Writer's Guide for Star Trek

[maglaurus]

I'm making an effort to write some science fiction within context of the Star Trek setting; short stories, maybe a novella. I was curious to know if anyone is aware of a writer's guide (maybe even one available on-line?) for the Star Trek universe, something like those "How to Write a Murder Mystery" books that explains the tones, pacing, and patterns of Star Trek stories. I know that, at the very least, the regular episodes of ST:TNG had a definite pattern that took the viewer through the same series of strong emotions each time. It was a powerful formula that was compared, if I remember right, to certain types of Western religious sermons by academics studying Rodenberry's filmography.


Any information that would point me in the right direction would be much appreciated.

[Ineti]

Given that there's only one market for professional Star Trek fiction, it's not surprising that there's not a book on how to write Star Trek. There are plenty of books on how to write science-fiction, though.

That being said, I'm pretty sure you can find the writer's bibles for TNG, DS9, and Voyager, either in an online store, at a convention, or elsewhere. They usually talk a little bit about what they were looking for from writers. That might be your best bet.

A quick search reveals that the Roddenberry store has most of them for sale.

David Gerrold and Orson Scott Card each have published very good books on writing science-fiction, and most of the elements they discuss can easily be implemented in a Star Trek story.

If you're interested in writing a Star Trek novel, the submission guidelines are here.

Many Trek fiction writers hang out at the TrekBBS Literature forum. Most of them are happy to answer questions from prospective writers.

EDIT: I'd also recommend keeping your eyes peeled for the latest volume of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. It's an annual anthology of Star Trek short stories written by fans and submitted through the Strange New Worlds contest. This year's volume came out in September, and the contest for next year just closed on Oct. 2. Not sure if there will be another contest next year, though.

[Cut]

I have read the guidelines and the FAQ.
Right now I understand, why there are so little (are there any at all?) novels written and being published by the common fan...

[Ineti]

I have read the guidelines and the FAQ.
Right now I understand, why there are so little (are there any at all?) novels written and being published by the common fan...

How do you define 'common fan'?

Every Star Trek novel writer I know is a big fan of the series.

[Cut]

You are right, of course. I meant that not many non-professional writers get their stuff into print. Some of the authors of the Trek novels have to be fans themselves, in order to write their stories.

[Captain Otto]

I think these guidelines are primary designed to discourage most "common fans" from publishing anything.
With these guidelines they ensure that their Idea of trek is continued.

[Ineti]

I think these guidelines are primary designed to discourage most "common fans" from publishing anything.
With these guidelines they ensure that their Idea of trek is continued.

Pretty accurate. Not many common fans are going to make the effort to get their writing to a professional standard. Pocket Books is, after all, a business, and if they were to publish any Joe Trek Fan's story as a Trek novel, they'd rapidly be out of business. There are standards to maintain.

And yeah, submission guidelines from any publisher are one of the first hurdles to get over when trying to publish professionally. They can be overcome.

[Ineti]

You are right, of course. I meant that not many non-professional writers get their stuff into print.

That's not entirely accurate. The Strange New Worlds contest was specifically designed to give non-published writers a chance to get Trek stories published professionally.

One of the current Trek editors is also very much devoted to getting new timers published for the first time. Other publishers work with new writers as well.

Every pro writer out there was a non-professional at some point.

[maglaurus]

I'm not looking at being professional with this, all I was looking to do was kill some time in between chapters of my master's thesis.

I really appreciate the info on the series bibles. I'm definately tempted to pick one or two of them up. I'd imagine they might even help with rpg writing.

[LUGTrekGM]

Hey, here's the deal, for anyone out there:

Ask yourself if you are serious. If you aren't, stop now, as you will never get it finished. My wife, who was taught by Orson Scott Card, was not serious. Thousands were wasted on courses for her. She now sells shoes. I got her sci fi writing course books in the divorce. I am still working at it, more or less self taught, because I am... well hell, I love sci fi.

I am no expert, but I am on the road. Anyway.

If you ARE serious:

Realize that others have done it. Hundreds, for just Star Trek. A few thousand for other sci fi. Unlimited numbers for other writing, and that's just for the English language.

Prepare Adequately. It is a marathon. Unless you want to run out of steam in the final lap, you must train.

It's not about the fact that it is Star Trek, it is about the actual writing, albeit Star Trek, or any other Famous Show(TM) or your own Sci-Fi setting. In writing for Trek, you might find that you really want to do your own stuff.

Hook up with Writer's Digest magazine. Old issues can be had for cheap.

Half price books has for very cheap, any number of books from the Writer's Digest "The Elements of Fiction Writing" series. These are typically white books, a few hundred pages with a glossy binding. All good stuff, written by people such as Orson Scott Card "Characters and Viewpoint". Many titles, all good stuff. Helps a lot for writing in general.

See if you can also find:

Cliffs Notes Science Fiction An Introduction. C.K. Hillegass, 1973
Cliff's Notes Inc. Lincoln, Neb 68501

Writing Science Fiction. Christopher Evans, St. Martins Press, New York

Science Fiction Handbook, Revised. L. Sprague de Camp & Catherine C de Camp. 1975 Owlswick Press, Philadelphia

How To Write Science Fiction and Fantasy. Orson Scott Card, 1990 Writers Digest Books, Cincinnati, Ohio

How to write tales of Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction. Edited by J.N. Williamson
1987, Writers Digest Books, Cincinnati, Ohio

All of the above are good. Some are great.

Okay it also helps to know the field. Get some recent star trek books, series doesn't matter. If you have access to half price books, they are selling piles of these, every day, for about a buck, sometimes .50 cents. I have bought them in big blocks of 50 for 15.00 as special sales.

Open 'em up and READ them, examining how they tell it, word by word, line by line, page by page. That's the mechanics of it.

Plot is important, but not so important as conveying the characters, since you are writing for them, under their approval, a la the license, I think.

For example:

Star Trek: Vanguard
HARBINGER, By David Mack

"Commodore Matt Decker wasn't entirely certain what to call the swath of fuzz that currently adorned the lower half of his face. It was too long to be stubble, but far too sparse to be a beard. Scratching it gently during the turbolift ride to the bridge, he found the description he was looking for: It was scruff."

This captures Decker as we recall him from when he was opposed to the planet killer machine. It establishes, in one paragraph, his essence, he's a commodore, and he's on some kind of ship. Later paragraphs establish more.

So read these things. See how it is done, like a carpenter using wood, and a bricklayer bricks, and a swordsmith using steel. Only that an author uses words. A wordsmith.

You'll need a good dictionary, and a thesaurus. More or less for accuracy, and flavor.

One trick is to just tell the story. Tell it like you would tell a beloved cousin, while you are both sitting in robes at a breakfast table over coffee. That will give you the synopsis. Once you have that, add the details.

There's this guy, he's a starship captain, sailing thorugh space in the far future. He's got humans on his crew, of course, but also aliens, from other planets. They are flying along, and they get this mysterious distress call, and have a few hours to get there before a million people die. Etc.

Okay a big tip form more than a few professionals. The one slick trick, easy way. A free course in how to write a published novel:

Get your favorite sci fi novel, in the style, and genre / tone you want. Open it up. Only this time, do not just read it.

Instead, Word for word, hand type it.

Once you are done, in a few weeks, you will have experienced what it is like to write a complete, published novel in the satyle of one specific author, and seen how it is done, word by word, page by page. With that experience you are literally years ahead of someone with a good idea who has no good clue how to even begin. Then, looking back on it, you can see how they did X, and accomplished Y as a plot, with wrapup Z.

Then write your own, or decide it is too much work.

More tips:
Learning about screenwriting can help, too. Dozens of screenwriting books are out there. These help since star trek is mostly experienced as a visaul TV show. Even though there are a lot of novels, most people who are fans come to it from the TV Show format, and that kind of writing is very tight, visual, and to the point:

Kirk and crew on the bridge.
Distress call.
Go to scene of disaster.
Plot twist / Commercial break.

Kirk and crew beam down, or meet aliens.
Plot twist or more information.
Kirk comes up with a solution, but it is slightly off.
Spock provides new info, or Kirk's love object does.
Red shirt gets killed or the hot chickie draws a down on kirk with phaser on kill.
Commercial.
Etc.


Next Gen did a good job with plots, generally along season 2, and a bit later, until it got to be too much soap opera.

Some people loved DS9, some hated it. I'm undecided.

I would not recommend voyager, for the most part.

Some of the old TOS plots were by very famous at the time writers, such as Harlan Ellison, and Robert Bloch. Very well known sci fi authors.
"City on the Edge of Forever" is a classic, and timeless. If you can write in that style, it will sell itself.

To summarize, it is more than just "I want to write a star trek thing." If you want to be a writer, it is out there. it doesn't pay a lot, but people who do it can make a living at it. People who are talented and hard workers can make a pile.

The New Voices contest is a good place to start to get noticed, if you are not ready for the full novel.

I think they are still running it, I haven't checked in some time. Submissions are due by early september, I think. So you've got a year.

Oh yeah, most colleges have a writer's course open, where you can find a circle of people to showcase to, it helps with bouncing off ideas. and they have a requirement, X pages by X Day, this week.

So you'll find out quickly if you can work with deadlines, or not. It develops the skill of Assignment. Planning it, Typing it. working it, and okay, it is good enough; submit. If you can't work on that simple basis, do something else.

Final point:

One of my teachers once said:

I'm a writer. I write. My father was a Truck Driver. For thirty years he drove a truck. Not ONCE did he ever call off sick from his daily route because he had "Truck Driver's Block."

Think on that. It's a big lesson. Writer's Block is a myth. If you do not have a writing assignment, assign yourself one, for the day. Even a scene, a character. A backstory. A plot twist. An ending. A beginning.

Get the decipher ST:RPG Narrator's Guide. It's really well done, and lays out the basics of plot in a style that is really nice for those who would write in 3 act format for TV / Films. The Last Unicorn Narrator's toolkits, the same. S. John Ross is a wonderful unsung hero. I'd advise any writer for trek to get them, gamer or not. They are that good as a tool and all around resource.

Oh, if you can find a copy, the new Star Hero for Hero Games 5th edition by James Cambias and Steven S. Long is pretty good. Had on ebay for 20 bucks. Really good chapters in there on writing sci fi.

I could go on, but that's enough for now.

Good luck.

- LUGTrekGM

[C5]

Wow this is an impressive and thorough piece of advice you gave here LUGTrekGM, many thanks. I don't know if I'll ever get myself to write something (my writing experience stopped at the short stories I wrote in the highschool paper, but I loved it and apparently so did the readers), but should I ever decide to give it another try I'll be sure to read your post again (even if I don't write Star Trek novels, which is quite probable given it's hard enough to write in my mother thongue).

[LUGTrekGM]

Well, thanks.

I've just been in a writing mood lately.

I just launched a local gamer group here, picking up the game that I tried and tried to start on internet mony months ago, USS Majestic.

The players all report having fun, and looking forward to more.

So, writing RPG scenarios and book stories is very similar. Not exactly the same, but closely related skills.

No lie, Decipher's Narrator's guide tops my personal list for best RPG book in print, hands down. I only wish that it had come out years ago, so that Traveller writing could have benefitted from it's techniques.

Anyway, to those out there, hey, don't give up. It's a book, a page at a time.