Babel Clash

When I outlined “The Crystal Shard” and sent the sample chapter and the concept in to TSR (in an attempt to win the spot for the 2nd Forgotten Realms’ novel),  it was Wulfgar’s story.  Drizzt did not exist, not even in my mind.  He was not a character I had played in a game - we didn’t even allow drow elves as player characters in our game.

In fact, the only reason Drizzt came into existence was because of a mistake.  When TSR asked me to audition for the 2nd Realms novel, they sent me the only thing they had printed: a copy of Doug Niles “Darkwalker on Moonshae.” In that book, the maps showed only these small islands - no hint of the larger Forgotten Realms - so I, of course, thought the Moonshae Islands the whole of the land.  Because of that, I used one of Doug’s characters,a  human rogue, to introduce the hero of my book.  That was the sample chapter.

It wasn’t until TSR explained the scope of the Forgotten Realms to me and I was able to set my book thousands of miles from Doug’s work that I found myself in a scramble for a new sidekick to Wulfgar.  Under pressure, off the top of my head, came Drizzt Do’Urden, the Dark Elf ranger.  This story is much more detailed in the Foreward of the The Dark Elf Trilogy omnibus edition - it’s a pretty funny story, actually.

So did I expect that this off-the-top-of-my-head sidekick character would become so incredibly popular?  Of course not!  Hey, i was just trying to get a book published - just one book.  If I could publish just one book, I would be happy, so I told myself.  I had no idea it would evolve to this.

But I did know one thing, or learned it very quickly, I should say: when I started writing that first book, on page 2, I knew.  I had this “sidekick” running across the tundra, tackled by yetis and rescued by this very intriguing dwarf.  And I knew.  This wasn’t Wulfgar’s story at all.  It was Drizzt’s.  Something about him, the classic outcast, the lone ranger, captured my attention and drew me to him almost immediately.

I had no idea that he would become what he has, of course, but I knew that I wanted to know him a lot better.

I do have a fear now that Drizzt has, or will, outgrow me.  I don’t like sharing him (well, I find the fanfic flattering, but I don’t want other authors writing him professionally!), and no, in this case, I don’t play well with others.  As far as the Drizzt portraits go, or t-shirts, or miniatures and things of that nature, I have no real dog in the fight; I just enjoy what the various artists do and usually love their interpretations.

But with the Drizzt story, with the character, that’s my domain.  You won’t see Drizzt stories or comics or novels without my name attached, which means without me writing or co-writing them.

What can I say?  He’s my favorite character; his personal journey is part-and-parcel of my own.

Bob

Let’s get out of the dark place that killing off a major character gets you into and talk about something a little easier to write about - Drizzt Do’Urden.

Drizzt’s come a long way since The Crystal Shard.  I know you have probably spend a long time talking about Drizzt and his evolution from the days of The Crystal Shard to now, but I’m curious - when you wrote The Crystal Shard, did you ever imagine that character becoming so popular…especially given that he’s a dark elf?

In your next post, it would be great to see you talk about the evolution of the Drizzt character (from sidekick to what he is today).  He’s appeared in everything from novels, to comics, to video games, to the YA series you write with your son.  I think it’s safe to say the character you created on the fly for Crystal Shard has definitely shaped the D&D World forever. 

Also, with your collaboration with your son (and with others who have written the Drizzt character in various medium), is it hard for you to entrust the character’s integrity with someone else?  If you’d like to expand on collaboration with your son in regards to the Stone of Tymora Trilogy (The final book of the trilogy, The Sentinels, was just released), that would be great.  Also, in regards to the YA series, was it hard to reimagine the Drizzt character for a YA audience?

Bob, do envision Drizzt making it into a live-action film?  Do you have favorite scenes that you’d especially love to see on the big screen?  When envisioning scenes for your Drizzt adventures, do you consciously build scenes with cinematic scope or does that come naturally given the genre?

Here are some cool interviews with R. A. Salvatore and an excerpt from  his new novel, Ghost King.  Enjoy.

Interview 1
Interview 2
Interview 3
Ghost King excerpt

Before we kill all the elves, let’s reflect.  Here are 9 great stories featuring them.  If you had to add a 10th story to this Top 10 list, what would you add?

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare
The King of Elfland’s Daughter, by Lord Dunsany
The Drizzt Do’Urden novels, by R. A. Salvatore
Elfstones of Shannara, by Terry Brooks
The Harry Potter novels, by J. K. Rowling
Lords and Ladies, by Terry Pratchett
Keeping It Real, by Justina Robson
Elvenbane, by Andre Norton & Mercedes Lackey
Hellboy II: The Golden Army, by Guillermo Del Toro