I don’t think it would surprise anyone if I say that I’m a huge fan of Star Wars. This isn’t new information, right? I practically grew up in the galaxy far, far away. It’s woven into every fiber of my being.
One time, my siblings and I thought it would be funny if, while watching one of the original movies with our parents, we would recite the actors’ lines a split second before them with the proper tone and inflection (it was funny for about two minutes; after that, Mom and Dad told us to knock it off).
Another time, I was in my office listening to one of the soundtracks while working on my sermon. As I worked, I realized that my lips were moving, like I was talking. Only I had no idea what I was saying. It wasn’t like I was reading out loud or talking through my notes. What was I doing? So I tried to relax back into my work, listen to the music, and see if it started up again. It did. And I quickly realized that I was once again reciting the lines from the movie in sync with the music cues!
Okay, yeah, I may have a problem here.
But that’s not what today’s post is about! Not at all! Instead, it’s about how I want to express my geekery in this particular case.
See, I’m no casual, movie-only fan. I’m a consumer of the Star Wars Extended Universe. I’ve read so many novels, both print and graphic. I’ve played the video games. When talking about my favorite Jedi, I have a much larger pool to draw from (it’s a toss up between Corran Horn and Kyle Katarn for me). When it was announced that the EU was going to rebooted to prepare for the new movies, I did my mourning here on my blog.
But blogging about Star Wars isn’t my dream. Oh no. I want to contribute to the official expanded universe.
Ladies and gentlemen, I want to write (a) Star Wars novel(s).
See, I’ve had ideas pop into my head from time to time for plots. Many years ago, I wanted to write a story about Luke, Leia, and Kyle Katarn (because of course I’m going to include Kyle!) slipping into an alternate timeline where Luke and Leia had been captured after attempting (and failing) to swing across the chasm in the Death Star.
More recently, I had an idea for a story set in the Old Republic, set after the events of the Ruusan Reformation, involving a character I call the Force Heretic who had a rather unique view of the Force, along with a villain I nicknamed Darth Atheric. This one started growing a lot of meat on its bones and it kind of kills me that I have to keep it locked away.
I’ve even thought it would be fun to write a series of stories about how the infamous Prophecy of the One would have affected different Jedi throughout the generations.
But hey, I know that all of this is just a pipe dream. I had heard that you can’t suggest your own ideas to Lucasfilm. They’re the ones who came up with the stories and they were the ones who brought in the authors.
And I know that’s not just rumor. A few years ago, I had my long-suffering agent shake a few bushes on my behalf, just to see what she could learn. Unfortunately, this was right after Disney bought out Lucasfilm and, while the people she spoke to confirmed what I already suspected, they also said that they were pretty much putting everything on hold to see how things shook out with Disney.
So once again, I set aside my dream. I know, it’s a long shot. It’ll probably never come true.
But then I saw an interview conducted by Entertainment Weekly with Chuck Wendig, the author who was chosen to write Aftermath, one of the first novels in the “new EU,” so to speak. And there was one question that really stood out:
You got involved with Lucasfilm after tweeting about your desire to write a Star Wars novel.
Wait, what? He…he tweeted about how he wanted to write a Star Wars novel and that’s what did it?
…
Clearly I’ve been going about this all wrong.
Okay, now obviously, Mr. Wendig is a much bigger name than me. I understand that. But if it worked once…
Help me out, won’t you?
[bctt tweet=”Hey @Disney & @DelReyStarWars! Author @JohnWOtte would love to write a #StarWars novel for you!” via=”no”]
But, truth be told, I’ve done a little dabbling in writing for Star Wars in the past. But that’s what we’ll talk about next time in the Geek Confessional.