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Kendell
Acolyte
USA
0 Posts |
 Posted - 11 Sep 2009 : 07:42:30
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Hello, I'm new to the site, I just found it tonight after work, but I have been contemplating writing a book set in the Forgotten Realms. I have read every book I can get my hands on through book stores and traders. I currently have 26; 13 which I have read and the others that are in line not to mention the ones I traded. I belive I have a good start on plot, characters and such, but storys location is an issue - I don't want to re-write a local history. Is there some process for hopefull writers to get rules, limitaions, and other guidelines so that I don't write the entire novel, submit it, and then be told that I have broken some rules or cannon? I have a pretty good idea of the rules and such, having read so many of the books and played BG1, BG2, NWN, NWN2, and all the relating exspansions.
Thank you,
Rob
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
37011 Posts |
Posted - 11 Sep 2009 : 16:33:47
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Welcome to Candlekeep! 
Feel free to ask any questions you may have... A lot of us have been Realms fans for years, and we know a thing or three about the setting. Plus, we've got some of the authors and creators here! 
As for the rest of us, we are friendly, mostly harmless, and occasionally strange... Enjoy your stay! 
That said... If you're not already a published author, your chances of getting in with WotC are pretty freakin' slim. You can wait for another of their cattle calls; some of the current authors got in that way.
In the meantime, write, write, write -- and not for the Realms. Spend some time polishing your craft while you wait for an opportunity. And do wait for that chance -- writing a novel is pointless if no one will ever read it. Write stuff that will get read, and then you've a better chance of WotC eventually asking you to write something for them.
Why do I say to write non-Realms stories for now? Well, if you write something for the Realms, WotC's not going to take it. Here's a direct quote from their Book Publishing Writer Resources page:
quote:
We do not currently accept unagented, unsolicited submissions for our game-related properties.
So get yourself on the map first, and wait for them to ask for something. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Christopher_Rowe
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
879 Posts |
Posted - 11 Sep 2009 : 16:55:44
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Welcome! And yes, what Wooly said.
Cheers,
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My Realms novel, Sandstorm, is now available for ordering. |
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Kendell
Acolyte
USA
0 Posts |
Posted - 11 Sep 2009 : 19:34:00
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| Thank you, that was just the answer i was looking for. i will keep writing, but i think i will continue to writethe realms novel and then maybe ill give it to another, alredy published realms authors. I think perhaps i will writethe novel but put it in a different world/setting |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
37011 Posts |
Posted - 11 Sep 2009 : 19:56:14
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quote:
Originally posted by Kendell
Thank you, that was just the answer i was looking for. i will keep writing, but i think i will continue to writethe realms novel and then maybe ill give it to another, alredy published realms authors. I think perhaps i will writethe novel but put it in a different world/setting
Most authors, for their own protection, will not read the unpublished work of others. Doing that just opens them up to accusations of plagiarism. Not only that, but most authors already have enough on their plates -- their regular jobs, friends and family, and their own writing on top of that.
So you can try sharing your novel with a published author, but don't be surprised if they politely decline to read it.
It draws vacuum, I know, but it's the way the world is. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Arion Elenim
Senior Scribe
933 Posts |
Posted - 12 Sep 2009 : 05:41:36
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| And I suggest throwing together some Faerun-based short stories to warm up, and then posting them here on the site. It definitely keeps me inspired. |
My latest Realms-based short story, about a bard, a paladin of Lathander and the letter of the law, Debts Repaid. It takes place before the "shattering" and gives the bard Arion a last gasp before he plunges into the present.http://candlekeep.com/campaign/logs/log-debts.htm |
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Rosemary Jones
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
148 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2009 : 04:45:30
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First of all, welcome to Candlekeep and do keep writing!!
It's not the authors who get you published -- that's editors and agents. So sharing manuscripts with authors won't get you closer to being published. Submitting to publications, editors, agents, can lead to publication. You need to do an original work (not Forgotten Realms) to do that. Even WOTC doesn't take a complete FR novel. Their process is a bit different. They assign a theme to a writer: in my case, "dungeons" and "Waterdeep" and then ask you to create a novel from that.
WOTC does do open calls for authors every now and then. That's how I got started. But before that, I wrote lots and lots of other things. Keep checking their website.
Having said that, I'd really encourage you to find a writing group in your area and share chapters, etc, with them. It's that kind of feedback that can make a great difference in your writing. And read, read, read everything you can find.
Best wishes to you and tell the stories that you want to tell. |
Rosemary Jones
www.rosemaryjones.com |
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Hellkeepa
Seeker
Norway
61 Posts |
Posted - 20 Sep 2009 : 03:01:38
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HELLo!
And welcome to the site, from one greenhorn to another. :-P
I see you've asked for some sources to learn about the canon, which no-one really answered you on. Other than the FR novels and rulebooks, I've found that the following Wiki has a LOT of info on FR which seems to be canon (the list the sources, after all): http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com
At least, that's my primary source of information, except the very same halls that we find ourselves in now.
Happy writin'! |
Dealing with 3.5 only. Refusing the reality of 4.0, and substituting it for my own. |
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Delzounblood
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
578 Posts |
Posted - 21 Sep 2009 : 15:49:50
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quote:
Originally posted by Kendell
I have been contemplating writing a book set in the Forgotten Realms. Is there some process for hopefull writers to get rules, limitaions, and other guidelines so that I don't write the entire novel, submit it, and then be told that I have broken some rules or cannon? I have a pretty good idea of the rules and such, having read so many of the books and played BG1, BG2, NWN, NWN2, and all the relating exspansions.
Do what I do, write and write and write, But do not set the stories in the Realms, change place names and god names to a generic fantasy setting or create your own world setting.
Submit your work to anyone that will take it, but not Wotc unless they have an open call, (once every blue moon, usually in a month of sundays!)
Write short stories, novels, adventures, Character backgrounds.
Find an agent who covers the fantasy genre.
Submit work to magazines anywhere to become a published author.
Don't give up!!
Most of all good luck.
Delz. |
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riot the outsider
Learned Scribe
USA
121 Posts |
Posted - 21 Sep 2009 : 22:56:43
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| First welcome, I agree with posting some of your writtings on this site it has help me. |
Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do. http://s13.gladiatus.com/game/c.php?uid=67846
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Jimbobx
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
109 Posts |
Posted - 22 Sep 2009 : 20:02:00
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I'd definitely post a few short stories in the 'Adventuring' section (I think that's the right place) that way you'll be able to see if you've got the writing stamina to fill the word count of a novel and others will be able to give you an honest opinion of your style.
If you do find yourself going for the novel I would just write it in a very realmslike world rather that trying to fit in with whatever passes for the Realms these days.
I look forward to reading some of your stuff. |
Rilyetan's Retreat
Jimbob's Waterdeep Journal
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OldFisben
Acolyte
Russia
0 Posts |
Posted - 24 Dec 2009 : 10:29:32
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quote:
you can wait for another of their cattle calls; some of the current authors got in that way.
quote:
WOTC does do open calls for authors every now and then.
First of all, hi to all. :)
Does anybody know when this competition begin?
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
37011 Posts |
Posted - 24 Dec 2009 : 11:10:24
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quote:
Originally posted by OldFisben
quote:
you can wait for another of their cattle calls; some of the current authors got in that way.
quote:
WOTC does do open calls for authors every now and then.
First of all, hi to all. :)
Does anybody know when this competition begin?
Welcome!
It's not something they do frequently or on any set schedule. I can only think of 2 or 3 that they've done, off the top of my head -- though admittedly, I've not paid a lot of attention to them. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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OldFisben
Acolyte
Russia
0 Posts |
Posted - 24 Dec 2009 : 11:18:28
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quote:
It's not something they do frequently or on any set schedule. I can only think of 2 or 3 that they've done, off the top of my head -- though admittedly, I've not paid a lot of attention to them.
well, clear enough) thnx.
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Edited by - OldFisben on 24 Dec 2009 11:19:00 |
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Laerrigan
Learned Scribe
USA
195 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2010 : 23:44:37
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So much having been said on the writing/publishing topic (I ran into that block some years ago, myself, due to my own interest in it back then), I'll skip that and go directly to the invitation.
Want to do some character development in conjunction with others, playing off of their minds and characters to get a better feel for your own? The Inn is cool for that.... Come RP with some odd (IC and OOC) folks. We only bite if asked nicely. Some of us, anyway. |
"Your 'reality,' sir, is lies and balderdash, and I'm delighted to say that I have no grasp of it whatsoever." (Baron Munchausen)
"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was not made for this world." (C.S. Lewis, "Surprised by Joy") |
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Joran Nobleheart
Senior Scribe
USA
495 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2010 : 02:52:13
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| Welcome to Candlekeep, and Laerrigan is right about RPing in the Inn. It's a lot of fun, as well as a great way of developing a character. |
Paladinic Ethos
Saint Joran Nobleheart |
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Wanna-be author
