question for the writers

[Kdawg91]

If someone came to you and said I created a new fiction universe and I want you to write a tale in it, there are like maybe three hard rules and otherwise go nuts, would you consider doing it? or would you prefer playing in your own yards, so to speak. Just curious, rolling around a idea.

[Jeffrey N.]

What you're talking about is a shared world/universe and many writers participate in these kinds of ventures. For instance the novel "1632" by Eric Flint has become in large part a shared universe with primary stories by Flint.

So you definitely have precedence, you just have to find others that want to jump in :)

[John (Taloni)]

It kinda depends. Generally I prefer to write my own stuff. But, one of my shorts would work well transported to a Beta Ray Bill story and I'm a big Thor fan, so if Marvel wanted me to play by their rules, I would.

Larry Niven did much as you describe with the Man-Kzin Wars so clearly those authors have no problem with it. I loved the Niven stuff but not so much the derivative stories, so perhaps this might not work as well as you might think.

[L.]

Everything starts with, "What are you paying me?" I don't work for free, and exposure is crap because if a guy is not paying me, he probably isn't going to promote the finished product, either, at least not as hard as I would. So he's getting me to work free twice over, writing and promoting. I could self-publish if I wanted to go that route, and I would take in a higher percentage.

Once payment is out of the way, I'd like to know about the world. Does it interest me? Can I contribute something both exciting and meaningful? Just as I don't work for free, I don't do work for a paycheck. I won't give less than 100% just because it's not my idea. So, I have to feel like I can create something great within the confines of the content licensor's world.

And finally, I would want to know timeframe. I need to be able to gauge how much time I lose from projects which push my brand by writing for yours. The math has to be right.

Only after all of that is solved would I want to know about the three rules. If the rules aren't too constraining, then I would be game. I like playing in foreign sandboxes from time to time. It's nice for someone else to shoulder the burden of making everything happen, and all I have to do is write the words. I've done a Space: 1889 tie-in, and it was fun, fun enough I'm game to sign on for another if the series editor and I can find the right story.

[Kdawg91]

I just had a concept, I knew the opening and I knew the ending, and I had no idea how to continue, but basically the idea opened up this other idea.

So that's why I threw that out there, thank you for your input. (and actually I cut it to two and only one of those are realllllllllll set in stone haha)

[Christopher]

First would ask to know the three rules and to know more about the universe then if I was creatively inspired by it would talk about compensation and stuff like that.