April 19, 2018 - KatrinaOstrander.com

+1 to Writing: A Conversation with Robert Denton III

April 19, 2018 by Katrina Ostrander No Comments

How do you go from being a fan of a franchise to one of the people who gets to work on it? What is it like to write tie-in fiction, and what are some of the challenges these writers face?

+1 to Writing is an ongoing series of interviews with writers at different stages in their writing career, from veteran wordsmiths to emerging authors. It looks at the RPG, tie-in media, and sci-fi and fantasy fiction industries in particular, and what those authors did to break in and keep growing their professional writing business. By the end of the interview, we hope readers feel like they’ve got a “+1 bonus” to continue their own writer’s journey—like a small Guidance spell from popular roleplaying games. Then, readers can experiment with their own writing and editing process to find what works for them.

I’m extremely grateful to be joined by Robert Denton III (@ohnospooky on Twitter) for the next installment of the +1 to Writing series. He’s the author of the upcoming The Sword and the Spirits novella, which I worked with him on as his editor. Set in the Legend of the Five Rings setting, the 144-page hardcover is due out soon from Fantasy Flight Games. The story features the spiritual Phoenix Clan and fan-favorite characters Shiba Tsukune and Isawa Tadaka, along with introductions to Kaito Kosori, her family, and their secrets.

I tracked Robert down amid several nor’easters (and power outages) to ask him a bit about his background in writing, his process, and some tips and tricks he’s discovered along the way.

Reading time: 23 min