This interview is a SCREENPLAY.COM exclusive.

Tracy Hickman:
Writer With a Harness

Interview by Jason M. Eng

Tracy Hickman is a workhorse. After getting to know him over the past few years, that is perhaps one of the biggest impressions he’s made on me. To call this man a writer is to call any human a breather.

Tracy has written or edited more than twenty novels, had ten of them ride on the New York Times Best Sellers list, designed role playing games and modules, created his own role playing game and in recent years begun to write screenplays. Oh, I almost forgot, he is the sole webmaster for his extensive web site and email newsletter.

Where a man has time to breathe with all of this, plus maintaining a very happy and sane marriage of about twenty years while raising four children, I don’t know. But then, since writing is to Tracy what breathing is for the rest of us mortals, I can only conclude he may not be human.

It may seem that Tracy has a charmed life. That may well be why he writes Fantasy and Science Fiction. But it was when he found himself unemployed in 1981 when he finally started on his charmed path. He’d always been interested in story and found himself drawn to game design when he sent a couple of game modules to TSR hoping they would buy them. Instead they hired him. And from there he just sort of fell into the role of novelist.

"I primarily wrote adventure game supplements for the Dungeons & Dragons game in those days," Tracy said of his early years at TSR. "I proposed a series of games, called Dragonlance, set around a central story rather like episodic miniseries except portrayed in game form. The proposal called for many different types of products to support the 'core games.' These included everything from action figures to beach towels. A series of novels were also proposed as part of this package… just another 'add on' to the all-important game core."

But it wasn’t Tracy himself who set out to write the novels. He was focusing on the game development. "When the initial chapters submitted by the contracted author were found to be unacceptable, Margaret Weis - the book editor on the project - and I wrote a sample prologue and the first five chapters of the novel the way we envisioned it. We submitted it the following Monday to the senior editor in charge of the new book department ... and were given the books to write." And so "just another ‘add on’" launches a hot career. "Since that time the novels have far outstripped the games in terms of revenue for the company … and Margaret and I became established as NYT Best-selling novelists."

The partnership between Tracy and Margaret Weis has become part of the magic. And after so long Tracy’s learned a lot about working creatively with another person. "I read somewhere once that a good writing team requires that each member do 80% of the work. I believe that every writing team is unique just as individuals are unique. No two writing teams work the same way. From my perspective, writing with Margaret is a wonderful experience of mutual respect and cooperation. I think any writing team is helped, however, when everyone leaves their egos outside the writing office. By putting the story first and being open to new ideas, writing teams create something synergistically that its individual members could not do on their own."

But partnerships, especially creative ones, are not always smooth. Now, it’s clear that after so many years and books they’ve got as good a relationship with each other as friends and business partners can, but they’ve still had to deal with problems.

"Both Margaret and I, as individuals, have gone through our own personal trials and difficulties over the years we have been together. As I look back, it has been those outside struggles that have occasionally impacted our writing partnership. Every relationship encounters stress and strain at some point. It is how we weather those stresses, however, that is important." Tracy feels that because they’ve weathered the tough times it’s helped them in the long run. "We have always managed to meet these challenges as a partnership and grown stronger for it in each case. People are dynamic - ever changing. Partnerships HAVE to be dynamic as well - growing and changing - or they cannot survive."

Perhaps one of the biggest difficulties for Tracy and Margaret is space. Not that they don’t get enough, but that they have far too much. You see, Margaret lives in the Midwest and Tracy lives in Utah. But like all other aspects of writing with a partner they’ve managed. "Technology has advanced to the point where we can do our work in completely different areas of the country and still remain in constant contact. While working, I am on wireless internet which checks my email constantly and alerts me the moment I get mail from Margaret. We occasionally exchange files this way so that we can keep up with each other's work. We also meet several times each year to talk through books and projects."

Tracy sees their roles being slightly different. "Generally, I am the storyteller and Margaret is the writer. I usually come up with the basic premise for the book, its setting and characters. We then get together and talk through the book with Margaret generating an outline." And when it’s time to put the black on the white? "We have used many different methods over the years. Margaret does the first draft, then I take a pass at the draft and send my notes and comments to Margaret. Margaret does the complete rewrite." I begin to understand what Tracy means when he says each of them needs to do 80% of the work. But with everything he does, Tracy has a strong philosophy for using this method. "It is important that one of us do the entire book draft so that the text has a single voice. While there are variations to the above - with each of us contributing in varying degrees - in general this is how it works for us together as a writing team."

After all that work does this guy give himself even a pat on the back? "Actually, I do celebrate - just not for very long!" Go figure. What did I say about workhorse? "Usually by the time I get to the end of the first draft I already know where to find many of the holes in the first draft. There is a thrill accompanying that surprise that comes whenever I write 'The End.' It is almost immediately followed by the shocking realization that I have to start on the next project now… at page one."

Writers are notorious for having quirky, almost superstitious habits when writing. Heck, I’m one of them. I‘ve already gone through three baseball caps turning out scripts. But Tracy does what any good write-aholic would do? "Oddly enough, I clean my desk. During the course of a project, mountains of clutter appear on my desk as I generally ignore mundane organization in a blizzard of creative paper. The first thing I do is clean my desk … so that I can mess it up in new, more creative ways."

One of Tracy’s tricks of the trade is one he doesn’t talk about much. But then, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t force it out of him. "Writing games taught me the indispensability of process and craft in writing. I could always make up wonderful stories in my head but turning them into coherent manuscripts is an entirely different thing. Dramatica Pro gave me a new perspective on the structure of my stories that I had not had before. I liked that it gave structure to the stories that I already wanted to tell. It showed me the weak points in my plot and the elements that would make it stronger and more complete."

Get ready all you struggling novelists. How does a ten times, NYT best selling author work with what he calls his "indispensable power tool?" It’s all about the characters Tracy says. "For me the story begins and ends with the characters. I depend on the character section extensively. I usually start with the characters even before going to the Story Guide. I use as much of the program as I understand… however the depth of the full Dramatica theory does require a level of mastery. There are many aspects of the program that I am still exploring. Plot progression works in my head but I am still wrestling with it in the program."

The program is dubbed "The Ultimate Creative Writing Partner." Now, Tracy will never replace Margaret with Dramatica. But he’s written many a story by himself. So that’s how he treats the program. "These days, I usually open the program right after concept stage. Once I have an idea in mind as to where I want the story to go, its setting and its theme, I get right into Dramatica. The program acts as a 'sounding board' for my ideas, a 'reactor' if you will, that reflects concepts back to me and leads me to explore new creative options. I usually work my outline once I am satisfied with the refinements from Dramatica."

Tracy still designs games despite branching into other areas of writing. Because Dramatica’s theory of story doesn’t immediately seem to apply to games, I wondered. "I've been toying with the idea of doing a paper on the uses of Dramatica and its relationship to adventure games. It is actually an intriguing question. Players in adventure games are, by definition, the 'main characters' of the story. The game itself primarily provides 'supporting cast.' Are the players 'passenger characters' or 'driver characters?' Which of the archetypes does the game need to provide and which do we reasonably expect the players to provide? Can all sides of the [Grand] Argument be represented by 'supporting cast' only or do we leave portions of the argument to be completed by players? It is an interesting puzzle ... but I feel that Dramatica does indeed have something important to say on the matter."

After all these years working with story in different forms, how does Tracy feel game design and fiction writing compare? "Transitioning between game and novel writing was very much the same as transitioning between other mediums: each medium has unique strengths and limitations. Game design is highly systemic … a highly technical form that emphasizes sequence and ease of reference or process. Characters are set up in terms of their motivations. Internal monologue and dialogue between characters is non-existent. Transitioning between game forms and novel forms, however, has a great deal in common with transitioning between other forms of writing. Screenplay is foundationally different than novel writing. Stage plays are foundationally different from Screenplays. Understanding these differences is essential to success in writing to the different forms and in choosing the best for in which to portray one's vision."

As you may have guessed, Tracy wasn’t just satisfied with writing games and novels. He’s a self-admitted movie junkie. So it only seemed natural that he make the leap. "I love writing screenplays and will be starting my next in a few weeks. It is a difficult business to break into but as it is not yet my 'day job' I can continue to hone that side of the craft while still supporting my household."

Of course, Tracy helped make the process of moving from novels to screenplays somewhat easier on himself. He was asked to adapt one of his novels for Hollywood. "Interestingly, Dramatica helped me a great deal in this area. Screenplay demands that one look at the same story in a new way. By using Dramatica to analyze my previously published work, I was able to approach the same story with new vigor and focus. It actually made the process enjoyable."

One of the biggest issues when making a book fit for the screen is the issue of what from the literary tome can work on the screen and what can’t. And as the writer of both I wondered if Tracy had struggles with himself over what to keep and what to cut. "Certainly. I think every writer wants to see every character on the screen. Still, as Goldman says, screenplay is structure. Every frame of footage on the screen must have purpose. You don't have a lot of time to tell your story on the screen. You have to boil your story down to its essentials. Again, that's where Dramatica has been the greatest help to me."

Though he may act like a workhorse, this guy doesn’t feel like one. "Life's journey has taken me to some wonderful places." And where does Tracy see his journey going from here? Sort of how he sees his biography on his web site.

"…many parts are still in development … just as I am!

Mr. Hickman may be contacted through his website at http://www.trhickman.com/