Authors Switching Places

[starmy63]

I was reading a bit about Dorothy Sayers this week, and saw that she'd been actively involved in the 1930s Detection Club for writers of detective stories. At one point they had a contest or activity where writers in the club temporarily took over the characters of another author and wrote a story as though they were that other author (like Agathie Christie writing a Lord Peter Wimsey short story).

The related note is that I think it would be awesome and hilarious to see MWT do a switch like this with another author, like perhaps Shannon Hale since they've been long-time associates and are fairly familiar with each-other's works. I'm just curious if anyone else thinks it would be interesting, and who they think would do a good job writing a QT short story or whose characters MWT could handle really well (a brief Howl escapade or a story of Meliaric and Branaric as kids).

Just to make it more fun, let's say it doesn't necessarily have to be a living author (I'm just giggling to myself over here imagining a Dorothy Sayers version where Gen suddenly gets a monocle).

Comments

[ibmiller.livejournal.com]

Well, we did ask her if she would do a shared universe novel or the letter game (like Sorcery and Cecilia) at the mini Thief Con in DC, but she said no, it wouldn't work with all the struggles for control.

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

I'd love to read a "letter game" novel by any pairing of the others you mentioned! My friend and I used a similar method to write a book together, though I understand that it's not for everyone (and it certainly wasn't easy).

Speaking of Sayers, has anyone else read the Wimsey Papers? She wrote them in letter form, as though from one of her characters to another, and they're amusing extras for fans of her novels. They may be available online somewhere now, but as of a couple years ago, my friends and I had to track them down to the Wade center archive in Wheaton, IL. Here's hoping they get published as a short collection some day!

[starmy63 (from livejournal.com)]

Truly, a sad day for us all. But at least I have another book to add to my list of 'want to read'.

[starmy63 (from livejournal.com)]

I can't remember if I ever found a copy the first time I found Dorothy Sayers (possibly in a book of her short stories and works), but I'm working through her books now and will have to give them another go.
It looks like this site has them available in a few formats like EPUB, although I haven't actually done more than skim through so far.

http://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20160306

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

I had never heard of the Wimsey Papers, so thanks to both of you! I just went and downloaded it from that site and am looking forward to reading it.

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

Yay!!