David Gaider on Writing in Different Mediums

Dragon Age lead writer David Gaider has chosen to dedicate his latest blog post on writing in different mediums, based on his experiences with novels, video games and comic books. Here’s a snip:

There are also lots of ways to approach writing a novel, but it exists within its own confines and set of rules. A lack of interactivity means all the weight is solely on you to entertain: you’re doing all the dancing and juggling and not asking anything more from the audience than to watch. There’s also more history, and arguably more schools of thought on what is considered good and bad writing. Really, considering you’re the only storyteller, the success or failure of your writing falls only on you.

Personally I’m not sure I could say which is my favorite approach. I started off writing games, and I’m far more familiar with that medium, but it’s easy to get frustrated with the limitations. Then again, you’re part of a collaboration. when it works, it seems like it’s more wonderful than anything you could do alone, and why would you want to? Seeing the game on the shelf, this monumental story that you took part in, is a wonderful feeling. A group achievement, and something that potentially draws the player in on a far more personal level.

Yet it’s also very fulfilling to write something of your own. (The Stolen Throne) was my first novel, and one I took on mostly to see if I could do it. I’d dabbled in the past, of course (which writer hasn’t?). but I’d never actually finished a whole book. I didn’t know if I had the endurance to do so. It turned out I did, though I can’t say I particularly excelled at it. I’m sure there’s no shortage of people who would gleefully agree, eager to criticize what was an amateur effort, but that doesn’t really concern me. I was happy to finish it (not everyone gets the opportunity), and I thought each of my subsequent books showed improvement in my technique. A novel is a herculean task to undertake on your own, so the fact I could pull it off at all makes me happily ignore the naysayers there are people who tell me they enjoyed the books a great deal, and that’s enough for me to keep trying.

Currently I’m quite happy to work on comics, which are another beast entirely. imagine trying to take your customary writing style in novels and games, both of which involve massive and meandering plots, and squeeze it into a medium that is segmented into issues of a fixed size? No extra page here or there where needed? Whoosh. That’s something I needn’t get into, I suppose, but it’s a challenge of a different order (if less of a marathon, perhaps, which is a nice trade-off).