Writing update, opening a new Q&A thread, and the importance of Battletech Fiction

Well, the first draft of the fourth story for Battlecorps is (sorta) done. That one I need to go back and do a major rewrite on as it's too long and the plot meanders a bit. Working on the fifth story now and hopefully have that done this weekend.

And since I haven't done it in a while, I'm going to open a new thread on the main Battletech Forumn  so people can ask any questions about writing for Battletech. So, if you have a question, you can ask either here or in the thread.

And here is the thread: Re: Want to ask a Battletech Writer something? ---- Round 2!

And now for the meat of the post; The importance of Battletech fiction.

For thirty years, an important part of the Battletech universe has been the fiction.  Sourcebook fiction, Battlecorps short stories, or novels, each has help create a living, breathing universe that has a consistent and documented history of all over a thousand years. I am a strong believer that it is the fiction helps draws in new players, or at the very least, gets people's attention when they're looking for a military sci-fi that's a little different from the norm.

And make no mistake; Battletech fiction is unique out there in a gaming universe, because it all fits together and it's all canon. Star Trek cannot say that about their novels, and Star Wars just jettisoned their EU line of novels from the field of Canon. Trying to figure out Doctor Who's canon is impossible, by its very nature of time travel. From what I have seen of it (and I could be wrong), Warhammer 40,000 is a mostly static universe, with many stories, but no actual advancement in the timeline. With Battletech, all the stories form part of a large cohesive mosaic covering hundreds of light-years in distance and a thousand years in time. Large one, small ones, personal stories, all have their place. Novel paints bigger pictures, while short stories fill in cracks and small holes and sourcebook fiction gives the grunt-eye view of an event.

While I hope someday we will see Battletech novels again, I don't know when that will be. I don't know why there aren't new novels, only that its not from a lack of interest from the PTB (Powers That Be). So, it's up to the Battlecorps short stories and sourcebook fiction that has to carry the weight of showing the Universe where giant walking tanks rule the battlefield. I know people want longer fiction; I'm one of them, but until the PTB say, "Let's wrote novels!" we can't do anything about it.

So, here I am, writing as may short stories as I can, trying to get them done and submitted in a timely matter. Battlecorps is always looking for writers and I cannot say that enough. It's a good first step if you want to freelance for Catalyst Games Lab.

Well, that's all for now, I'll look at starting up the AToW Characters of the week again. Feed back is always welcomed.

Craig