Others writing Wheel of Time?

[jamhaw]

I saw in a recent interview http://davebrendon.wordpress.com/2009/05/15/an-interview-with-brandon-sanderson/

this

Finally, Michael A. Stackpole once commented on whether or not the world of the Wheel of Time should be expanded by having other writers writing the stories of, let’s say, Artur Hawkwing’s rise to power or how the Seanchan tamed Seanchan, and so letting Robert Jordan’s world expand and grow – good idea or bad idea?

Does anyone know where Stackpole said this?

[Patriotic Kaz]

That idea is, as is becoming popular to say in this forum, TERRIBAD!!!!!!!!!

[apbadd]

If some form of quality could be ensured i wouldn't see anything wrong with this.  Why can't WOT be the new Star Wars?

[Bookstore Guy]

this would be a bad idea imo. lets have authors focus on their own ideas rather than WoT. let's just leave WoT alone after Memory of Light.

and why cant WoT be another Star Wars? well, if you want a book series full of inconsistencies and poorly written novels, then sure it can. but why would we? also, given the amount of research that would be asked of the authors tackling a novel in the Jordanverse, I think many writers would be hesitant to go there. The last thing we need is someone like Martin spending 3 years writing a WoT and postponing his own series...

I'm glad I made the word terribad so well liked around here. It has so many uses.

[Renoard]

Good, bad or indifferent, the idea is manageable.  If Harriet were to trademark everything it could turn into a franchise like the Trek or Who books.  But yeah, that would diminish the work, unless the number of authors was kept small.  On the other hand, Harriet could act as Compiler and editor, and do a series of anthologies like Aspirin did with Sanctuary. That would work nicely and preserve the dignity.

In general though I think WoT should be left to rest.  It would be the most humane thing to do both for Rigney's memory and for the sake of the readers.  Not to mention letting Harriet have some time to heal without impatient fans like myself demanding her to keep focusing on WoT and by extension her loss.

[Shard]

At Jordan con Tom Dorghty was very insistent in wanting the outrigger novels to be writen. I would think though that Brandon would want to get back to his work after aMoL was finished, I certainly want him to.

[Renoard]

Yeah, good are TOR may be.  Publishers are not writers.  Farming it out just to try and wring that last potential dollar from a valuable "franchise" will cheapen the whole and may negatively affect sales of further editions, like boxed sets etcetera.  If young readers just coming along hear about the latest bad knock off, it may discourage them from investing in the WoT books.

I can see it now, Piers Anthony's Wheel of Thyme where a young maid learns to weave threads of Air and water and earth, to make a magical tapestry that opens a portal allowing the Dark One to escape, where he is revealed to be  Grundy Gollum covered entirely in Baking chocolate. . .

[Inkthinker]

Publishers are no less susceptible to the lure of franchise development than any other entity which has possession of a license to print money.

You're simply going to have to trust that the people who make the decisions do so wisely. Because expecting them to leave it set in stone after the last Sanderson book is wishful thinking... it might happen, but I won't hold the baby's breath waitin'.

And playing the Piers Anthony card is hardly fair. Plus you forgot to include panties.

[Inkthinker]

Finally, Michael A. Stackpole once commented on whether or not the world of the Wheel of Time should be expanded by having other writers writing the stories of, let’s say, Artur Hawkwing’s rise to power or how the Seanchan tamed Seanchan, and so letting Robert Jordan’s world expand and grow – good idea or bad idea?

Does anyone know where Stackpole said this?

I'm almost certain he said this on the Dragonpage Cover-to-Cover podcast. They've had discussions in the past about the pros and cons of franchising, fan-fiction and "zombies" (series which continue to live on after the author's death).

It's a good podcast (though I'm slowly tiring of M&M's harping on "new media" publishing, I like it better when they spend time talking about craft and new books  and interviewing authors). In fact, it's where I discovered Brandon Sanderson, when he was promoting Mistborn as a guest on the show. Also how I discovered John Scalzi, Jay Lake and T.A. Pratt.

[Shard]

I didn't realize there was anyone that actually hated Piers Anthony.

Yeah I figure Outriggers will be written I just don't think they will be written by Sanderson is all. Sanderson has been careful to hedge and say "wait and see" so that he doesn't have to commit to anything yet.

[Renoard]

I don't hate Anthony.  I was just pointing out that Other treatments of the material, lacking explicit notes and partial drafts are guaranteed to be disappointing at the very best.  More likely they will just be huge disasters that put people off WoT.

I guess are I do hate any of the Xanth books after Centaur Isle?  He was just phoning it in for decades.  Largely because publishers wouldn't give him the opportunity to publish anything else.

[Shard]

Yeah the Xanth books seemed pretty much just about making pun after pun after boring pun. "through the Ice" was at least interesting to read.

You are right though that getting others on the Outriggers it won't be a Jordan novel. Where at least aMoL has extensive notes, outline and scenes written. There is very little for the Outriggers. I know that doesn't really stop others from exapanding on a universe, usually they at least wait a few decades after the author's death to do that. Like with the new Oz books that are out.

[Renoard]

Well Ike I said, if Harriet trademarks the critical terms, like saidin, saidar, taaveren and any of the other old tongue terms that are significant like Aeil, Aes Sedai and Asha'man.  Then writing "outriggers" is made impossible.  Magel Rodenbury kept the Trek thing in the family that way for decades.  It's ironic that Nurse Chapel becomes the voice of Trek, but hey wait, something about the the computer voice. . .

[JCHancey]

I'm against it. I don't think that a lot of authors have what it takes to write something that could be up to par with what Jordan created. I believe in Sanderson because he's just that damn good. he also has Harriet's help and Jordan's other editor/whatevertheyares with him. I didn't read the Star Wars novels but I did read the offshoots they did with the Bourne books, and they were just terrible. There's too much ground to cover in a series this complex.

[Inkthinker]

Many of the SW EU books are quite good. And they served a real purpose, carrying on the adventures of the main cast long after the end of RotJ.  The X-Wing novels were a particular favorite of mine, and I don't see why a similar concept can't work for the WoT (that being the adventures of characters who exist in the same world, whether before/during/after the events of the main series, but who only peripherally interact with the main cast).