Hello, and welcome.


The Inara Writers Guild (IWG) is comprised of commanders who enjoy writing stories set in the universe of Elite Dangerous. Most, if not all, of these stories (we call them "Things" – the capital T is important!) can be found in the logbook section of Inara. You can also find some of them in the RP section of the official Frontier Forum website and, in a few cases, as collections on purpose-built Wordpress sites.


IWG writers seek to produce compelling, character-driven narratives which use Elite Dangerous and its established lore as a solid backdrop to storytelling. Individual styles vary of course, but all our Things draw their focus on people and relationships. We particularly appreciate stories that are written in clean, well-constructed prose, with attention paid to good use of grammar, spelling and punctuation. Believable characters and natural dialogue are of great importance.


As styles vary, so too do our personal approaches to writing. Some Things draw inspiration from the author's own experiences whilst playing Elite Dangerous. In a few cases these experiences are combined with roleplay done with other commanders; such roleplay can take place ingame, or in the Inara RP rooms, or both. Other Things are created completely separately from our game exploits, and still others are a hybrid. Things can also be created as collaborations between two or more people, a process which can involve the exchange of numerous texts and Private Messages.  In all cases, however, we aim to respect and remain faithful to the Elite Dangerous universe and its politics, locations, history and lore.


And there's a lot of lore to respect! Any commanders looking to increase their knowledge are strongly encouraged to check out the various officially licensed ED novels and short stories. These are all considered canon by Frontier Developments, and provide invaluable insights on characters, customs and technology.


As mentioned previously, most IWG members are keen roleplayers as well as writers, and we make fairly frequent visits to the Inara RP rooms. You can also generally find a few of us on the Inara discord channel, so don't be shy, come and say hello.


We are happy to consider join applications from writers who share our approach to Thinging. We are equally happy to offer advice and feedback on both writing and RP, irrespective of whether or not you wish to join IWG. You only need to ask!