In 2001, Microsoft launched Halo: Combat evolved alongside its tie-in novel The Fall of Reach, authored by Eric Nylund, who then wrote First Strike in 2003 and Ghosts of Onyx in 2006. Since then, nine other authors have contributed novels to the series, adding more lore to the ever-expanding universe of Halo. One of these authors is Troy Denning, who wrote works such as Halo: Last Light, Halo: Retribution, Halo: Oblivion, and Halo: Shadows of Reach.
About Troy Denning
When did you start writing stories?
I think it was in the eighth grade, so probably about the age of 13-14. Our English teacher assigned us to keep a journal, but writing daily entries about chores and ski team practice seemed boring. So I just started to write stories instead.
What made you want to start writing? If it was a book, what was it?
I guess I became interested in writing because I was an avid reader from a young age. I would get sucked into worlds created by Asimov, Heinlein, Tolkien, Burroughs and began to imagine my own versions. At first, my worlds were pretty derivative of whatever I happened to be reading, but as my archive expanded, so did my imagination. It wasn’t long—maybe three or four years—before the worlds in my head began to seem fairly original (at least to me), and I started to feel like I had something worth putting on paper. You know, I would read something by Clarke or Leiber and think “I could do that!”
Of course, I couldn’t. The mark of a true master is making their work look effortless, and that was certainly true of the authors I was reading. It took fifteen years, a B.A. in English, and eight years of experience as an editor and tabletop game designer before I published my first novel.
What does your writing process look like? What kind of routine do you have, and how does it help you?
Two of my favorite books on writing are
When I started out, I was more like King. I just started and let the story take me where it wanted. It’s incredibly fun, but you end up wandering down a lot of box canyons and having to backtrack to keep the story moving forward. If you have the time and self-confidence to handle the bad turns, it can produce some truly marvelous results. That’s how I wrote the Prism Pentad (Dark Sun) and Pages of Pain (Planescape). But I also have a drawer full of unfinished books that I couldn’t figure out how to fix.
More importantly, when I shifted from working with people who knew me personally (as the editors for the Dungeons & Dragons stuff did) to people who were contacting me to write for licensed Intellectual Properties (IPs) such as Star Wars and Halo, the process needed to be a lot more structured. Those books are part of a major publishing program that ties into other mediums such as movies, TV, games, comics, etc. There are usually well over a dozen decision makers (publishing house editors, continuity editors from the IP, executives, marketing people). They can’t just say, “write a book featuring the Lady of Pain” (as was the case for Pages of Pain) or “give us a five-book series set in that game world you just designed” (as was the case with the Dark Sun books). Everybody needs to agree on the story in advance, and that requires detailed outlines.
So now, I work more like Brooks does. I construct detailed outlines before I write the first word of the first chapter. All of the editors and executives and sometimes even the marketing people make suggestions and offer notes, until we finally have something we all agree on. By the time we’re finished, I have a very clear picture of the story arc, the character arcs, the settings, and most of the other story elements.
That isn’t to say that nothing ever varies from the outline, because it often does. But when that happens, we have a common map, and we can all agree on the changes I need/want to make. (Or do something even better, which often ends up being the case after everyone offers input).
What would you say is the hardest part of writing a novel?
For novice/young writers, finishing what you start is always the hardest part. They lose confidence in what they’re doing, because they haven’t been through the revision process and don’t understand that the first draft of any novel is just raw ore. It takes time and effort—a lot of both—to run that draft through the crusher and flotation tanks and smelt out the gold.
For me, the opening is always the hardest part. It’s where you raise the story question, introduce the characters, establish atmosphere, and set tone. The first chapter of a good novel does an incredible amount of work, and by the time I sit down to write it, I have a clear concept of how ALL of that stuff is going to work. But getting the concept onto the page? That can be a struggle. It’s not unusual for me to spend a month or more just getting a first chapter I’m happy with.
But once that foundation is laid . . . I wouldn’t say the rest of the book writes itself, but it’s a lot easier.
Throughout your career, you’ve written several books for various sci-fi and fantasy settings. Which universe did you enjoy writing for the most and why? What was your favorite book in that series?
Boy, that’s a loaded question . . . and one I can’t answer simply. Writing a book takes a LOT of time and energy, and if you’re just doing it to fulfill an assignment, you’re doing it wrong. If it’s just work, you can find a lot of jobs that reward you better for your time.
The truth is, I loved all the properties I wrote for, or I wouldn’t have done it. I went to work for TSR Hobbies straight out of college because I loved Dungeons & Dragons, and in addition to the work I did as an editor and game designer, I ended up writing twenty novels for them. Eventually, the opportunity to work on something I loved even more—Star Wars—came along, and I wrote twelve novels for them. Then Disney bought Lucasfilm and I didn’t love where the line was going as much, but I’d started to explore the Halo universe and was really falling in love with it. So when Ed Schlesinger called to see if I’d be interested in doing a Halo novel, it was an easy yes.
In addition to your novels, you’ve also worked as a game designer. What past projects are you most proud of?
I would have to say the Dark Sun setting, which I conceptualized with Timothy Brown, Mary Kirchoff, and Brom, and wrote with Timothy Brown. It’s a rough, gritty, campaign world set in an environmental wasteland (yes, it IS a warning about global warming and unchecked environmental damage), and it reflects my love of sand-and-sorcery fantasy like Conan.
In Halo: Outcasts, we see the Sangheili society under Cortana’s rule. What was it like describing a society, which once prided itself on its culture of honor and strength, brought to heel by its new overlords?
I probably have a different take on martial culture than a lot of readers. Any society that needs a code of honor to regulate its violent interactions is two things by definition: a) violent, and b) probably not all that honorable. If there wasn’t a fair amount of violence, the society wouldn’t need to regulate it. If warriors were inherently “honorable,” there would be no need for a code. They would just naturally behave with honor.
So, when I look at the Sangheili, I see a fairly violent species that, at some point in its past, was so ruthless it developed a code of honor to keep from tearing its society apart. Now, what happened to their ruthless streak? Did it just go away?
Nature doesn’t work that way. The ruthless streak is still there. It’s just sublimated to an external code of honor.
The thing about sublimation is it’s imperfect. Sublimated traits manifest themselves in other ways. And that’s how the Sangheili kaidons have been portrayed in lore. They’re scheming, sneaky warlords maneuvering to secure their own interests. Once they have the advantage, they usually find a way to justify any amount of underhanded violence in the name of “honor.” So, when I look at Sangheili culture, I tend to see parallels with Feudal Japan, and the Arbiter’s struggles in unifying the Sangheili are very much akin to that of a feudal emperor fighting to control his shoguns.
We are also introduced to an Oath Warden, Crei ‘Ayomuu. Can you tell our readers about Oath Wardens and their role in Sangheili culture?
An Oath Warden is basically a bounty hunter who takes contracts to enforce agreements on behalf of other Sangheili. They are unique in Sangheili culture in not considering themselves bound by the warrior code of honor, which frees them to use any means necessary to fulfill their contracts. At the same time, they follow their own code, which they claim to be far more strict than that of the warriors. The thing is, only Oath Wardens know whether that’s true, since only Oath Wardens are allowed to know their code.
Halo: Outcasts also focuses on Spartan Vale, a member of Fireteam Osiris from Halo 5. What was it like writing for a character that hasn’t gotten much attention since the events of Hunters in the Dark and Halo 5: Guardians?
I enjoyed it. In various pieces of Vale’s background lore, there are hints of a complex, engaging character with the potential to play a much larger part in the Halo Universe than she has so far. I enjoyed building on those hints, to create someone who I hope the readers will want to see more of.
What else can Halo fans look forward to in your latest book?
We’ll revisit some characters from Halo Oblivion, learn a few of Netherop’s secrets, and explore some very ancient lore.
You often write for pre-established universes (Halo, Star Wars, Dungeons and Dragons). Have you ever considered writing something in your own setting? If so, what would it look like?
I have a drawer full of partially-completed spec projects in various settings. There are sand-and-sorcery fantasies, contemporary thrillers, and near-future SF in there. Fortunately/unfortunately (it’s a bit of both), the media tie-in contracts have kept me too busy to complete them. When an offer for a cool project that will definitely be published comes in, the cool project that might be published loses out. Sigh . . . maybe when I retire!
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Sure: 1) write every day; 2) write because you love it, not because you want to “be” a writer; 3) don’t count on making a living as a writer; only a very small percentage of us do, and the percentage who make a good living is even smaller; 4) study your craft; read books like On Writing by Stephen King, Sometimes the Magic Works by Terry Brooks, Story by Robert McKee . . . really, anything about writing that you can get your hands on; 5) editors are your friends; even if you’re not ready to publish yet, hiring an independent story editor to mark up a short story or a chapter of a work-in-progress will teach you a LOT about writing.