editing as a board game
I spent, well, most of last 27 hours playing board games (I lost miserably, but that’s not the point here, ok?).
During a light six hour sleep this morning, I suddenly realized that while it is next to impossible to create a good novel out of a board game (at least the occasions when I’ve seen this happen are, well, of dubious value–except Carroll’s Alice, I guess), it could be possible to create a board game out of a novel. A board game of dubious value, of course. But this could take care of the basic flaws I have in Vega right now–ie lack of inner structure, balance and realization of what is important in situations, locations and characters, and what isn’t. It would force me to get magic in line, not through the “OK, how could this happen, according to the laws of physics?” method that fails every time, but through “here are the special skills and moves, and you have to make sure that they are consistent within the game while individually shaped for each character”. Also, the game-for-edits would have clear conditions of “winning” for each side, something that I, surprisingly, lost somewhere down the line.
So, well, NO, there won’t be a “Vega: the board game”, I’ll spare you that. However, I think there will be a board and a rulebook, and characters, locations and moves. Let’s see what this approach will give to me.
Doooh! 27 hours?
I believe it is possible to create an interesting novel pretty much out of everything and vice versa – create interesting (or not) everything (or anything? or whatever you fancy) out of even mediocre novel.
S.King, for example, wrote 7 Dark Tower books based on a single poem – Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came.
And there are plenty of RP board games based on R.A.Salvatore’s novels and couple good old PC games based on Roger Zelazny’s novels.
I can’t get one thing clear tho – what the heck is Vega board game? Enlighten me please. Google points to various dubious results with regard to some unknown place in Nevada desert.
Another thing that keeps me curious – is magic appearing in your novels?
take care,
Mark
Vega is a novel I’m still trying to edit (with not much success).
And I’ve seen too much fantasy novels that are basically retelling of D&D game (you know, them having a dwarf, an elf, and assassin and a vampire looking for a lost treasure by solving puzzles) to jump on that particular train. I don’t say it cannot be done, just that it’s tricky