be capable of it.) Thankfully, this series overfloweth with villainy.

B: But hopefully arising from sympathetic and recognizably human intentions. This raises what I think is the most common question I have been asked – “How do you write a book with someone else?” How do you describe our process to people?

C: I usually say “Partner? What partner? I did this all by myself.”

I guess I would answer by continuing my family metaphor. Having a writing partner is a lot like being married. It’s a commitment that is entirely reliant on one’s ability to communicate and resolve conflict in a productive way. Of course, in a relationship, both parties frequently disagree and want to do things in exactly the opposite way. Then, either you dig your heels in and fight, or you acquiesce and show you are reasonable. Fortunately for me, I have a work wife who tires of fighting easily, so I get my way a lot. Thanks dear!

B: Haha. And what would you say are benefits of that way of working?

C: Because the process of writing a book is so all-encompassing (especially one with intensive world-building) it is a huge comfort to have someone else to shoulder the burden with. We both have kids and day jobs, so it’s nice to be able to share the workload. It also helps that we have particular strengths and weaknesses that fit together well and balance us out.

B: Aw shucks, that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.

C: No, it’s not. It’s not even about you. What are you even talking about?

B: No seriously, quit with the compliments.

C: Stop trying to start an argument. Why can’t you listen to me? I swear, just once I wish you’d––

Okay NOW!

Whew, thanks officers. That was a close one.Just don’t hurt him too bad – I need him for two more books.

More Q&A to come in our bright and shiny 2014, the year of ORE!