BULLSEYE BOOKS
WRITERS' GUIDELINES
These are the original writers' guidelines I sent out to interested potential authors. Since I'm not publishing Bullseye Books any more, I'm no longer seeking contributions - so these are included here for information only. Please don't send me any ideas!
The Insider's Guide to Bullseye
Doctor Who, the television series
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Bullseye Books began life in 1993. They are intended to be a series of stories forming an imaginary continuation of the original BBC Doctor Who series. Effectively we are trying to suggest what the TV series might be like if it had never ceased production. After the twenty sixth season, it is supposed that Sylvester McCoy continued for three more mythical seasons as the Doctor, before relinquishing the role. The adventures of Bulleye's "eighth Doctor" would thus begin with the thirtieth season. The name Bullseye is a deliberate play on Target, for Bullseye Books are hopefully intended to capture the spirit and style of the early Target novelizations, especially the ground breaking work by Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke in the mid seventies.
CONTINUITY
Effectively, we recognize all the television episodes of the original BBC series Doctor Who until the end of the twenty sixth season, including Shada and K9 and Company. We do not recognize any of the New or Missing Adventures novels, nor the 1996 TV movie and subsequent BBC novels. However, continuity shouldn't be allowed to restrict the creative freedom of the writer, so feel free to ignore anything from the TV show that gets in your way.
The first Bullseye adventure, The Belphegor Inheritance, revealed much information about Gallifreyan history, and the Doctor's early life. (It is not immediately essential for prospective writers to understand all of this, but I'll discuss it with you if you want. However, I will consider no stories that feature the Time Lords, their history and their politics - I am writing them out of the Bullseye universe. You would have to make a good case to even make me consider a story featuring a renegade or exiled Time Lord.)
STYLE
Basically, what we're looking for is good stories, written well. I would like to think that the stories we produce are good enough to be published professionally, so the first thing I'd look for are good grammar, spelling and punctuation, and a crisp writing style. Stories can be complicated or mysterious, but must make clear sense by the end. In keeping with the early Target role model, I would far prefer exciting and dramatic action adventures than some of the experimental writing styles used in the New Adventures. I'm not looking for stories too broad and too deep for the TV screen, but stories that really could be part of the Doctor Who TV series - the only difference being that TV budgets do not apply, so if you want giant space cruisers and thousands of aliens, you can have them.
Each story should be substantial and stand alone, so really we're looking for novel length. As we're emulating the TV series, you should construct your plots in episodes, with appropriate cliffhangers. From there, break down the episodes into two or three chapters each - in fact, just like the old Target novels.
Everyone has their own way of writing, but I would recommend working out the plot development in detail before you start writing. (Personally, I always devise a numbered chart of everything that has to happen in the story. I never start writing until I know how the story is going to end.)
As a rule of thumb, I reckon one episode is worth about 16,000 words of text (give or take a few thousand either way - because we're not tied to a set episode length on TV, the length between cliffhangers can vary a bit without too much trouble). 60,000 to 65,000 words for a four part story is probably a good target to be aiming for. I usually find that three interwoven plot strands make up a good story. (Of course, all this is just a rough guideline, based on my own writing style and story length. Some writers have found this length requirement off-putting at first, but once plots start to take shape, it begins to look much less daunting. So don't be discouraged - let's develop story ideas first, then worry about getting the finished product into shape.)
Probably the best thing to do when you come up with a story idea is to contact me and discuss it, to see whether it fits in with the Bullseye Universe we're creating - even if you don't think you've got enough ideas to create an entire story. Often the discussion will stimulate the imagination, and develop the idea into a full story outline. (It works for me.) Because we're trying to create an ongoing continuity, the editor's input is perhaps higher than in other fan fiction ventures. However, it is my hope that this will result in an entertaining series of adventures, with a high level of quality throughout. As work continues, a small but dedicated team of writers is being assembled, which will hopefully give the continuing series a well defined style of its own.
To get a feel for the eighth Doctor and the style of Bullseye Books, it might be best to read one of the novels first.
The Insider's Guide to Bullseye
Doctor Who, the television series
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The Doctor | CHARACTERSThe Doctor - The main character in every story is always the Doctor, and he should always provide the ultimate solution to the plot. The eighth Doctor appears to be about 45 years old. He has blue eyes, and light brown hair, that falls over his collar. He normally dresses in a tweed suit - the style and colour of his clothes can change from story to story however. He wears a waistcoat and pocket watch. In his pockets, he usually carries a pen torch, a handkerchief, and a pen-shaped laser beam, and any other assortment of junk that might come in useful during a story. The Doctor possesses a wide range of knowledge on most subjects. It is not unusual for him to know all about alien species we have never met before. He is very persuasive, and can manipulate people by flattery or playing on their weaknesses. (But unlike the seventh Doctor, he does not have a masterplan from the outset. He lets events happen to him, and deals with them as he goes along.) The Doctor is a scientific genius. He understands most forms of technology, and can repair or lash up a great variety of machines or equipment. He has no magical powers. He relies on his knowledge, his intellect and his scientific skills to save the day. Although essentially a non-violent person, the Doctor will engage in physical combat with an aggressor if he sees no other way out. Aware that he is not invincible, the Doctor covers his basic insecurities with flippant humour and sarcasm, often at the expense of his adversaries. This often serves both to anger his enemies and entertain the reader. The Doctor is able to shut off his emotions in tense situations, and so often appears very detached from the terror and grief that goes on around him. If he does grieve, it is in private (and usually off screen). He is very fond of Rhonwen however, and demonstrates his emotions most clearly towards her - especially concern for her well being, and anger if she is threatened. |
Rhonwen Jones | Rhonwen Jones - The Doctor's companion, Rhonwen, was born in 1948 in Llangadog, Wales. Her father runs a radio repair shop. At the age of 19, she was studying history in London, when she first became caught up in the Doctor's adventures. Rhonwen is slim and attractive, with dark brown hair falling to her shoulders, and warm brown eyes. She dresses in the typical fashions of the late sixties - usually a miniskirt. Unlike the Doctor, Rhonwen is emotionally affected by what goes on around her. She gets upset when people die, and she (occasionally) screams in terror (often at cliffhangers). However, she is also resourceful and compassionate. She is sometimes too willing to trust people, which can lead to her being deceived. But in return, she prizes honesty very highly. She is headstrong, and doesn't like the Doctor molly-coddling her, and will go off by herself - often into danger. |
The Insider's Guide to Bullseye
Doctor Who, the television series
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THINGS TO AVOID
I would prefer it if story ideas featured the Doctor's visits to new alien worlds, with new monsters and villains. In fact, I will not even consider any story that uses old monsters. It's lazy and smacks of fan fiction. Some old monsters have been featured in the early Bullseye Books - with the benefit of hindsight, I can see this was a mistake. Aside from the forthcoming Reformation of the Daleks, I have dropped all proposed stories using old monsters. Similarly, the Time Lords, the Master, the Valeyard, Fenric and the Guardians should be avoided - I'm intending to write them out once and for all.
For various reasons, a large number of the stories so far have been set on Earth in different periods, so I would prefer to see some more alien worlds.
Stories in which the Doctor enters an alternative universe, or time branches to a different reality, or any permutation of this concept, should be avoided. There is one universe, with one timeline (again, stories are planned on a special basis which might contradict this rule). A vague chronology of the Bullseye Universe has been worked out, but there is no need for prospective writers to ever see this - in fact, if your story strays into areas where it might contradict others - who cares? It's the story that's important, not continuity. But then again, the ideal story is one set on a new world, with new aliens, and no reference to other Doctor Who stories - a totally original piece, in other words.
There should be NO SWEARING - this is an unbreakable rule.
There should be NO SEX - characters can exist whose relationship is obviously sexual, but this should not be shown. Work around it.
There should be NO GRAPHIC VIOLENCE - violent events happen in Doctor Who, but they should just happen, and be over with. Don't dwell on the horror and violence of it. Talk about the emotional effect it has on the characters of course. It's just the gory details we can do without.
There is NO SUCH THING AS MAGIC. The Doctor is a scientist, and all his solutions depend on his scientific knowledge. (It doesn't have to be science which has been discovered on Earth yet, but it should sound vaguely plausible.) Magic does not exist in any form, but advanced sciences and psionic forces might be mistaken for magic by less developed people.
There is no need for lengthy scenes aboard the TARDIS, simply to establish the characters of the Doctor and Rhonwen - indeed, it is often preferable for their first scene to show them emerging from the TARDIS, or even for them to be already on the scene when the adventure begins. That's not to say that TARDIS scenes are forbidden, just as long as they're there for a reason.
One thing to definitely avoid is unpronounceable alien names. To my mind, there is no reason why a name should be unpronounceable just because it is alien. Therefore, any aliens whose names are spelt with an over-abundance of such letters as Q and X, that don't use vowels properly, or which contain apostrophes, are calculated to drive me up the wall. An alien name should be something which clearly does not sound English, but is still easy to read and pronounce. In my own experience of reading science fiction, nothing is more off-putting than having to stop in the middle of reading a flowing sentence because I've just encountered a name like T'rllahgiu, and I have to spend ten minutes working out how to pronounce it. To give some examples, alien names in my stories have included Cabulas, Zelara and Vardek. Easy to read, but exotic enough to at least suggest being alien.
Avoid continuity references just for the sake of them. Some of the early Bullseye stories do this, and it's something I now regret. Looking back over the early stuff, it's the gratuitous continuity that makes me cringe the most. You know what I mean - casual mentions of old enemies, past adventures, and so on, which have nothing to do with the story being told. This is one of the trappings of fan fiction, and something I would avoid today.
As the Bullseye series develops its own continuity, there is a definite move to place time gaps between the stories - to make the Doctor's great lifespan seem more plausible. This won't have much apparent effect upon the Doctor, but it will be apparent in Rhonwen's ageing. She's 19 in the first story, she'll be 23 by the time she leaves. I'll inform each writer of Rhonwen's age in their particular story. The gaps between stories will usually be in the order of months - so very few of them will run on from the previous tale - which will be so far in the past, there is little need for spurious continuity references back to what happened in the last one. This should help the different writers to develop their independent stories without the need for too much heavy rewriting to reflect past events.
The Insider's Guide gives more information on the proposed running order of the stories. Any writer interested in contributing will be assigned one of the available slots to fit their story into.
Andrew Kearley, editor
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