One of the things I love about the 1632verse is the way the same characters pop up in different stories by differen writers – the way they would pop up in different people’s lives in a real small town. This addresses the basics of asking to use someone else’s character. The short version is: ask nicely on BaensBar.net (1632 Tech forum) and you’ll probably get permission, unless the author with a claim has plans you might impact. Krystal Reed is one of my characters. Shortly after claiming her, someone else wanted to use her. I knew I was going to write a minimum of one novel with her but I didn’t really know where I was going, so I declined to share. Others on the Bar hopped into the thread and we provided several different options fo the writer that fit their parameters and they were good to go. She’s a good example of a character where you are likely to get very limited permission from the author with a claim. She’s one of my lead characters. I have written three novels that feature her, at this point, as well as short stories. I have one more novel planned. That’s not saying I won’t share. It IS saying there’s a lot more canon around her than most characters outside of the mainline novels. I have two other characters, sisters name Gude and Demuth. Another author needed a couple of nurses to send to the Three Leagues. They were both in training to be nurses and I no longer needed them at the point he needed nurses, so I modified what I was doing with them in my story a bit and handed them off. They are now mine up to a certain date, and his after that date. Then I have Irene Flannery. She appeared for one paragraph, about three lines, in 1632. I asked for, and received, permission to…
baensbar posts
Note: I didn’t copy the date, but I’m pretty positive this was adapted from something Eric wrote on Baen’s Bar. At any rate, I’m giving him credit. Or blame. Whatever. BaensBar It’s easiest if you choose from the very beginning. Just go into the programming and toggle a button for your preference. Like most publishers, Eric Flint and the publications written in his name – Ring of Fire Press, the Grantville Gazette and now 1632 & Beyond – prefer straight. But if you go smart instead of straight, that’s okay (as long as you are consistent) because it’s pretty easy to change from one to the other. It’s when you mix smart and straight that it gets problematic. So please, if you are writing for us, turn on smart quotes and smart apostrophes. Wait. You didn’t realize I was talking punctutation? ((Shaking my head.)) We don’t care about that other stuff.