I was reading SoNA again the other day and a question came to me that is gnawing at me now -- when you write a section for a sourcebook, how is the shadowtalk part written? Do you just write it as you would the rest of the section, or do you write the "text" part of the section first, then go back and comment on it, or do you actually get other contributors to read the text and comment on it in shadowtalk?

When I do it, I usually use the shadowtalk to either clarify something in the text or else to provide a counterpoint. It's often useful to have a shadowtalker provide commentary about how shadowrunners might make use of the information in the text (especially when the text is supposedly written by somebody who isn't in the shadows).

As for when it's included, for me it depends. Usually I intersperse it with the text as I go, but sometimes after I read over a section I realize it needs a little something extra so I add it in later.

Sometimes Rob or the editor will add a piece of shadowtalk here or there as well.

What she said.

Ah, okay....thanks, that's very enlightening. Has the idea of having other contributors to the same book put in shadowtalk for others' sections come up? How much cross-pollenation is there -- in other words, Pistons, when you were writing the Denver section of SoNA, did you get comments from the other SoNA authors on it? It seems like that would almost be a necessity, but I'm curious to what extent that happens.

Sorry to ask so many questions -- I'm trying to get myself back into writing (mostly because my pseudo-boyfriend is starting to get his stuff published like a madman and is making me jealous -- grrr) and I'm curious what the process is like in this case.

This happened a lot on DotSW--there was an amazing amount of discussion back and forth as the sections were being read and reviewed. To a greater or lesser extent it's happened on every book I've worked on (except maybe SOTA:2063...I don't remember) but the Dragons book stands out for me as a highlight of collaboration.

That's good to know -- thanks to both of you. Hopefully, someday I'll get to participate.

This seems like an appropriate time to ask this question....anyone remember SR1 and SR2 days when all the shadowtalk had date/timestamp codes? Was that something authors had to throw in there (vs. editors, interns, lackeys etc )...that just seems like it would be a pain to do!

I remember being bummed when those went by the wayside..but the style makes it more streamlined now...although I LOVED the Aztlan post in Corporate Shadowfiles where someone was posting, like, ten messages with the same date/time and I caught it before I read further then Captain Chaos starts freaking about how someone invaded Shadowland...made you really feel like you were in the game world.

Man, I REALLY REALLY miss Nigel Findley. I remember opening the cover to House of the Sun and seeing that it had his name and RIP. That floored me ! I always thought that would be a cool guy to chat with about all sorts of things over a beer...

SoE had a lot of brainstorming, correcting, and working between all members of the group since the start. Still, it's logical, taking into account that it started in an internet forum.

As for shadowtalk, I've had the three options. Writing first and adding afterwards, wrinting it all together, and using other people's comments as shadowtalk (most comments from shadowrunners from outside Spain fit in this cathegory).

As for the date/hour old sistem, I don't think it should give such a headache, but I'll always love Smiling Bandit for how he played with it. The telephone company must still be trying to understand what happened! Then again, he is the BEST character of them all!

Whilst not as bad as Street Samurai Companion was, much prefer non-date/timestamp books that use the space for actual content. :/