CTNP Editorial Team

    I'll be the first to admit that I, Wayne, the novelist, am only one person.  I am one Chrono Trigger fan among millions who have been captivated by this story.  I'll be the first to tell you that not all of my ideas may be the best ideas and that this story does not just belong to me, but to all fans of this classic RPG.  There are multitudes of people out there who have contributed their own fanfics, online novels, and short stories based from the Chrono storyline, meaning that there are literally multitudes of ideas floating around out there, any of which could be used to develop the story in some way or another.

    Given all of that, who am I to attempt to create a Chrono Trigger novel all by myself?  What if I miss something or totally screw up a concept or idea?  What if one of my own ideas ends up being not so bright and I don't realize it unless someone else points it out?  That's why I'd like to bring the Chrono Trigger Novel Project Editorial Team (now that's a mouthful) to your attention.  Here, you'll get an idea of how this team operates to bring you the best Chrono Trigger novel that could possibly be produced.  It's a given that they're all great in grammar and spelling, but it's what they have to offer beyond that which makes the team so functional.  Sure, I'm the novelist, but with the help and insight of these sharp, intelligent intellectuals that I have carefully selected, this novel will be as full, rich, in-depth, and just plain awesome as it can possibly be!

    Why an Editorial Team?
    It's a common misconception that all popular books are written or influenced by just one person, and that's in reference to "normal," original works.  This novel, in many ways, is very unique, largely because it is based on a story that already exists and is known by a large fan base.  Therefore, as opposed to expecting to rely solely on a professional editor down the road, I have decided that this story is best served having multiple viewpoints along the way.

    While the team does take on traditional editorial duties such as checking grammar, typos, and flow, their role is prominently to act as a forum for ideas and as a quality check for the ideas portrayed in the story.  I'm more interested in conceptual edits than mechanical ones.  Putting this through a team is crucial for writing a story that already exists with so many alternate possibilities and decisions that have to be made official.  I've decided that some of the ideas applied in the story should not be just my own but also those of other fans.

    As a team, we look at every decision very carefully.  Should we give a name for currency other than just "G" or even "Gold"?  Should we incorporate an Ancient Language for Zeal, and what are the implications of doing so?  Should monster names be capitalized?  Decisions like these, ranging from small to large, are discussed in full.  As a result, we will end up with a novel that has been passed through several points of view instead of just one.  This is fitting for a story that already has a large fan base.

    In terms of the writing, every chapter is initially and wholly written by me (Wayne), and every subsequent edit which is accepted is implemented by me.  All final quality control and decisions are at my discretion, though the process is largely democratic in the wake of disagreement.  I won't take all the credit, though.  Once in a while, some of these guys will actually write in their own lines or paragraphs so clever or sensible that it gets used verbatim or with little change.

    In many ways, these guys have a profound impact on the outcome of the novel's chapters, and I am grateful for their noble assistance.  It's a process that takes longer, but the ending quality is well worth it.

    The Process
    The general editing process is fundamentally simple.  Once I have a chapter typed up and ready to be edited by the team members, they get the file and edit it in the style that works best for them.  Some type suggestions into the chapter, while others make a separate document explaining their comments as they go along.

    After the team has submitted their editorials to me, I go through each one very carefully in consideration of each and every comment, suggestion, or idea.  Many of them are accepted and applied into the novel, while some others are not for various reasons.  Basically, I make a call whether or not a suggested change is the best for the novel.  In most cases, it is, because these individuals understand better than most what works and what doesn't.  I've come to trust their instincts, and, even though there are sometimes mild disagreements, that trust is definitely a very good and comforting thing to possess.  Some ideas and concepts that may require extensive discussion are often introduced into the project's forum to get more minds involved in the thought process.  As chapters are edited, the team also comes together for group discussions online.

    As I apply the changes to each chapter, I carefully document everything using a color scheme.  Once this document is finished, it is what we call the "Editorial Version" of a chapter.  A finalized version is made from this by taking out the comments and colors.  Here are a few examples of these Editorial Versions, taken from old versions of the actual Demo Chapters 3-5 (click image to open the full image in a new window, noting that these are 1024x768 screenshot images):

    We continue this cycle through each chapter until we are all satisfied that it's finished.  Of course, we all understand that a chapter is never perfect and could always use an improvement somewhere, so it's hard to say that a chapter is ever truly finished.  For our purposes, however, we see a chapter as fully edited once there are no longer any conceptual improvements that we can perceive for its content.