Tad Williams To Release To Web

H.I. McDonnough writes "Tad Williams, author of the near future sci-fi series Otherland and the fantasy series Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn will be releasing a new fantasy series on the web. From the site: "Shadowmarch is not going to be simply a novel to download. It will be a serial story -- episodic, presented in regular installments more like a television show, that can either be downloaded and perused at leisure (even printed out) or read right on the site. There will be art, maps, and background history of the world, all available as part of the package." I don't know if any other major author has tried this. You can read the free prelude on the site at http://www.shadowmarch.com." The whole she-bang is supposed to launch June 1. But I will say that this looks more like what I think the online publishing will be like - less like King's "The Plant" idea, which was still dumb, IMHO.

Comments

The Plant wasn't dumb...

[dmorin]

...it was an experiment. What contributions have you made to the electronic publishing arena? Anything, smart or otherwise? The only way to determine what will work and what won't is to have the testicular fortitude to try it. King was in a position to do it. Rumor among the publishing circles, by the way, is that he got bored with the story, not that the revenue model wasn't working. He's opened the door to everybody who was afraid to be first. Now we'll see some more experiments that might work out better.

On a different note, I wish Williams would hurry up and finish the Otherland series so I can stop buying the damn things. I don't like them anymore, but I feel that I've already invested so much time and money in the first 3 books that I have to see it through to the end.

Is this supposed to be serious?

[VValdo]

First off, I don't know what you mean by "open source" writing in the first place-- are you talking about writing something and then placing it in the public domain for free distribution? Or do you mean an "open-source" like writing PROCESS whereby a "project manager" writes a book with contributors from various sources?

Or, perhaps, you mean that all writing should be "free" (as in beer). Because if the literary work is the "compiled product," the real "source" of one's writing, insofar as I can tell, is the collection of experiences of an author. I've already seen some responses here saying, "yeah, imagine if we had to pay for Shakespeare" or whatnot-- First point-- shakespeare was PAID for what he wrote, just not by you. Secondly, Shakespeare's plays and poems were not written in a write-something-and-pass-it-on fashion (unless you're one of those people that believe he didn't actually write anything). The "collaborative" elements that inspired his work came from other plays and writings that had come before him, world mythology and the history of civilization, and from his own personal experiences and trials and experimentations.

They did not come from a committee submitting literary "patches" for his sonnets.

If writing is to become a truly creative medium on a par with programming

Is this a joke? Are you also advocating open-source painting? If so, maybe you can help me get a paintbrush into MOMA-- I'd like to make a few improvements to some of the Picassos.

In short, if you really believe all writing should be definition be collaborative, please forward your Slashdot password so i can submit better informed opinions.

I kinda feel like this is a troll or I'm just missing the sarcasm.

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