Abstract
Julia Kristeva’s poststructuralist concept of intertextuality applies to the creation of all genres and formats of texts, but when it comes to working within an existing universe such as Warhammer, the relationship with what has come before and, challengingly from wider narrative and character arc perspectives, what may come in the future, takes on a far greater significance for the author assigned a segmentum of the Imperium. Having written five audio dramas, several short stories and a novel for Black Library Press (https://csdows.wixsite.com/chrisdowsauthor), the issues related to creativity within strictly defined borders is something I am very familiar with; indeed, it poses near-identical problems I’ve encountered over the last thirty years working on the Star Trek franchise, with boundaries generated by well-established licenses not only familiar to my professional practice, but of academic interest to me as an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Lincoln. Theorists from Aristotle to Barthes have noted all writing comes with limitations, be it of structural choice, format or genre; however, these are generally applied to creator-owned texts, with little critical consideration directed at working within a franchise currently available. As such, I wish to briefly explore the issues connected with the invention of plot, character and environmental development within Warhammer’s continuity with direct reference to my creative output. I also aim to address the argument those factors in writing for Warhammer that might first appear restrictive to the inventive process (and there can be quite a few of them, depending on the brief), actually promotes a greater focus on effective and authentic storytelling to a well-defined audience – even if their considerable shared knowledge base can bring additional pressures to ensuring the accuracy of IP and stylistic continuity within uniquely generated texts is maintained while also crafting an engaging and fulfilling story.
Author bio
Dr Chris Dows is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Lincoln, where he is Programme Leader of the BA (Hons) Creative Writing programme. Professionally published for over 30 years, he specialises in science fiction and fantasy texts, particularly the Star Trek and Warhammer franchises.
