So I had this thought the other day about my book.
If you've followed me since whatever Post 1 was (I think my first attempt at submitting a not-ready fantasy novel), you know my fantasy WIP--formerly Save the Queen, currently The Crystal Bearer--is a book I wrote based on the Final Fantasy franchise. From character names, to themes, to nuances, I molded my story because I wanted to write a Final Fantasy novel. This is why I called it Save the Queen, a popular weapon used throughout the games. I only changed it because the title didn't make sense.
In early queries, I mentioned that I wrote it based on Final Fantasy and was told not to in critiques, because agents might not know what it is. I'm beginning to ponder if I want to leave out that tidbit that is the main reason I wrote the book in the first place, and would I want an agent who can't share a nearly (or totally) obsessive love for Final Fantasy with me? It really takes over about 20% of my life. Some people obsess over J.K. Rowling. I obsess over FF.
So a few things have crossed my mind about this story, one that I think I shared somewhere on here:
1) Write a screenplay for the story. My first major was Writing for Film/Television after all, and I know I could do it if I took the time.
2) Make it a graphic novel. So many scenes I see in my head would work so well in this format, and I think it could work.
3) Try to find the current producers of Final Fantasy to see if an original novel would interest them. They produced two movies after all, and there are novels, novellas, webcomics, manga based on the games that are already out, and an original anime (which I need to search for and watch).
#3 is the one that I thought hard about the other day. It was actually my original goal for this particular story, and I think I'd like to work toward it. If I have a chance at doing this, I know I'll need to change the title again because right after I finished the first draft, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers came out and jacked up my spirit.
Fortunately, I know what it would be: Final Fantasy: Remnant.
(Edit: I already know not to go through Square Enix. Ouch. http://na.square-enix.com/us/documents/unsol)
Greetings
- Debra Renée Byrd
- Delaware, United States
- Deborah Hawkins, penned Debra Renée Byrd, began writing after a blank book project in elementary school and never stopped, fashioning stories based on her favorite TV shows and movies before creating more original works. She studied at the University of the Arts and Florida State University before settling down and graduating from Temple University. She now resides in her hometown of Dover, DE, where she spends most of her time at work or at church. She loves fantasies, superheroes, is a trekkie and a brown coat. She loves television and lives for Final Fantasy video games, having collected most of them. She has read a myriad of authors, and her favorite authors change whenever she finds a new book that changes her life... "When you can't run, you crawl. When you can't crawl...well, you know the rest." -Tracey, Firefly, "The Message"
12 comments:
I think you should at least try #3...even if you got shot down, then you wouldn't be wondering.
I'm sure you've thought of this before, but I'm also wondering--how closely related to the FF franchise is it? Is there any way you can rewrite it so that the characters/world are more your own? Or would that just defeat the purpose of writing it in the first place?
The characters and world are my original ideas, just certain themes that carried through the games are there. It is a standalone from the franchise. :)
Lots of options. Like the idea of a graphic novel although you'd need an illustrator.
I think there are probably agents who are used to dealing with franchises such as this. If you checked out the authors of the novels, you might be able to google who their agents are (sometimes mentioned in acknowledgments) or even the publishing companies! Good luck with it!! :)
Okay, I'm a huge Final Fantasy fan myself, and I think this is awesome! :D I hope to read your book someday, and I wish you best of luck whatever you decide to do.
P.S. Which game in the series is your favorite? I'd have to go with VI, but it's a very close call.
You gotta tell em your inspiration! It's such a huge part of your story you can't not share it. And FF fans will understand (I'm a JKR fan though :) never looked into FF much so who knows!).
You have some great options here and the above commenters also gave great advice. Will be following on to see whats your next step. All the best!
Thanks, Shelley! X is my favorite, but I love the music in VI. :D
Making it a graphic novel sounds like a really cool idea. It's amazing how many shows started out that way…yours could be next! Is it too much to do both a graphic novel and still keep the core of your book as well, a book?
Thanks so much, Jemi! The novels were only released in Japan, and are in Japanese, unfortunately. =\ I'll keep hunting, though!
A graphic novel sounds like a really fun direction to go in! (No surprise that I'd think that, though, right? Heh.)
Someone actually adapted Do Robots Dream of Electric Sheep into a graphic novel with all of the original words, so nope, not too much at all. :D
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