The editor of Master Switches, Paul Driscoll, takes us behind the scenes on the making of the collection and gives the inside track on his own story 'Your New Webmaster'.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Based in Leigh, Greater
Manchester, I’m the editor of Master Pieces and Master Switches. Alongside
running Altrix Books with Kara, I am one of the editors of Obverse Books’ Black
Archive range. I’ve written several fiction and non-fiction works for various
publishers, many of them set in the Doctor Who universe or one of its spin-off
worlds.
Why did you want to organise a follow-up to Master Pieces?
To raise even more funds for The
Stroke Association and to give our writers the chance to include the Doctor in
a new Master focused story. One of the stipulations of the first collection was
that the Doctor was mostly absent. I wanted to read and write stories where the
old sparring partners were back in action together, but ones in which the usual
rules of engagement were shaken up. I was also conscience that many gifted
writers missed out on the chance to pitch for the first book.
How did you decide with Master/Doctor combo to run with?
I waited to see what was left
after all the pitches had come in and been selected. While the Masters were well
covered, we were short of ideas for Ninth Doctor stories – the one that we had accepted
was superb, but sadly the writer had to pull out. I think, continuity-wise,
this was one of the least obvious Doctors to pick since his whole persona is
largely based on his identity as the last of the Time-Lords. For the Master,
the idea of the suave and sophisticated Roger Delgado walking onto the Powell
Estate was a hard one to resist.
Can you describe your story in a nutshell?
Jackie Tyler’s search for Rose
leads her to the doorstep of Caroline Finch and an unlikely partnership with the
grieving widow’s enigmatic therapist, Doctor Magister.
How did you find the writing process?
The story originally centred
around Mickey Smith (the clue’s in the title which I haven’t changed), but
after recent revelations concerning Noel Clarke, I felt that it would be unwise
and insensitive to publish it at this time, which is not meant as a comment on
the actor’s guilt or otherwise. The theme of the story just made it impossible
to keep in the anthology. So it required a substantial rewrite or a replacement
with another story. I didn’t want to lose the story and, hopefully, found a way
of making it better than the original by switching Mickey’s role in the story with
Jackie. It was a bit of a headache and a moral dilemma, but I think I made the
right call. The worst part was losing some good jokes about bins and some
social commentary on racism, but writing for Jackie instead was a lovely thing.
What aspect of your story are you most proud of?
Capturing the voices of the key
players and the spirit of Doctor Who in 2005. Writing with someone else’s toys
always feels like a huge responsibility, and I like to think I’ve done justice
to Russell T Davies’ marvellous characters.
Do you have a favourite line from your story?
Not one involving the Master, surprisingly.
I think it has to be this little exchange after a scene set in Mickey’s
abandoned yellow beetle:
‘You were joking before, weren’t you?’ said Rose, following the Doctor
down an alleyway back to the TARDIS.
‘Joking?’
‘About the yellow car?’
‘Bessie? Of course, not.’
‘You had a yellow car and you
named it Bessie? Yeah – sure you did, Doctor. Blue is much more your colour.’
0 comments:
Post a Comment