I got an odd e-Mail this morning:
“I see in your blog that you’ve just finished writing an original series novel. I don’t really like those, so I won’t be buying or reading yours. I like to support writers whose books I enjoy reading, so I hope your next book is about the Next Generation or maybe Deep Space 9, because I like reading those books.”
Now, I get that not everyone will like everything (or even anything) I write. Within the realm of Star Trek fandom, I understand that not everyone likes every flavor of Star Trek. However, I’m not sure what this person was attempting to accomplish by sharing this little missive with me. Was I supposed to pledge to never again write a TOS novel in the hopes of retaining this person’s patronage?
I’ve seen similar discussions pop up along these lines (see below), and more than once I’ve been asked some flavor of, “Why write a TOS novel? Aren’t there enough of those? Why not write something else?”
Because I wanted to. I mean, duh.
So, I’m not bothering with a response to the e-Mail, but it did remind me of this bit I wrote back in 2010 when I came across a bulletin board discussion that covered some of the same ground. It prompted the following post originally written on May 9, 2010: “More original series Trek stories? Yes, please. Always.”
So, I’m reading message boards this morning, and I come across a discussion started by someone commenting that they didn’t want to see any more stories with the original Star Trek characters. He’d done some thinking, and figured that this one group of people had encountered far too many adventures to be credible. It wasn’t realistic, apparently. To make it more interesting, he was referring only to the original series’ 79 episodes, and not even the subsequent animated series and movies, to say nothing about the novels, short stories, comics, and what-have-you produced in the nearly 45 years which have elapsed since audiences first heard those now-immortal words, “Space…the final frontier.”
I’ll admit that I used to wonder every so often how Kirk and company ever got any sleep. If you were to chronologically order all of the adventures featuring them over the years, it probably comes out to them encountering an alien planet, ship, or other threat about once every six or seven minutes, give or take. Yeah, that’s more than a tad unrealistic.
Then, I remembered one key, salient point: Kirk and the gang? Um, they’re not real.
I’ve been reading Superman and Batman stories my entire life, and both of those boys were cranking out adventures decades before I was born. I also dig my fair share of James Bond tales, and he’s been rockin’ the spy thing since before I showed up, too. Ditto Tarzan, Sherlock Holmes, the Phantom, and so on. Guess what? I still like a well-executed story with any of those characters. Hell, there are any number of characters who’ve been doing their respective things in book/other form for decades and for which I have little or no interest, but I know they’ve got their fans. Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys? Tom Swift? Mike Hammer, Nick Carter, or Spenser? Even “men’s adventure” heroes like Remo Williams and Mack Bolan still draw fans after decades of stories, and new Bolan adventures continue to be published at a regular (and rapid) pace.
A good story is a good story. If it’s a bad story, then it’s one I’ll likely never revisit again, so no problem there. That still leaves a lot of good ones, and if they feature characters you’ve long ago grown to love, then so much the better. For me, that goes double for Kirk and his merry Enterprise band. I can’t ever imagine myself saying something like, “Please, no more stories with these characters. There are too many.” If I have my way, I’ll be reading a good original series-era tale while being wheeled into the dining facility at the retirement home.
Besides, I figure at that age, I’ll be in the bathroom a lot, and I’ll need something interesting to help pass the time.
Thoughts?
I have been writing creatively as part of role playing out characters, for the past three years, and been keeping the logs or in character posts, storing and building up quite a large catalogue of stories. Although the characters are based loosely upon D&D creatures, I have adapted them to a multiverse setting, and this allowed more freedom, to place them into unusual story arcs, and lots of combat and war themes. While this is nothing like the fan fiction, of say Star Trek, I do from time to time, garner inspiration from such movies and TV shows. Being original can be hard, I admit, but the rewards are great if you can come up with a home brewed story, totally original, and have it last.
I write original fiction as well as work-for-hire media tie-ins such as for Star Trek. One isn’t necessarily harder or easier than the other, as each have their respective “obstacles” to navigate. While writing within an established universe might sound easier than coming up with your own universe, there still are “rules” to be followed, whether those that form tha parameters of the established property or the ones you’re making up for your own creation. Characters might already exist when you take them out for a spin in your new tale, but you still have to get them “right,” the same way you’d have to be consistent with the characters you’ve devised for your original story.
Not harder or easier; just “different.”
Yeah, these people are trying to make Trek… logical.
It’s more like, “I want everything to fit how I see Star Trek.”
Good luck with that
I don’t care whether it’s Kirk, Picard, Sisko or a purple organgutan on the ship as long as there’s a good story and good writing. So there! Nyeah! We need more original series stories with PURPLE ORANGUTANS DAMNIT! (I’ll go take my medication now).
Purple Orangutans.
Noted.
I can never get enough good TOS (emphasis on GOOD). But I do think the original five-year mission era is a little played out, and that having so many “extra” missions set during that time frame stretches credibility. Doesn’t keep me up at night, but I’ve long thought that a lot of novels and comics that are set during the TV series could/should be set during the second five-year mission after TMP, or after Kirk took command of the Enterprise-A, unless there’s a major story point that dictates otherwise.
I used to think like that, then I finally quit worrying about it. Besides, why should I refrain from writing TOS tales set during the 5YM just because a bunch of people wrote stories years before I got to the party?
Well, I have to admit they they are not my favorite crew, but as I said recently, I really appreciate the writers who have handled the TOS crew for the last 15 + years because due to their (you included) quality writing, I have been able to read them with Shatner’s voice in my head. Keep on trekkin’ Dayton, and a little more Klingons in your stories, alright. I buy the audio book versions of almost all the books and a hard copy for those featuring Klingons for my library.
Well, I have to admit they they are not my favorite crew….
I forgive you your blasphemy. This time.
I’m reading That Which Divides now, and I have no complaints. I know, I probably just wiped out part of your audience…
Nah, they’re pretty supportive.
Like most commenters, I like a good story. I do favor TOS more than the others. Why? I’m an old geezer who was all of fifteen when THE MAN TRAP was a first time aired episode. Yea, I’m that old.
Likely most people prefer whichever show was their first seen. There’s room for all of us. So keep writing those first five year mission novels.
There will always be a mix, with the various series that need care and feeding, but there seems to be a segment of fandom that gets all whiny when the publishing schedule doesn’t have their preferred series/crew/whatever. 2013 will be TOS heavy as a tie to the new film, but also because TOS and TNG are consistently what sells the best.
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I remember when Trek novels were more prolifically published, it seemed pretty clear that they were not canon, thereby neutralizing any conflict of, say, overlapping stardates between different authors’ stories and claims of the need for “realism” like the one in that email. This also left it open for TPTB to develop things as they saw fit without fear of such “conflict.” Personally, I liked it better that way because I could sate my need for more Trek without being tied to a specific author or story arc if I didn’t like what was happening. As an ENTERPRISE fan in particular I’ve felt this keenly. I’ve read and enjoyed the recent books, but I understand the frustration of other fans who maybe didn’t like the story arc and don’t really have other ENT books to turn to. Some have left the fandom because they feel there is nothing new for them. They may have appreciated some adventures set during the show’s run, no matter how “unrealistic” it would be for Archer and his crew to have yet another crazy thing happen in that time frame — the other side of your reader’s coin.
At any rate, I think it’s important to not lose sight of the fact that we love these shows and characters *because* they do these impossibly amazing things with an impossible rate of occurrence. If they didn’t, they’d be ordinary and not worth our attention in the first place. More Trek is always a good thing, whichever series is featured. Keep them coming!
TPTB have always had the freedom to do what they want without worry of conflicting with the novels and comics/etc. They have an office that oversees merchandising, and one of their duties is/was to screen stuff like novel proposals and manuscripts and comic scripts and wave off anything which might’ve come too close to something being developed for one of the shows, or touched on a plot/storyline/character the show(s) wanted to keep for themselves. When Enterprise was still on the air, novel proposals were getting rejected left and right, because–with the show being a prequel series–TPTB wanted to keep as many options for them as possible, which is why you never really saw any real ties to the larger Trek universe in ENT novels until after the show was cancelled.
As for books set during the various series vs. “pushing the story forward,” my personal preference is a balance between the two, just as I prefer a balance between “standalone” stories and those comprising larger arcs/etc. But, I’m not in charge, and the sales figures don’t tally with my wish list