Troy Denning Chat

Friday, May 16, 2003

This chat transcript has been edited from the original channel log to remove people entering and leaving, and breaks in Troy's answers.

* TroyD has joined #literature

<Sue> not many people LIKE spiders

* jenn has to remove a cat from her back...

<O-B-GATES> yay!!!

<O-B-GATES> here's here!

<O-B-GATES> assuming he's "TroyD"

<Parabola> yes, yes I am

<Kelly> give him a second

<Luvinna> "here's here"?

<TroyD> Yes, that's me, Troy Denning

<O-B-GATES> ok

<O-B-GATES> *he's

<O-B-GATES> welcome!

<ProphetKristy> :o)  Welcome!!

* Kelly sets mode: +o TroyD

<TroyD> I'm not a big-time chatter, so I may be a little slow

<Luvinna> I'm just giving you a hard time, OB

* ProphetKristy sets mode: +m

<TroyD> Thanks for having me.

<Kelly> On behalf of Kelly's Corran Horn Page and Jedinet.com, I would like to welcome you to our chat with New York Times Bestselling author Troy Denning.

<Kelly> Troy Denning has been associated with Star Wars a few times over the years, having written supplements for West End Games.  More recently, he has penned the New Jedi Order novel Star By Star and his current release, Tatooine Ghost.

<Kelly> Right now, I'm sure most of you have discovered that you can't talk.  The room has been set to +m, which means that only the moderators may speak.  If you have a question you would like to ask Troy, you will need to private message one of the moderators (ProphetKristy, Sue, or myself) with your question.

<Kelly> To send a private message, just click on the name of the moderator whom you wish to message. Or, if that doesn't work, you can type /msg name, substituting the name of the moderator for name (but without the @).

<Kelly> There is one thing, though.  Do not, I repeat, do NOT send a private message to Troy Denning.

<Kelly> He will just ignore you.

<Kelly> Glad you could make it, Troy.

<TroyD> 'Cause he's kind of slow.

* ProphetKristy tosses confetti

* Sue just grins

<TroyD> Glad to be here. Thanks for having men.

<Sue> we love men

<Kelly> I'd like everyone to keep in mind this is his first IRC chat, so be kind to him.

* Kelly giggles.

<Sue> too late :)

<ProphetKristy> Aw, be nice, Sue ;-P

<TroyD> oops--see what I men, er mean?

<Sue> we're harmless, really

<ProphetKristy> Except for Sue

<Kelly> Ok, while we're waiting for some questions, Troy, maybe you can tell everyone what you've been up to lately?  Do you have any new projects you're working on?

<Sue> thanks, PK  ;-P

<TroyD> Okay. Lately, I've been working on an epic fantasy proposal that I'd like to publish :).

<Kelly> Anything you can tell us about it, or is it still top secret?

<TroyD> Like most projects, the first chapters are going kind of slow.

<TroyD> Can't really say much about it yet, since it's still in the proposal stage and hasn't been contracted yet.

* Kelly nods.

<ProphetKristy> (by the way, Troy, if you are ready for the next question/comment, you can just tell us "next".  Otherwise we'll assume you have more to say. *grin*)

<TroyD> But I'm pretty excited about it. Next?

<Kelly> Ok, looks like we have our first question tonight, from Parabola.

<Kelly> <Parabola> Just finished Tatooine Ghost today (yeah, I'm behind) and really enjoyed it! Can you tell us how the project came about? Things have been pretty focused on prequel-era and New Jedi Order, so this one seemed to come out of nowhere.

<Kelly> next

<TroyD> I doubt that I have the whole story, but I'll tell you what I know.

<TroyD> DR and LfL decided that it would be good to do a H&L book dealing with her coming to terms with her father's identity and decided that they liked the way I handled H&L, so I was the first one they asked. I didn't give them a chance to ask a second!

<ProphetKristy> (hmmm, they made a great choice!!)

<TroyD> The basic parameters were pretty simple--H&L go to Tatooine and discover Shmi's diary (don't know whether that was Sue or Shelly's idea, but it was a good one!)

<Sue> (I was just going to say that)

<TroyD> After that, it was up to me to work out a plot I would enjoy writing.

<TroyD> And since the time period was close to Heir to the Empire, I decided it would have to mention Thrawn, which meant that art seemed like a good focus.

<TroyD> Next?

* scifantasy has joined #literature

<ProphetKristy> Well, I have a related question to that...I was under the impression that it wasn't common knowledge that Anakin became Vader, or that Luke and Leia were twins.  Is Leia just blowing that out of proportion because she has Dad Issues?

<TroyD> This is a good question.

<TroyD> When I was researching the book, I found quite a bit of stuff that seemed to imply that Vader's identity was common knowledge and a lot that implied it wasn't.

<TroyD> There wasn't anything conclusive either way--at least that I could find--though, so in the end I just took an informal poll of some SW people I respected and went with what we all agreed was more likely.

<TroyD> My feeling is that the information had to be pretty readily available, since most of Luke and Leia's acquiantances seemed to know it, and I don't think it would be easy to keep such a big secret when so many people know it.

<TroyD> Next

<TroyD> ?

<Sue> My question is less writing-related and more book-related.  I'm curious if you have any input in the choosing of either the artist, or the art, for the cover of your books.  Either Star Wars or otherwise.  (I ask because the art on Remnant and Refugee is not entirely to my liking :)

<Sue> Next :)

<TroyD> Unfortunately, authors generally don't have any input on the cover art.

<Sue> I think that needs to change  :)  Who do I call?

<TroyD> This is probably for the best--since we'd drive the artists batty--but it does get frustrating sometimes.

<TroyD> I don't know who'd you'd call. This is pretty standard practice all over publishing.

<Sue> Rats.  Oh well

<TroyD> Maybe what we need is a publishing house where writers make all the decisions? :) Don't know how

<Sue> LIke a United Artists for authors.  I like that idea

<TroyD> long it would stay in business, but it would be fun while it lasted!

<Sue> what a party!

<TroyD> Yeah, that's the ticket! Next?

<Kelly> <Keiran> This has probably been asked to death, but where you told specifically how to write the deaths of Anakin Solo and Borsk Fey'lya? Or were you allowed creative freedom in these matters?

<TroyD> Anakin Solo's death was planned from the start, so yes, I was told specifically to do that in

<ProphetKristy> (or do *him* in, as the case may be *evil grin*)

* Kelly grins.

<TroyD> the list of plot points I received for SBS. Borsk, I can't recall. I think his death was suggested

<Sue> More liked begged for  ;)

<TroyD> in the notes I received, but I don't think it was planned from the beginning. Could be wrong--I'm working from memory here.

<TroyD> Borsk was my hero!

<TroyD> Well, sort of. Next?

* Sue chuckles

<Kelly> say, have you had anyone tell you you shouldn't have killed off Borsk?  Wish he'd've lived?

<TroyD> I don't know that I've run across the kind of opposition to his death that say, a certain young Jedi generated,

<Kelly> i can imagine...

<Sue> me too

<TroyD> but there have been a lot of people who like that he went out a sort-of hero.

<TroyD> I really enjoyed writing his demise, because I've always believed that no character sees himself as a villian, just a misunderstood hero. Next?

<ProphetKristy> From Scifantasy:

<ProphetKristy> About the "is it Thrawn?" debate in the TF.N fora...Did you think the hints--such as there were--were obscure?

<TroyD> Not really. I didn't want to come out and say it was Thrawn because I'm not sure that even NRI was aware of his existence at that point, but I wanted the reader to have the fun of chuckling to himself and saying "I know who that is--and boy are the Solos in trouble!"

* Sue grins

<Kelly> that's pretty much what i did

<TroyD> On the other hand, the debate is good. Sometimes, it's better that the readers aren't always sure.

<TroyD> That's even more true of the "Ghost" in the title.

<TroyD> Next.

<Sue> I'm sure you get asked this all the time, but do you feel it limits your creativity (or possible flashes of creativity) to be handed plot points that MUST be in your work?

<TroyD> Not at all. In fact, I found that the challenge of accommodating a list of plot points often draws some of my best work out of me.

<Sue> well, you do good work :)

<TroyD> For example, the list I received for SBS was really long, and it just kept getting longer. And I think that's one of my best books--I really had to think and work to keep tie everything together, and then to keep the two major plots working.

<TroyD> I think some people have noted the trouble I had balancing time on the Myrkyr worldship with the rest of the galaxy.

<Kelly> at least they didn't give you a page length.  or did they?

TroyD> It was one of those things where you have to take artistic license to make the story work.

<TroyD> They asked for a 90,000 word book. After I saw how much I needed to accomplish I started to get worried--when WOTC gives you a word count, they expect you to be within 10 % or so.

<Sue> (I have enough trouble just spelling Myrkyr, without having to write the book :)

<TroyD> But when I told Shelly I would need more--A LOT more--she just grinned and said, "Good, we can use a long book in NJO."

<TroyD> Next?

<Sue> (one word, Hardcover  :)

<ProphetKristy> Yay for Shelly being flexible!

<TroyD> Yeah, she and Sue--and everybody at DR and LFL--are great to work with.

<ProphetKristy> Having been the author for a book in the middle of the NJO arc, how much of the Master Plan are you privy to?  (If you can give a general idea--please don't set off the LFL implant!)  Were you brought into the planning circle a few books before SbS?

<Sue> (Does he know about the implant?  *chuckle*)

<TroyD> Yeah, you get the implant BEFORE the contract!

<ProphetKristy> (uh-oh, are they keeping it secret now?)

<Sue> (He does :)

* Kelly giggles.

<Sue> (You never know...)

<ProphetKristy> (heh)

<Kelly> They give you the implant, then make you forget you ever got it...

<TroyD> When I agreed to do SBS, Vector Prime wasn't even out yet.

<Sue> (wow)

<TroyD> So they sent me this bible and I saw what happened there and went uh-oh.

<TroyD> Then I read a little further until I got to my book and went REALLY?

* Sue chuckles

<TroyD> It was some relief that Bob had to go first.

<Kelly> i bet

<TroyD> As far as what I know about the rest of the NJO, I have a vague idea of what was supposed to happen when I finished writing SBS, but I suspect the details have changed quite a bit since then--I keep getting surprised as I read along.

<TroyD> Next?

<Kelly> the next question i have kind of has to do with this

<Kelly> <Parabola> Have you been reading the NJO novels after Star by Star? Or any other SW literature (prequel-era books, comics, etc)?

<TroyD> I'm up to Remnant in the NJO. Loved the Valentine comic, and I'm really looking forward to Shatterpoint.

<TroyD> Other than that, though, I haven't been reading much SW :).

<TroyD> Next?

<ProphetKristy> So going back even farther then--can you tell us how you got the job to write SbS?

<TroyD> Basically, a friend who knew that I liked SW suggested that I throw my name in the ring and gave me Shelly's contact info.

<TroyD> I sent her a note asking if she'd be interested in seeing something from me, she asked for samples and I sent her some and a few months later they asked me to write SBS.

<ProphetKristy> (Gee, I wish I had a friend like that!  'Course, I'm not published....)

<TroyD> It's an unusual procedure, though, since LFL and DR control the publishing program so carefully, and because they only look at stuff by previously published authors.

<Sue> (we're just biding our time, PK :)

<TroyD> This has more to do with scheduling, I think, than anything. When they assign a book, they really NEED to know that it's going to be done reasonably close to on time AND be good.

<TroyD> Next?

<Sue> A question from O-B-GATES

<Sue> Are you interested in doint the novelization for episode 3?  or novelizations for movies period

<TroyD> Uh, yeah!

* Sue laughs

<Sue> Is that a "Please?!"  Or a "Who do I have to kill?"

<TroyD> Seriously, that's a big responsibility, and one that there are a million writers clamoring for, I'm sure.

TroyD> Next?

<Kelly> <jenn> I never knew Beru had a sister Dama; was she someone you created for Tatooine Ghost, or does she appear elsewhere & I missed the ref's to her?

<TroyD> No, Dama was created for TG. BTW, does anyone know what the name of her inn, the Sidi Driss, refers to?

<Kelly> Not I.  Is it a SW reference?

<ProphetKristy> (message a moderator if you know!)

<TroyD> It's a sort of SW reference.

<Kelly> Saying it aloud, I think of City Drizzt...

<ProphetKristy> (hmmm, doesn't spell anything backwards...)

<TroyD> Let me know when I should tell.

<ProphetKristy> Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?

<Kelly> no one's messaging me anything

<Sue> nothing here either

<ProphetKristy> I hear crickets.  Spill, Troy :)

<TroyD> Okay?

<Kelly> go for it, Troy

<TroyD> I was told it was the name of a village in Tunisia where they stayed during the filming of the first trilogy (I think it was A NEW HOPE).

<TroyD> Hope I don't get in trouble for spilling the beans!

* Cris has joined #literature

<TroyD> Next?

<ProphetKristy> ooh!  nifty!

* Sue chuckles

<Sue> (Wiat for the implant...)

<Kelly> cool!

<TroyD> uh oh, oooh ooohh . . . . boom!

<ProphetKristy> Shelonei wonders about your thoughts on Kyp Durron?

<Kelly> We won't tell if you don't.

* Sue giggles

* ProphetKristy goes to get a sponge.

* Kelly braces herself.

<Sue> S'okay, I have a mop handy, just in case

<TroyD> Kyp? Let's just say he has friends in high places . . . and is very lucky he does!

<TroyD> Seriously, I've always had a problem with Kyp because he does such terrible things and never seems to learn from them.  Elaine changed that in DJ, though, and I think he’s actually starting to become an interesting character.

[20:54] <ProphetKristy> I get the impression you would have liked to substitute him for Fey'lya?

* Kelly withholds comments about Kyp for those who actually like him.

<Sue> (there are people who like him?)

<TroyD> Well, I would have liked to add him to the body count, that's for sure.

<TroyD> But every time I tried, he kept getting resurrected.

<Kelly> Were you told you couldn't kill him because he was liked?

<TroyD> Next?

<TroyD> They didn't really give me a reason.

<TroyD> Every time I brought up the idea of killing him, all of the women present would go, "Kyp? Poor Kyp?

<Sue> (*stunned*)

<Kelly> We weren't there.

<TroyD> and since they were the bosses, he lived!

<Sue> Lucky for Kyp...

<TroyD> Seriously, I think maybe they just knew something I didn't about his place in the GFFA.

<TroyD> Next?

<Sue> That's what I'm thinking too

<Sue> They have "plans"  *g*

<ProphetKristy> Well, the moderators of this chat aside, Shelonei, at least, likes Kyp. :-)

<TroyD> Yeah, like I said, he started to grow on me after DJ.

<Kelly> <Parabola> One aspect of the story in Tatooine Ghost that raised a number of questions is all the info about Anakin (not just in Shmi's diary) to be found. Did LFL give some guidance as to who knows that Anakin became Darth Vader, that he had kids, that Luke & Leia are those kids, etc, etc. It seems as if Luke should have found out a lot of this info in his youth on Tatooine (even with Owen's protectiveness).

<TroyD> Yes, as I said, this was the biggest continuity headache in writing the book.

<Kelly> sorry if that touches on stuff already said

<ProphetKristy> (the book makes me want to get the Episode I tape out, though!  Maybe that was LFL's evil plan...)

<TroyD> I think it stems from the fact that Uncle Owen tried to shelter Luke, and then EP I shows him winning a podrace--which would be such big news that you couldn't help running across it if you did a holonet google on his name.

<Sue> (Holonet Google?  They're everywhere!)

<TroyD> So, once you know that Anakin Skywalker=Darth Vader, you can find out an awful lot about his past.

<TroyD> The question becomes, then, how many people knew that Darth Vader was Luke's father?

<TroyD> The answer, at least in my reading of the GFFA, is a lot!

<TroyD> (Post Return of the Jedi, of course).

<TroyD> Next?

<ProphetKristy> From Scifantasy:

<ProphetKristy>  The event in SBS that got me was the loss of Coruscant, especially since it snowballed like it did...How did you feel knowing you were making such a shift in galactic politics?

<TroyD> Insignificant?

<TroyD> Or maybe sort of like god?

<TroyD> Or, even better, George!

<ProphetKristy> lol

* Kelly grins.

* Sue grins

<TroyD> Seriously, it was a big responsibility, and I knew it would be even trickier to do right than Anakin.  I can’t tell you how hard I sweated those scenes, but I think they’re some of the best battles I’ve ever written.

<Sue> (You had me nearly screaming on the bus  :).

<TroyD> Next?

<Sue> (I cried on a plane when Anakin died  :(

<TroyD> Think you had it bad? I had to write that scene a dozen times before I thought it was right!

<Sue> Been there.  (But then I don't have to publish my stuff)

<ProphetKristy> On a related note, it's been driving me crazy that Coruscant wasn't on the "invasion path" on the map in the next books after SbS.  Do know why there was such a delay?  (I think "Traitor" was the first to show it being taken over by the Vong)

<TroyD> What always got me, though, was Leia and Han's reaction.

<Sue> that was heartbreaking

<ProphetKristy> *sniffle*

<TroyD> I don't know. Maybe they didn't want to telegraph that it was going to stick?

<Sue> (which means great writing!)

<Sue> I think it ended up being a nice balance

<TroyD> Thanks! Next?

<Sue> O-B-GATES and JediSolo ask:   Where you anxious to include more blurbs about padme in TG?  You did mention that there was a girl with the Jedi Knight, Qui-Gon Jinn at the podrace, but didn't identify her.  So why was Padme cut out from any memories or records in Tatooine Ghost?

<TroyD> Padme was cut out because it's really well-established that Luke and Leia don't know their mother, and many of the books that do the establishing take place after TG.

<TroyD> So I just didn't want to get cute and try to show her too much, since I would either have had to struggle to avoid identifying her by name, or to establish that her name meant nothing to Luke and Leia, or risk doing something that would or might--screw-up EP III continuity. (Actually, I kind of doubt they would have let me try, but I didn't want to).

<Kelly> There was quite a bit going on with just Anakin without bringing Padme into it.  It worked well with just his side of the family.

<TroyD> Yeah, I think so. Plus, I don't know that Shmi would have had much reason to mention Padme in her diary.

<Kelly> She only met her for what, a day or so?

<TroyD> Remember, she starts keeping it after Anni leaves, and Shmi--of course--isn't there in EP II when Padme returns with Anakin.

* Kelly nods.

<TroyD> So, I think it was just truer to the story not to go there.

<TroyD> Next?

<Sue> (cause she's off, waiting for Anakin to swoop in, and then she can die  *rolls eyes*)

<ProphetKristy> *sniffle*

<Kelly> O-B-Gates was wondering if you'd heard any more on writing a book about Yoda?  I add to that, any plans to write anything else in the Star Wars setting in the near future?

<TroyD> You know, I just kind of tossed the Yoda idea off in a list of stuff that I thought would be fun to do, and haven’t even mentioned it directly to the editors yet.

<Sue> And have been regretting it ever since?  :)

<TroyD> We'll just have to see about doing it someday. It's a dream project, obviously.

<TroyD> Maybe they'll let me write the Yoda screenplay! heh, heh.

<Sue> Woohoo!

* Kelly grins.

<TroyD> Now don't anybody take that seriously!

<Sue> Oh, we have it in writing now  ;0)

<Kelly> unless it's an April Fool's Day joke

<TroyD> Other projects? Let's just say I hope I won't be away from the SW galaxy for too long.

* Kelly crosses her fingers.

<Kelly> I enjoyed The Trouble With Squibs.

<TroyD> Unless they get mad at me about the yoda-thing.

<Kelly> Maybe they'll make you write about Kyp and only Kyp...

<TroyD> Glad you liked it! It was a lot of fun to play with.

<Sue> All Kyp, ALL the time

<Kelly> Yeah, took me long enough, but I got to it.

<TroyD> Oh, now you are trying to detonate the implant!

<TroyD> Where's that self-activator?

* Kelly laughs.

<Sue> I've got the mop...

* Kelly rotfl.

<TroyD> Does it work on walls?

<TroyD> Next?

<Sue> Sure.  Wet Swiffer  :)

<ProphetKristy> Shelonei protests the Kyp-abuse! ;-)

<Sue> Someone has to

<TroyD> I felt the same way about Borsk, Shelonei.

<ProphetKristy> O-B-GATES (and others) wonder if there's a reason some of your books were written under a pseudonym?

<Sue> And Kelly feels the same way about Corran.  yay.

* Kelly grins.

<TroyD> Kidding aside, Kyp is doing better. I almost want to see him get the girl, now.

<TroyD> The only book I wrote under a pseudonym was Waterdeep, and that was because it was my first one and TSR wouldn’t let me write it under my own name.

<Sue> Sorry, Jaina and Jag.  *g*

<TroyD> Good news, though--they re reissuing it under my name this summer!

<TroyD> next?

<Kelly> cool

<Sue> this is from me:  I'm sure you've been asked this enough times to have an answer right off the bat:  Do you have a favorite character in the Star Wars universe?  And in a related question, who would you knock off next?  (Besides Kyp)

<Sue> and the mop is on standby, just in case...

<TroyD> Favorite SW character? I HAVE to say that I love all my SW children equally, just in different ways!

* Sue laughs

<Sue> how diplomatic

<TroyD> Who would I knock off next? I guess you can't really answer that, at least seriously.

<Sue> you don't have to be serious  :)

<TroyD> A major character's death is always a big deal and really should be done only in service of a major plot development, so it would depend on the story. As for non-seriously . . .

<TroyD> I just can't get past the idea . . .

<Sue> wait for it...

<TroyD>  of . . .

<TroyD> Kyp!

<Sue> Aw!  :0)

* Kelly chuckles.

* Sue grins

<TroyD> Kyp! KYP! He's our man! If he can't get it,

<TroyD> nobody can!

* Sue laughs hysterically

* Kelly almost busts a gut.

* ProphetKristy notes that Troy is apparently not of the Mike Stackpole "killing off your characters for fun and profit" school of thought. (kidding!)

<TroyD> With apologies to Shelonei--hope you've got a sense of humor!

<TroyD> Next?

<ProphetKristy> And Keiran, too :o)

<Kelly> Parabola> Are Squibs from your RPG supplement-writing days? They were a blast in Tatooine Ghost!

<TroyD> And to Keiran, too!

<Kelly> On top of that, could you tell us a little bit about your West End Games days?  I know some people were surprised to hear you were associated with that.

<ProphetKristy> (I just found out, and was surprised!)

<TroyD> The Squibs were in Galaxy Guide 4, which I wrote (with the assistance of Stephen D. Sullivan and Andria Hayday) for West End games a long, long time ago in an office far, far away.

* Sue chuckles

<TroyD> And when I realized I needed a character to "help" Han and Leia recover Killik Twilight, they just popped into my mind.

<ProphetKristy> (random comment: Andria--what a pretty spelling!)

<TroyD> Thanks . . . she's the one who wrote the Hutts up as the hermaphrodite switch-hitters.

* Kelly giggles.

<TroyD> After that, I knew she was the woman for me!

<TroyD> As for my other West End stuff--I wrote four endless-quest type books as well, but two of them were never published. The two that made it still pop up every now and then in old-product booths at game conventions--Scoundrel's Luck (the Han book) and Jedi's Honor (the Luke book).

<TroyD> There was also a Leia book and a Lando book, but I can't remember their titles. (Lando was Gambler's Luck, I think, but Leia's title is lost to me.)

<TroyD> Next?

<ProphetKristy> Jenn wonders:

<ProphetKristy> Is there any truth to the story that Anakin Solo was chosen to die because LFL (or Del Rey) thought that it would be "too confusing" to the fans to have 2 Anakins?

<TroyD> I've heard that story, too. To tell the truth, I have no idea--that decision was made at the early planning meetings, before I was on-board.

<TroyD> Next?

<Sue> Silly question from me: how long do you spend per day writing, when you have a fixed deadline?

<TroyD> Way too long! I seem to take eight-hours to warm up, so when things finally get going, I don't like to stop. When I was younger, writing the Dark Sun books, I would write for 36 hours at a stretch (every other night) for two-weeks at time.

<TroyD> As recently as SbS, I pulled a couple of those--but I just don't have the stamina for doing that much any more.

<TroyD> Next?

<Kelly> <Keiran> Do you ever listen to music when you are writing, or do you have to lock yourself up like a monk and have complete silence?

<TroyD> Sometimes yes, sometimes no. When I start, I like to have silence. But after an hour or so, I'll occasionally turn on something classical (or, when I'm writing SW, the movie soundtracks).

<TroyD> I just need something to keep that part of my mind occupied, or it starts to edit when it really should be taking it easy.

<TroyD> Next?

<Sue> From me:  Once you've finished your first draft, how much do you usually cut out, or are asked to cut out?  I know that other authors have been asked to remove certain points, or tame down certain parts of scenes.

<TroyD> It varies. Usually, I do the cutting before the editors see it, often after my wife reads the first draft and tells me where she was bored (or angry, disgusted, whatever).

<TroyD> Fortunately, she's got a great sense of story, which really helps me turn that second draft around fast before the editors see it.

<TroyD> I try never to turn in a true first-draft, but invariably there things that need adjustment, toning down or heightening. It's just part of the process, and the more you work on that kind of stuff, the better the book is going to be.

<TroyD> Next?

<Kelly> Ok, we're getting down to the end of our questions, so if you have any last ones, please send them in.

<Kelly> First, I do have two comments for you, and then a question.

<Kelly> From Jenn

<Kelly> I've heard it mentioned by some people that Watto had to be evil because he was a slave-owner; I really enjoyed how you got inside him & showed another side of him, i.e., Watto's missing Ani, being sympathetic to Shmi.

<Kelly> And Lissy, who was unable to make the chat, asked me to say hi to you and thank you for signing Tatooine Ghost for her.

<TroyD> Thanks. I try never to make my villians pure evil. They're human too, and that makes them more interesting.

<TroyD> And Hi to Lissy! Is she your friend who stopped in at the judo club after SBS came out?

<Kelly> Yes, she is

<Kelly> I will tell her you said hi and that you remembered her.

* Kelly grins.

<TroyD> How could I forget?

<Kelly> And now for the question.

* Kelly chuckles.

<Kelly> From Parabola

<Kelly> I may be getting books mixed up, but ... was there a brief mention of Kyle Katarn (of Dark Forces video game fame) in an earlier version of Star by Star, but was cut?

<TroyD> Uh, how did you know that?

<Sue> uh oh... Kelly's implant's going to go!

<TroyD> (Which, I guess, is pretty much an admission).

<Kelly> i don't have an implant.  Parabola asked that

<ProphetKristy> And Parabola may have one!

<Sue> I haven't heard a pop...

<Kelly> <Parabola> Something "someone" mentioned in passing once (but may not have wanted to)

<Sue> heh

<Kelly> <Parabola> Then I was all disappointed not to hear anything in the final draft :(

<TroyD> I doubt it's a big secret. But Kyle once had the slot that Eelysa filled in the final.

<TroyD> There were a few adjustments like that.

<TroyD> Next?

<Kelly> <susu> does he edit his own work?  or are there others along the way?

<TroyD> Do I edit my own work? Usually I write a draft, read it and rewrite it, let my wife read it (contracts permitting), then rewrite it again, then send it into the editors and rewrite it again, then rewrite a couple of more times along the way.

<TroyD> At each stage, the "rewriting" becomes less, and the "editing" more, though to tell the truth, there is no firm line between the two.

<Kelly> So what you submit and resubmit is close to what the public sees?

<TroyD> I'd say what I submit to the editors is fairly close. So far--knock on wood--there hasn't been any major reconstruction.

<TroyD> Next?

<Sue> <Keiran> Would you ever consider starting up your own official web page, so fans could get to know a little more about the author who writes the books they love?

<TroyD> Yeah, I've got to do that.

<TroyD> Just been too busy writing to set one up.

<TroyD> next

<Sue> that's a valid excuse.  For now  :0)

<ProphetKristy> Well, looks like we're about wrapping up.  Can we catch you at any conventions this summer, Troy?

<TroyD> It looks like I'll be at San Diego Comic Con in July.

<TroyD> Not sure about Gen Con.

<TroyD> Is that it?

<Kelly> That's all the questions we were sent in.  We were thinking about going unmoderated and let everyone have a chance to talk with you, if you are game.  Otherwise, we would like to thank you for coming and giving us your time.

<TroyD> Okay, we can go unmoderated for a while.

<TroyD> Just remember I'm new at this stuff!

<Kelly> Before we unmoderate, I'd just like to thank everyone for coming and being such a wonderful group.

<TroyD> Yes, thanks for the great questions!

<Kelly> The transcript for this chat should be up at Kelly's Corran Horn Page within the next couple of days.

<Sue> Thanks for great answers :)

<Kelly> And before the masses are unleashed...

<TroyD> You're welcome!

<Kelly> Is there anything you would like to ask of us?  If there was one thing you could ask your readers, what would it be?

<Sue> (Buy more!  *grins*)

<Kelly> besides that, sue!

<TroyD> Buy more is always good!

<Sue> See!  *g*

<TroyD> I guess it would be this: what parts do you skip?

<ProphetKristy> Skip?  the horror!

<Sue> space battles, the details.  Skim them

<Kelly> Ok, and on that note...I think we can unleash the masses!

<ProphetKristy> I mean, horrible to skip things, not...yeah.

* ProphetKristy sets mode: -m

<Keiran> Thank you very much for answering our questions Mr. Denning. :)

<Shelonei> Troy:  Yes, I've got a sense of humour ;)  But still... folks are a bit too hard on Kyp anymore *smiles*  But that's okay - Love your writing anyhow ;)

<Shelonei> And thanks for coming!

<O-B-GATES>  troy, i extend thanks from jedinet, starwarz.com, and galacticsenate.com for troy's participation in this chat!  thank you for coming out and being so generous with his time

<Kelly> probably the space battles for me, Troy.  I'm more into character development.  Guess I'm the stereotypical female there.

<Sue> Definitely the space battles.  It all gets jumbled together

<TroyD> Thanks for your sense of humor, Shelonei. Like I said, Kyp's coming along.

<Luvinna> Yes, thanks for coming.  It was great.  (I don't skip anything...)

<Sue> is the character still alive?  good.  :0)

<O-B-GATES> i skip long spells in the desert!

<ProphetKristy> bah, space battles are great!

<Shelonei> I skim Jaina/Jag scenes ;) (just kidding) Uhm... skim probably the Only-Vong/badguy parts.  they get a bit boring to me sometimes, for some reason.

<Keiran> Borsk was cool, I'm glad he didn't die a coward's death.

<Shelonei> well, when they're not torturing anyohe.

* Becki doesn't generally skip, unless it's something she's read before and she knows a passage she doesn't feel like reading again at the moment...

<Shelonei> I agree with Kieran

<TroyD> Yeah, I don't skip when I read, but there are some parts that I'd like to!

<Sue> oh yeah?  Like what?

<TroyD> Depends--anything that drags.

<Sue> oh yah...completely agree there.

<Sue> I love lush detail as well, but sometimes...  Oy.

<TroyD> Sometimes it's description, sometimes its battles that don't have anything at stake,

<Kelly> Some space battles are great.  But a lot of times they just...are

<TroyD> sometimes its pointless dialogue.

<Sue> sometimes it's Leia calling Han Slick.  Ugh!

* Kelly can think of a book that spent ten pages describing a campground the characters were at for ONE night.

<jenn> I skip Jaina/Jag scenes-- bleah.

* Sue rolls her eyes

<TroyD> I think I wrote that book, Kelly!

<Keiran> Troy, was it your idea to have the Vong use the refugee ships as a sheild?

* Sue laughs

<TroyD> Yeah, using the refugee ships as shields was my idea.

<Keiran> Pure...genius. :)

<Kelly> Nope, it was The Sword of Shannara, actually.

<Kelly> Great book, but overkill on description of scenery.

<Keiran> Oh Kelly, I remember that. That book was full of over-exagerated discription.

<TroyD> Thanks goodness--I'm in good company!

<Shelonei> *chuckle*

<O-B-GATES> "<TroyD> Depends--anything that drags."  -- like leia and the squibs searching for han in the desert!

<ProphetKristy> Oh, I thought it might have been LotR ;-)  Tolkien spend more time on a tree or a piece of furnitue than he does on a female character ;-)

<Shelonei> HEY!!!!

<Sue> uh oh

<TroyD> Sorry you didn't like that part, OB

<Kelly> Kristy, why do you think it took me about 11 tries to get THROUGH the LOTR books?

* ProphetKristy grins, ducks, and runs

<Sue> there's gonna be trouble

* Shelonei cut her teeth on Tolkien, her father using him to teach her to read, and thus loves description.

<O-B-GATES> it was slow

<ProphetKristy> Kelly, why do you think I waited for the movies? ;-)

<O-B-GATES> but that's just the nature of the desert

<Luvinna> OB, I told you, that's just how the desert is... =)

<O-B-GATES> hot and slow

<O-B-GATES> hehe

<Luvinna> and boring...

<Kelly> the movies are what made me able to finally get through the books

<O-B-GATES> i always skip those songs and stuff in tolkien's books

<ProphetKristy> Shel, I promise to try reading LotR once again after RotK is out.

<Sue> dry is what the desert is, people

<Shelonei> That's the best part!

<TroyD> Yeah, I love Tolkien.

<Shelonei> You better, Pikay!

<Kelly> I am so happy they cut Tom Bombadil

<Shelonei> Yay Troy!

<TroyD> Even the description.

* Shelonei does the Hyper Ewok Dance of Joy

<scifantasy> ...Skip? Parts of books?

<Sue> Description is good!

<Sue> (to a point(

<Kelly> depends on the book, sue

[22:14] <Sue> welcome back, Sci  :)

<TroyD> Yeah, to a point.

<Becki> Mom keeps asking me if anyone's written a LotR adapted for children, she says she'd easier read that than the original..*G*

<O-B-GATES> well, thanks for coming troy.  gtg.

<Sue> by O-B

<Kelly> LOTR:  The Cliff Notes

<TroyD> Thanks for your comments, OB.

<TroyD> Catch you the next time around!

<ProphetKristy> Becki: there's supposedly a book of the movie (...of the book)

<Luvinna> bye OB!

<Sue> I have a degree in English lit, and I can't get through Tolkien

* Shelonei looks around at the people in the room as though they've grown extra heads

<TroyD> My wife is the same way.

<Shelonei> cant... get through... Tolkien!?!?!!

* Becki is with Shel on this *G*

<Kelly> Hey, Troy, something you said awhile back has intrigued me.  I didn't know if I misheard it.

<Kelly> Did you say something once about Margaret Weis being involved with the early NJO planning stages?

<Sue> oooOooo

<Kelly> I ask because she's one of my favorite authors.

<TroyD> I don't know if she was involved in the NJO planning stages, but I do think she was considering writing a SW book for a while.

<Sue> that would be very interesting

<Kelly> Ah, now I feel better.

<Keiran> Troy, will you be attending Comic Con as a special guest, or just a regular guy?

<TroyD> But that's old news--it didn't work out.

<Kelly> I'd never heard of her being involved in the committee, but just wanted to confirm it

<Sue> there's always the future.  New deadly aliens, galactic conflict, etc.

<TroyD> To tell you the truth, I don't know what my status at comic con will be.

* Kelly changes topic to 'http://www.idcnet.com/~ivanova/horn.htm - Future home of the Troy Denning Chat Transcript.'

<Sue> Kelly already advertising  *bg*

<TroyD> I'm going with DR, so my activities will probably be involved with them.

<Kelly> want to get it up before people leave and wonder where it'll be

<Keiran> Cool.

* Kelly will be away from keyboard briefly.

<Sue> Troy, when did you first start to write?  Was it lifelong, or did you just give it a whirl one day?

<TroyD> I started to write in 8th grade, when our English teacher asked us to keep a journal.

* Kelly has returned.

<TroyD> I just had more fun writing stories than entries.

* Sue grins

<Kelly> I used to do that in English class.

<TroyD> At first, I'm not sure she realized they were fiction.

* Kelly grins.

* Sue laughs

<Sue> that's good writing  :)

<Becki> Oh dear...*giggle*

<Sue> "Turns out Troy went to the moon over the weekend."

<Sue> "Who knew?"

<TroyD> Yeah, but my parents sure got the hairy eyeball at teacher conferences.

* Sue laughs

<Kelly> I can picture that one right now...

<Shelonei> LOL

<Kelly> "Mr. and Mrs. Denning, we need to have a *serious* talk about your son..."

<Luvinna> lol

<TroyD> Yeah, and dad was the county undersheriff.

<Sue> Ha!

<Shelonei> That's great! :D

<Kelly> Did you grow up in Wisconsin?

<TroyD> I grew up in Idaho Springs, Colorado.

<ProphetKristy> *perk* Idaho!

<TroyD> A little mountain town fifty miles west of Denver.

<Luvinna> I know where that is!!

* ProphetKristy is from Idaho :o)

<Sue> wrong Idaho PK

<Sue> the city, not the stae

<Sue> state

<Sue> Troy, another writing-type question for you.  Do you still enjoy writing, or do you see it as a job now?

<TroyD> Idaho Springs is named for Chief Idaho.

<Sue> (Please enjoy it, please enjoy it...)

<TroyD> Both. It's a job I enjoy;

* Shelonei dances

<Sue> Wooha

<TroyD> it's always been work, and sometimes it's more work, and sometimes it more fun.

<ProphetKristy> I got that Sue ;-P

* Sue sticks tongue out at PK

<Sue> This must be were we disolve into chaos,and end up talking about ping pong  :)

<TroyD> Or tongues?

<Sue> That too

<Shelonei> SUMO!

* Kelly laughs.

<Shelonei> ;)

<TroyD> What's Sumo?

<ProphetKristy> Hey, *I'm* not the one who brought up hermaphroditic Hutts.

<Sue> wrestling, as far as I know  *shrugs helplessly*

<Shelonei> Sumo Wrestling.  big huge fat guys trying to knock each other outside a ring.

<Shelonei> :)

<Shelonei> sorry, watched some the other day, it was fun.

<TroyD> That's what I thought.

<Sue> like I said, chaos.  Or random

<Kelly> I would love to be paid to sit and watch a movie and come up with names and cultures for a bunch of aliens.  8)

* Sue grins

<Shelonei> I know this is asking for it but - why do people dislike Kyp so hugely much?

<TroyD> Yeah, that was a blast.

<Sue> one word, Shel:  BRAT

<TroyD> But we wore the tape out.

<Luvinna> because Kyp is a twit.

<ProphetKristy> that's what you did for GG4?  awesome!

<Kelly> Shel, you want the easy, not so true answer frome me personally?  they say those who like corran hate kyp and vice versa\

<Luvinna> He's better now than he was before though.

<Shelonei> but... I like both

<ProphetKristy> Kelly: I don't like either ;-P

<Sue> I don't like either.  There goes your theory, kell  :)

<Kelly> it's not MY theory.  just what i've seen

<ProphetKristy> Poor Kelly

<Sue> yes, he's improved

* Becki chuckles

<Sue> or faded into the background

<TroyD> My problem with Kyp was always that he never seemed to learn anything from his mistakes.

<Kelly> there are some who like both, and some who can't stand either

<Sue> absolutely

<Sue> I get all Dozen killed?  Well, I'll just find more!

<Keiran> It's amazing how one day everybody hates you just because you were influenced by a bad man and killed billions of people...

<TroyD> But that seems to have changed after DJ, so I'm giving him a reprieve.

<Cris> The earlier Kyp appeared to be an arrogant glory-hound, believing he was acting out of more altruistic reasons

<jenn> I disliked the Kyp who was never held responsible for his genocide

<Kelly> Troy, have you ever read the short story Simple Tricks or the comic Leviathan?

* Sue laughs at keiran

<Keiran> ;)

* Shelonei smiles

<Sue> as usual, Cris is the voice of reason  :)

<jenn> I liked the Kyp in one of the short story collections where he deeply repented what he did

<TroyD> No, haven't read either.

<jenn> sorry, can't remember the title

<Sue> yeah, like his ego would let him do that for long

<Cris> I think I've read that, Jenn

<Kelly> in short, I could deal with him in the Jedi Apprentice trilogy, loved him in Simple Tricks, and wanted to drop a boulder on him in Leviathan.  and then NJO came around, and he was like Leviathan, having learned nothing

<Cris> And if it's the story I'm thinking of, it was very good

<Kelly> Simple Tricks is probably the best Kyp story around.  In one of the Tales of... anthologies

<Shelonei> Tales of the Republic.

<Keiran> I'm just waiting for Kyp and Jaina to finally hook up. Get Jag out of the picture for gosh's sake.

<Sue> Nooo!!!!!

<Shelonei> Woohoo!

<ProphetKristy> Kelly, as a Corran fan, you would only have been able to make people *think* you'd dropped a boulder on him *lol*

<Cris> yes, that's what I read.  It was very good

<Kelly> not happening, keiran

<TroyD> I'll look for Simple Tricks.

<Sue> Must....keep....Jag!!!

* Shelonei high five's Kieran

* Kelly thwaps Kristy.

<Keiran> Have Jag and Danni hook up or something, let Jacen hook back up with Tenal Ka. That would be fine SW fiction. :)

<Sue> Jag is perfect for Jaina.  He's stable, but with a sense of humor

<Luvinna> no, Keiran.

<Luvinna> Has to be Jaina and Jag

<Shelonei> he has no personality!

* Keiran high fives Shelonei

<TroyD> Jag's cool. It's not arrogant if you can back it up.

<Kelly> It's in Tales from the New Republic

<Sue> If I can point out that we will NOT talk about either REmnant or Refugee in here

<Sue> I agree, Troy

<Sue> He's good, he knows it, but...he's good!

<Luvinna> I agree, as well, Troy

<Sue> And he's cute  :)

<jenn> Simple Tricks in Tales of the Republic, Yes! Thank you!

<Sue> And he's related to Wedge.  I mean, come on!

<Keiran> Well, I blame the whole Danni/Jacen thing on a need to expand a character who was going the way of the dodo bird coughDannicough.

<Kelly> Jag is good, and he says it in a factual way, because it's true.\

<Shelonei> :P!!!

<Sue> Keiran, NO SPOILERS

<ProphetKristy> Thanks Sue!

<Sue> My pleasure

<Keiran> Oh, sorry. :(

<Sue> No problem

<Kelly> Note:  Do not discuss the details of Refugee or Remnant.

<Sue> But you can say that Jag is the next Wedge Antilles.  I will permit that  :)

<Kelly> that's not a spoiler

<Shelonei> If Colonel Ferrocrete can come by a personality on the way, than yes, he will.

<Sue> I know.  I just like saying it

* Shelonei smiles amiably :)

<Kelly> Ok, so...how about that weather?

<Shelonei> COLD!

* Shelonei goes "brrrr"

<Kelly> not here!

<Keiran> Hot!

<Kelly> beautiful

<Sue> cold...but I'm north, so that's to be expected

<Kelly> i had noon hour recess duty.  delighted in being outside for almost a whole hour

<Sue> Troy, you going to concur with Kelly on the weather?

<Kelly> and being paid for it

* Shelonei cries

* Becki wishes for high school recess duty...

<Kelly> short sleeves, no coat

<TroyD> Weather's good, I think. I was inside most of the day writing.

<Luvinna> weather's perfect right now.

<Sue> common affliction for writers.  Occupational hazzard :)

<TroyD> But we had lunch outside. That counts, right?

<Kelly> you need to get a laptop that will let you work outside

<Sue> of course it does

<Sue> I count a window, these days!  *laughs*

<Kelly> that's about what i got, troy

<Shelonei> sunshine....

<TroyD> I don't know that I could work outside. too many distractions.

* Shelonei dreams about that once known thing, which is known no longer but for brief glimpses between clouds and storms.

<Shelonei> *sigh*

<Keiran> I wish it was storming...

<Kelly> I don't.  It's been storming quite a bit in the past week

* Shelonei is sick of hearing the tornado sirens

<TroyD> Well, it's getting past my bedtime. I had a blast talking with you!

<ProphetKristy> I get distracted working outside.  Luckily, it's hard to do labwork when not in a lab.

<jenn> We're having a nor'easter here in New Jersey...

<Keiran> Goodnight Troy! :)

<Sue> Thanks so much for sharing, Troy!

<Luvinna> Thanks for coming!!

<ProphetKristy> Thanks for coming, Troy, and have a good night!

<Luvinna> 'night!

<jenn> Thank you very much!

<Kelly> Thank you for coming, Troy.  We appreciate it.

<Shelonei> Sleep sweet when you get around to it, Troy!

<TroyD> Thanks for having me. It was a lot of fun!

<TroyD> 'Night!

<Sue> Come back anytime  :)

* Becki waves bye to Troy

<Luvinna> yes, do come back.

* Kelly waves.

<TroyD> Will do, I'm sure!

<Sue> g'night!

* TroyD has left #literature

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