Authors memories on writing Star Trek Novels

[Oz Trekkie]

Boy, have I got the book for you.

https://www.amazon.com/Voyages-Imagination-Star-Fiction-Companion/dp/1416503498/ref=asc_df_1416503498?mcid=cb7997d921523296bca225095abd8665&hvocijid=8286890116875851601-1416503498-&hvexpln=73&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=721245378154&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8286890116875851601&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9192346&hvtargid=pla-2281435177658&psc=1&dplnkId=e945c84b-72e9-4e4a-a30d-838e84d639c8

It took me 5 years to find a decent copy at a reasonable price.

 

[Dr Bonezee]

You can read Margaret Wander Bonanno's account of her bizarre experience, while writing "Music of the Spheres" (eventually turned into the novel "Probe") here: https://web.archive.org/web/20061109011849/http://www.margaretwanderbonanno.com/bio.htm

Thanks for that! I’ll check it out tomorrow!

 

[Desert Kris]

It's been a while since I visited here, and this drew my attention. As someone who has read and enjoyed Alan Dean Foster's work, I was excited to discover recently he wrote a book about his experiences writing novelizations of movies and television stories. I've read a bunch of his adaptations, including some of his adaptations of TAS.

His book is called The Director Should Have Shot You. I think I came across someone here posting about it. The moment I got a hold of it, I pounced on the chapter about his memories of adapting that animated series. It seemed to read like a compiled and expanded version of the Forwards he wrote for one of the last reprintings of the Logs series, yet still very enjoyable to read.

There's also a chapter for the Star Trek 2009 movie, and another for the Into Darkness adaptation.

 

[Therin of Andor]

As someone who has read and enjoyed Alan Dean Foster's work, I was excited to discover recently he wrote a book about his experiences writing novelizations of movies and television stories.

There was also a set of five trade paperbacks of the "Star Trek Logs", two reprinted logs in each volume. There is a then-newly-written (2006) serialised essay in the front of each of the five volumes.

The five omnibuses were published by Del Rey Books in 2006, to celebrate Star Trek's 40th Anniversary.

I loved that ADF talked about being asked by the original publisher, Betty Ballantine, to pad out Logs 7, 8, 9 and 10 to use one remaining script per volume. For Log 7, with the crazy-short deadline hurtling towards him, he pulled out a two-part spec TOS script from his filing cabinet. He had written the script in the 60s, just in case TOS came back for a fourth season! The story featured Kumara the Klingon, who had once been Cadet Jim Kirk's roommate during an Academy exchange program.

I contacted ADF, hoping that he still had the script, or at least remembered his original title. Alas, the script was no longer filed and he had no recall of its title.