The Life of a Battletech Writer

I write Battletech, but what does that mean?

To be a a writer in an IP with such a rich and deep background, it can't be a casual relationship. While other IPs, such as Star Trek and Star Wars have a much more open universe, Battletech has a single unifying history and well-defined factions. While Star Trek's canon is malleable, and  Star Wars is only now beginning to unify their canon (after removing a large chunk of the previous 'canon'), Battletech's has been consistent (in general terms, some details were altered by following authors to better fit in with what is now canon.) for almost 40 years. 

I remember when The Sword and the Dagger came out -- that novel, if it was written today, because today's canon would have not allowed a number of places and events to be in it. It isn't a bad novel, but the author was writing that novel with only a few notes and no background to base the story on. So reading it today, it doesn't have the same ring of later novels.

Any Battletech story or novel today has to past through a battery of fact checks, ranging from correct military ranks in a faction's military, the correct 'Mech variant, history check, and even language. Yes, things will slip through, but most are caught and the writer notified about what needs to be changed.

So, what does this mean to me, as a writer? What follows is a rough outline about how I go about writing a story. This is about story fiction, not sourcebook fiction.

Stories come in two ways: me writing a story, and John saying, "Hey, I need you to write this!" (like the Elements of Treason series). 

For my own stories, it sometimes starts with a story idea -- A "What if?" question. For example, "What if a soldier gains an undeserved reputation?" (The Lance Killer) or "What if a priest found his faith being tested?" (State of Grace). Other times, it could be an image that inspires a story. Hikagemono was inspired by the first TechManual cover.

After the idea is born, I research. When would be a good time and place to set this story? Sometimes,  it can be lines from a sourcebook that set the time and place -- The Lance Killer was set in time and place by two lines in the FedCom War sourcebook. Heroes' Bridge was inspired from a description of the fighting on Mandate described in the Fourth Successor War sourcebook. Kurodenkou has it basis in a scenario from the The Dragon Roars scenario book. Every so often, I will read through a Battletech book, seeing if anything sparks a story idea.

After I have a story's basic idea, along with a time and place, I research details. 'Mechs need to be the right ones for the time and place the story occurs, and things like ranks (Important to have the right ranks), anything from a planet's description I can use, such as locations, and where a unit should be.

While I'm researching, I'm writing. Depending on the level of detail, I may skip a section, or use things like "XXXXX" for words or locations I don't know at the moment and come back later and fill it in. I don't usually outline a story, but let it flow naturally.

Once the story is done, I send it in and continue onto the next story. Sometimes, I have more than one story I'm working on at any time. When I get feedback on a story, I make the corrections, or make an argument to leave certain details as they are.

Now, novels are John Helfers IMing me and saying, "I have something for you. You interested?" Icons of War was passed onto me because the original author didn't have the time to write it. The Elements of Treason series have their roots in the Tamar Rising sourcebook. In this case, I take the events from the sourcebook, and construct a plot around them. 

I also am not afraid to go back and revisit characters to use them in other stories. I feel that their usefulness is far from over and they have more to say. I've done that with several characters, and I find they are still as fresh as they were when they first appeared.

With novels, it allows me to broaden the number of characters and subplots. While I have the events I must include, I can put my own spin on them, staying with the spirit of the sourcebook's words while adding depth to the events.

In Icons of War, I had to come up with a reason why the McKenna's Pride was in the Inner Sphere with General Kerensky's body onboard. The largest problem was the Wolves left the Clan Homeworlds in 3071, but the McKenna's Pride is still there in 3076. It is this problem that led to the main plot of Icons, and the characters and events that branch off of this plot. The blank slate of non-warrior Homeworld Clan society and a mention of Free Guilds in the Jade Falcon, combined with the presence of the Dark Caste led to Satinka and her people being created. To show the Clan government wasn't completely clueless led to the creation of Bhu Telinov and Warrior Kyne. Stas and the Wraiths came about because I needed a 'Mech battle and only a couple of my other characters were Mechwarriors. The running space battle at the climax was  necessary to maintain tension. As the pieces came together, they answered questions that I had, like "Why did it take Garman's team five years to steal the battleship?" and "Why did Garman take the McKenna's Pride instead of just the General's body?"

Once I've completed the first draft, I send it in and wait for the editor to read though it, make notes and changes. Once I have the list of changes, I read through them and change what I agree with and argue those changes I don't agree with.. I know that I do not write perfect first drafts; few people do. And most changes are made without complaint, a few with muttered curses, but not worth arguing about, and a few changes I strongly oppose. I will sometimes take a note and incorporate into the story in a way they don't expect. The second draft gets sent back and the process is repeated until everyone is satisfied. 

Sometimes, the Word Count is the limiting factor. I am given a word count and I have to try to stick to that. Sometimes I can hit the WC, other times, I have to ask for another 5K words to complete the story. The word count is why some events are not covered, but are glossed over. I have told John that "It's stuffing a 60K story into a 45K bag." I'm looking at writing short stories to cover some of those events I glossed over in the novels.

I am never not writing; if it isn't Battletech, it's for my other projects. For Battletech, I have several short stories started, as well as novellas in various states of written. Some may see the light of day, others won't -- for those I don't, I may strip out characters and put them into other stories that need them.

I think I've rambled on enough for this post. Enjoy yourselves and be safe.

Craig