Subject: The Writer's Guide for the Star Wars Expanded Universe Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 22:29:29 -0000 From: "Roger Wood" To: rob@daltonator.net The Writer's Guide for the Star Wars Expanded Universe 1. Don't watch the movies. You've already heard the plot from a friend or newspaper article, so what's a bunch of hokey special effects going to teach you? For that matter, don't read the books by other authors as well, since the dumb SW fans (who are basically dumb 12 year olds) will never notice consistency problems. 2. Write small. No-one wants a big galaxy-spanning epic; it's not the type of story the Star Wars vehicle was meant to showcase. Instead, focus on the problems of a small group of people whose actions should have little or no effect on the galaxy proper but will end up saving it nevertheless. That way, you don't have to write a long, boring story about sweeping political change brought on by intense galactic fighting. Three. Don't use numbers because SW is a fictional universe more based on mythology than technology. If you *absolutely* *have* to give a number for something, make it small and undersatandable, not some insanely high number like the "one-million worlds of the Galactic Empire." Sheesh, that's just huge! 4. Stick to the movie storyline. Stick to it like glue. Star Wars fans don't want to see anything new. Rather, they prefer a ressurection of ideas like unstoppable superweapons and Luke's struggle with the Dark Side. Also, while there is a whole Star Wars universe out there, it pales in comparison to the literary riches of the planets Tatooine or the rebel base of Yavin, both isolated and unknown places with extremely rich histories. The fate of the galaxy will always revolve around familiar places, so that the reader does not need to stretch his (or her? Like, do girls read this stuff?) imagination. 5. WEG is smarter than that hack George Lucas and his college-dropout design team at ILM. If something contradicts them, or just plain doesn't make sense, don't worry. Always go with WEG because their ideas are always the most well-thought out. But if you've followed rule #1, you shouldn't be noticing any flaws in the first place. 6. When in doubt, invent a superweapon. Face it, there's not much that could possible happen in the Star Wars Galaxy. So instead of struggling to find an actual plot in that void, just invent the latest "threat that may mean the end of the Republic" as another large superweapon that has been completely forgotten about. Heck, for some reason, every pitiful uprising or miner's strike is a "threat to the Republic." That should give you something to work with. 7. The Jedi are wimps. Would you pick their hocus-pocus crap over modern technology. Neighter would we, and that's why they're so easy to defeat. Whether it's from stun blasts against lightsabers that no-one tried in the movies to force-bubble creating creatures, Jedi powers are just a non-mystical, quantifiable tool. 8. The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of a few people, usually the same group of people. Sure, there are billions, heck, maybe even trillions of beings in the SW galaxy, but they're all mindless sheep who are generally incapable of taking matters into their own hands. So always have the Fate Of The Galaxy resting on the shoulders of a small group of characters. (It's easier to write that way too.) 9. Look at Star Trek for inspiration. Who are we kidding, anyway, SW is just a dumbed down copy of Trek. So it makes sense to follow its rules. Humans can mate with non-humans, all SW tech is standardized throughout the entire galaxy so it is easily figured out by characters. We don't want any alien thinking. (Unless it's familiar to the readers. Don't the Yevetha remind you of the Japanese? That's no accident.) 10. This may seem a small point, but it seems to be of importance, somewhat, in Star Wars. You're probably not familiar with it: Space Combat. Just a few tips: Starship weapons typically have ranges measuring in the hundreds of meters, kilometers at the very best. Weapon yields never exceed what we have here on earth, like those massive 1kt nukes. Destroyers are larger than cruisers. Any naval expert can tell you that Destroyers are the largest class of warhip. They're certainly big in the movies, and since we see alot of them, it is logical to assumer that the are the largest vessels in the Imperial Navy. In fact, your order of battle (in ship sizes) should look like this: >From smallest to largest Gunship Corvette Frigate Cruiser [interchangable with frigate] Battlecruiser Dreadnought Destroyer Super Star Destroyer [we've never seen any ships longer (ships are measured in length after all) than this, so if you created one, it would have to be called a _Super_ Super Star Destroyer] Finally, use stock characters. Studies show that it helps readers to see familiar characters. Instead of an Imperial officer who did his job out of loyalty to a cause or to feed his family, it is ALWAYS because he is purely evil or easily motivated by greed. Conversely, rebels never commit terrorist acts, even though it is standard procedure for successful rebels. The Rebels must never be seen as doing an act which inadventently causes harm to good people. This also helps get rid of those nasty grey areas in the good vs. evil themes. Well, Good Luck, now get out their an earn your high salaries! Kevin J. Anderson Profilic Author [To see my numerous awards, E-Mail me and I'll sned you a list]