Interview!

[alanajoli]

The Baeg Tobar team and I all got interviewed back in March for the site Conversations with Writers. My interview has been posted today -- I think we'll see something from lyster, Scott Colby, and Daniel Tyler Gooden soon, as well. I'll post the links when they're up.

A quick excerpt from one of my answers (that I hadn't remembered writing, but definitely sums up my feelings on the nature of story):

I love telling stories, no question about it. I think there's a magic in it, that we're following in a grand tradition that goes back to the beginning of language. Even if the story doesn't seem to have much to it, the act of telling, and of connecting, is -- I think -- part of what makes us human. And hopefully, if we can relate to each other's stories, we can relate to each other.

When you have a chance, please do go check out the rest of the interview.

Comments

[dcopulsky.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed the interview!

It reminded me of something I had wondered before at some point: Is the third book of the trilogy you were contracted to do written? Do you have/will you at some point have the rights to do what you want with (like sell to someone else or publish online) the third book or the whole trilogy?

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

Short answers: Yes. No.

The novels are set in the game setting, which is not my intellectual property. I hope to release all three as free e-books at some point. Regaining Home (book 3) is in a draft state currently, but I'm thinking of various ways to make use of it. :)

[dcopulsky.livejournal.com]

That's rough! But good luck finding a way to it work!

[orryn-emrys.livejournal.com]

Very, very nicely said...

I will occasionally wonder about the phenomenon in my life that has been D&D. I have been running tabletop RPGs now for almost 25 years, with at least one game a week for nearly the entirety of that period. The stories my friends and I have created together have become formative in a way that I could never have predicted when I got into it. Characters and events from years ago will frequently creep into everyday conversation, which is often dominated by current games. Like any good book that my friends or my wife and I have both read, the shared experience is an exciting part of our lives. With gaming, of course, it's more personal... those people and the trials and triumphs and failures of their lives, the people and causes they loved, the magnificent battles they fought, and even the quiet moments between... they are part of our being in a way which brings us together and separates us from the rest of the world.

So at the very least, I would submit that there is a power in stories that can define who we are and how we relate to each other. And whether I'm putting words on a page or gazing out at the table from behind the screen, or even weaving lyrics into my music, I take that responsibility very seriously.

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

I agree so very much. Collaborative storytelling has an almost spiritual dimension to it, not quite like participating in ritual, but community building in a similar way. (At least, so it works for me!)

It makes it especially hard when I grow apart from gaming friends.

writers group

[(Anonymous)]

Daniel Gooden:

I noticed in that interview, that Max is in your writer's group. So I had an off-topic question. I've been with a group for about 4 months and while I like them, there is only one writer in the same genre as me. I wonder if they are quite the right fit. Can you speak to how you know your group is a good match?

Daniel