Authors: Favorite things to write about

[JD]

I know this has probably come up before, but it hasn't lately, and with so much new Trek having popped up lately I think it's worth asking now. I was just curious what some of the authors favorite things to write about were. I'm mainly curious about your favorite series, character(s), time period, races, that kind of thing.

 

[Geoff Thorne]

I like the TNG-era and current "modern" Trek series for writing in. I enjoy reading nearly all of them.

I don't really prefer any particular species over another. I like characters.

I love Quark but am not funny enough to write him. I LOVE Q (DeLancie) but I'm not big on writing omnipotent beings as a rule.

I really like B'Elanna and enjoyed writing her the most, I think, with the exceptions of Jaza and Vale.

And, obviously, I like Modan.

I actually prefer the TITAN crew, probably because less is known about them and there's lots more wiggle room.

 

[David R. George III]

Whenever I set out on a new project, I ask myself what I want to write about. I therefore begin each new work with the satisfaction of delving into themes meaningful to me.

As for the various incarnations of Star Trek, I've worked on all of them but Enterprise, and I've enjoyed my time on each. I will say that I am having particular fun right now working with a couple of the Deep Space Nine characters. I'm also having a good time introducing the Tzenkethi.

 

[Lonemagpie]

No preference, Trek-wise, but I did find while writing On The Spot that I enjoyed writing for Geordi a lot more than I expected to. And I did love doing the Ferengi as well.

 

[William Leisner]

As a relative newbie, my biggest desire is to write something a little bit different each time, and try to avoid being put into any small pigeon holes.

 

[Una McCormack]

Garak.

 

[Christopher]

I like to write about the undefined spaces of the Trek universe that give me plenty of room to tell my own stories and do my own worldbuilding. Or to take isolated bits and pieces and construct a unified theory out of them.

 

[Greg Cox]

I'll cop to a fondness for the more outre aspects of the Trek universe, like disembodied Jack the Ripper spirits, exotic women who turn into cats (and vise versa), and giant god-like hands grabbing the Enterprise. The more fantastic and outlandish, the better.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

In general, I enjoy writing about broken people.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Were I to write Star Trek, my niche would be much like Christopher's. In the original fiction universe I'm working on at the moment, I have lots of worldbuilding to do. It's my favourite aspect of writing.

 

[Bob Greenberger]

Having grown up on the Original Series, I still harbor a desire to handle them on a solo effort. I think I'd like to explore the DS9 characters more than I have. Overall, though, each franchise has a character or relationship or element that I have always felt deserved extended exploration. I try and find situations I haven't seen on screen and see what happens when I place the characters there.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings

 

[KRAD]

What I really want to do is direct.....

 

[David Mack]

^ What a coincidence. What I really want to do is have sex with hot actresses....

 

[Andrew Harris]

Trek to me has always been about characters first and spaceships second, and the characters that have always been most engaging to me are those who are struggling to understand some element of their "humanity"--Spock, Data, Odo, Voyager's Doctor, 7 of 9--since those are stories with a universal perspective and commonality. (And it's one of the things that Enterprise was so desperately lacking.) Ironically, it's also the kind of story that can really only be told in a sci-fi context, unless you have an ordinary drama with a character who somehow doesn't understand what it means to be human.

From a writer & editor's standpoint, too, it's where you can have the most creative freedom, since it explores a character's inner life without having to worry too much about the big sweep of continuity. If in your story you want 7 of 9 to develop a deeper understanding of one aspect of human relationships, it's probably not going to be derailed by fidelity to canon.

 

[bbailey861]

^ What a coincidence. What I really want to do is have sex with hot actresses....

^Me too, but my wife won't let me. Sorry, carry on...

Byron

 

[Sci]

^ What a coincidence. What I really want to do is have sex with hot actresses....

Oh God no. Stay away from actors and actresses. There are always a few gems, of course, but the majority of them are batshit crazy and/or incredibly shallow, selfish divas.

 

[Geoff Thorne]

^ What a coincidence. What I really want to do is have sex with hot actresses....

Oh God no. Stay away from actors and actresses. There are always a few gems, of course, but the majority of them are batshit crazy and/or incredibly shallow, selfish divas.

LOL.

And yes. Unless you are a mirror, it's best to avoid actors of either gender.

 

[DimesDan]

^ What a coincidence. What I really want to do is have sex with hot actresses....

Oh God no. Stay away from actors and actresses. There are always a few gems, of course, but the majority of them are batshit crazy and/or incredibly shallow, selfish divas.

I think you may have just described the entire human race there.

 

[TerriO]

^ What a coincidence. What I really want to do is have sex with hot actresses....

Oh God no. Stay away from actors and actresses. There are always a few gems, of course, but the majority of them are batshit crazy and/or incredibly shallow, selfish divas.

I think you may have just described the entire human race there.

Definitely described most of the actors and actresses I've known in my career.

I don't know if it's my favorite thing to write about, but I seem drawn to writing about death in some manner, whether facing it, fighting it, or accepting it. Like Allyn, I also lean toward writing people who are somehow broken. Shiny happy people bore me. Broken people dealing with death or another type of cataclysm. That track record is holding with the two pieces I've currently got slated to come out this year, too (one Trek, one original).