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What’s Best for the Story: Kevin J. Anderson & Ed Greenwood on Collaboration

EDIT
ok that's better...

some guy wrote:Today, Kevin J. Anderson and Ed Greenwood discuss what’s best for the story and the importance of leaving your ego at the door. Keith has to since his ego won't go through any door, a a bit like Randy Marsh's balls in that south park episode Anderson and Greenwood have never collaborated with each other that explains it then, but they both have long and rich histories of collaborating with others. yeah Keith as a long history of ass raping franchises more like it

the obnoxious ego wrote:My wife is a noted YA author, so when we work together our work is targeted toward younger readers

huh?
I thought it was targeted for idiots and wingnuts who believe the earth is flat!
That's a relief

Ed Greenwood wrote: I deliberately do collaborations differently every single time, by asking the other writer(s) involved how they want to do it, and then agreeing to whatever they’d prefer

yeah Keith likes them submissive he's already eyeing you up, watch out and never, never walk past him!

Then again, maybe there is hope for this one.

Ed Greenwood wrote:In the case of living collaborators (as opposed to a living writer finishing something left incomplete by a deceased writer, where the goal may be to craft a story as if the deceased writer had lived to do it all)

ouch that would have hurt K's ego had he not left it at the door

And enough already, someone else can scan the rest, I can't hack it anymore!

shit can't let that one pass!

some guy who struggles with images and metaphors wrote: You have to leave your ego at the table, don’t get proprietary, and do what’s best for the story.

the unconscious speaks; when everyone leaves their ego at the door, K is the only one to bring it at the table...

"Hey who brought their ego? Come on guys we agreed to leave it at the door; it's not fair on... Keith? Keith! KEITH!!! Jesus man what are you, dumb? Ooops sorry we also agreed not to camouflage insults as perfectly innocent questions... like why are you such a dick? Yeah I know no camo but I'm bouncing ideas of you chub!"

Or something like that, I think the heat is making me delirious!

Look out he's gone desert crazy!

Ed Greenwood is a "writer" on something near Bobo Herbert's level.

He's famous for being an early contributor to Dungeons & Dragons publications in the 1970s, then later striking it rich when his personal campaign (called the Forgotten Realms) was chosen as the default setting for the second edition of D&D. Yes, I know how silly that sounds, but keep in mind that this was a property worth millions of dollars and loved by thousands upon thousands of players, so it was a pretty big deal at the time.

After a while, he began to publish D&D-based fiction. TSR, the owner of D&D, got heavily into publishing in the '80s and '90s, and anything that Greenwood wrote pretty much sold automatically to the fanboy/completist/no-taste-in-fiction crowd. A win-win for all involved. But make no mistake: he is an awful writer. No chops whatsoever. If it weren't for his fame in RPG circles, he never would have been published anywhere.

I'm guessing this all ties into Keith's announcement that he just did some sort of short novel in a D&D setting? Maybe he got to use some of Greenwood's characters? Or something. Ugh. Maybe I don't really give a shit.

I know I don't.

TheDukester wrote:Ed Greenwood is a "writer" on something near Bobo Herbert's level.

He's famous for being an early contributor to Dungeons & Dragons publications in the 1970s, then later striking it rich when his personal campaign (called the Forgotten Realms) was chosen as the default setting for the second edition of D&D. Yes, I know how silly that sounds, but keep in mind that this was a property worth millions of dollars and loved by thousands upon thousands of players, so it was a pretty big deal at the time.

After a while, he began to publish D&D-based fiction. TSR, the owner of D&D, got heavily into publishing in the '80s and '90s, and anything that Greenwood wrote pretty much sold automatically to the fanboy/completist/no-taste-in-fiction crowd. A win-win for all involved. But make no mistake: he is an awful writer. No chops whatsoever. If it weren't for his fame in RPG circles, he never would have been published anywhere.

I'm guessing this all ties into Keith's announcement that he just did some sort of short novel in a D&D setting? Maybe he got to use some of Greenwood's characters? Or something. Ugh. Maybe I don't really give a shit.

I think recently someone here pointed out that his first novel was some D&D fanfic.

lotek wrote:shit can't let that one pass!

some guy who struggles with images and metaphors wrote: You have to leave your ego at the table, don’t get proprietary, and do what’s best for the story.

the unconscious speaks; when everyone leaves their ego at the door, K is the only one to bring it at the table...

That's just too funny. How right you are, Lotek.

I liked this one:

some guy whose middle name is [i]opportunism[/i] wrote:I collaborate with a writing partner because he or she brings something to the project that I can’t do myself.

For example, if they have the rights to continue an award-winning SF series.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack wrote:For example, if they have the rights to continue an award-winning SF series.

Or perhaps the ability to write engaging fiction.

I can definitely see KJA trying to get into Forgotten Realms just to get his hands on the avatar of fanboyism: Drizzt. I think RA Salvatore has those rights secured though.


Insert joke about KJA's books plus Forgotten Realms...I don't know my brain quit half way through it.

"Well, TheKJA has been forgotten in every other realm, so why not?"

ZING!

Thank you; you've been great! I'm here through Thursday! Please drive home safely.