Doctor Who Novel?

[Vortex Manipulator]

I do like to have a bash at creative writing.

I've loved it since my school days, when I discovered I actually had a flair for it, but have only ever really dabbled with it for self amusement.

I do tend to be better using existing characters, or find it more fun myself at least. So, with Doctor Who as 1 of my loves in life, I have several ideas fluctuating around on paper & in my mind.

One of my stronger ideas is for a story set several thousand years in the future.
Set on an Earth colony world, someone is messing around with experiments in time travel.
The Doctors Tardis alerts him to this & he stops by to investigate.
The experiments turn out to give an evil timelord The Doctor thought long gone, trapped in an alternate universe, or imprisoned by a Timelord prison type place a chance to enter this world inevitably with the intent of wreaking havoc.

Sooooo... what do people think?

Would a description of that on the back page draw you in to read more?

[ray gower]

Must put up some warnings here:
You must be very careful when playing in other people's Universes, especially if thinking of putting a cover on it and selling it. In this case I believe it would need to pass through Big Finish as the BBC's agent and they will have very strict rules on how, why and when.
You must also be very tight with how you work with the characters. They must be recognisable. Has to be said Doctor Who fan fictions are doing better than say Star Trek or Stargate here, if only because the Doctor has always been so obvious. But there are some really hideous efforts out there and show why fan fiction is more difficult to do well than many think and why so many look down upon it.

That said, depending upon which Doctor(s) you are using and the details, it could be a promising story.

Indeed it is a base story line that has been used several times since the mad monk in Time Meddler (1964) and the latest variant was a Big Finish BBC7 radio play Shada!

[Vortex Manipulator]

Thanks for your input RG.

I'm just dabbling still at moment, not really sure if I'll ever get round to attempting to put anything forward to be considered for publishing.

I do get what you say about fan fiction.

I understand some write stories of fave shows / programmes & basically just include themselves as an additional character.

Not the sort of line I'd be looking to go down. Literally just trying to come up with stories which could potentially fit into what has happened previously with the characters etc.

Mainly I've been playing about with 9th & 10th Doctor, with combinations of Rose, Rose & Jack or Martha as companions. Mainly just as these are freshest in my mind.

I do have goes at writing utterly unique fantasy, sci-fi & political thrillers (thats 3 different genres, not a foolish attempt to mix all 3!) but I just struggle to convince myself that potential readers would really "get" my invented characters.

Maybe trying family & friends may be the 1st test!

[ray gower]

With due declaration, I am a fan fiction writer.

I understand some write stories of fave shows / programmes & basically just include themselves as an additional character.

That is indeed one form of 'Fan Fiction', and is often called a 'Mary Sue'. But there are a full gambit of other styles too, included the ones that get published.

Some are written by those with the lexicon and writing ability of an untrained goldfish (some of those get published too!). But there are a few that are far better written than the actual show itself.

It is as good a way of starting to learn the skills of writing a story as any other you will find. So I say, amaze your family with your skills, have a look at your competition on gallifreyone, fanfiction.net even the BBC's Writers corner, but above all follow the fanfic writers core principle- Have Fun Doing It!

[anthorn]

Umm be warned... the BBC are rather angsty about this stuff, but as long as you dont try and get it published you should be safe from legal issues.

And if you Do want it published, then i suggest you contact the people who handle the doctor who book universe.