"Authors:
−    Peter Schaefer (48,000):  Introduction (3K), Chap One (15K), Chap Three (30K)
−    Malcolm Sheppard: (35,000): Prologue & Fiction (5K), Chap Two (30K)
−    John Snead (25,000 words): Chap Four (4K), Chap Five (11K), Appendix (10K)
−    Jess Hartley (30,000): Chap Four (27K), Chap Five (3K)
−    Michael Goodwin (15,000): Chap Four (4K), Chap Five (11K)"

This is as good a place as any to talk about how our books are usually ensemble works, rather than written by just one author. There are exceptions, mind, but a lot of our projects are assembled like patchwork quilts. This gives each author a chance to work on multiple books in a line (such as Chuck Wendig going for every Changeling supplement from the core to The Equinox Road), and it also does make it easier for us to release a book on time if an author has to drop out and be replaced due to circumstances. It also gives us more of an opportunity to try out new authors; it's a lot better gamble to give someone a shot with 20K of a book than with a 105K book.

Note that Joe goes into a lot of discussion about the approach on the book. It's vital to set a clear vision for a book during the outlining stage, so that you have as little conflict of vision as possible.

"Theme
The theme of this book is “The Unfolding Mystery.” One of the things at the core of this game is the fact that there are secrets in the world. Truths, waiting to be discovered, through they are often hidden by the Lie. This is not the game of “Everyone is Right.” This is the game of “Everyone is Wrong,” but by seeking out the truth, the mage can come closer to understanding the Truth.
Mood
The mood of this book should capture the frantic knowledge that there are secrets worth having in the world, and those who want to get them first. Thus, our mood might be described as “frantic thirst for knowledge,” perhaps. Conspiracy, murder, secrets – these are the bread and butter of the Mysterium, because the secrets they have, the secrets they seek are worth killing for. They are worth dying for.
Remember that: the Mysterium doesn't just look for old stuff from Atlantis, and books of rotes. They are after the secrets of the Fallen World and Supernal Realms both, and every token bit of Atlantean lore – or other occult lore – may lead them closer to discovering it."

Good old Theme and Mood. I don't remember any RPG books tackling them heavily before White Wolf did, addressing them there in the Introduction for a reader to chew on. Obviously, Joe has been clever enough to tackle this from the beginning, clearly letting his authors know what a good mood would be to inform the book's voice, and a theme that could inform the content. Now, I think it's important to stress that theme and mood are not straitjackets. Rather, they're a form of structure, sort of drawing back the curtain and showing you how the book (and thus, the setting) is built. They certainly don't preclude other themes or moods arising in the book; they just give you a central armature and, hopefully, inspiration. They also give you something to think about, which is one of the things that I myself have always loved about the World of Darkness: my own gaming improved in part because the WoD taught me to think about things like this, and to figure out how to implement them in ways that would better a game. ("Apply with a sledgehammer" is not one of those ways, I should note.)

"PROLOGUE
(Malcolm Sheppard; 5000 words)
An evocative piece of fiction here, focusing on the Mysterium and their concept as the information keepers and rediscoverers of the Mysteries. The piece in Guardians of the Veil has a nifty sort of layout schtick; if you have an idea for something that is nice and visually interesting, run it past me. I have to run everything past folks in production, but they're clever lads. Just give me plenty of time to double check with them — no springing stuff on them all sudden-like."

We give authors a lot of leeway with fiction, but note that we need to reinforce that a prologue somehow reinforce the book's theme overall. In this case, the Mysterium's concept is stressed as an important theme for the fiction, not just that you have a Mysterium character doing something. If writing a prologue for an antagonists book, the theme of those antagonists should arise, if not specific previews of some of the rotters lying in wait in the rest of the book.

I also must note that there are clever lads in Production, but Mysterium was laid out by a clever lass. Joe probably didn't guess that Aileen would be tapped to work on Mysterium, since she's usually partnered with me (and Aileen was the only female in Production at the time); but Aileen is generally assigned to Mage books, not just whatever I'm working on. The partnership team between developer and Production maven's a neat arrangement, of which I'll talk about more in another post.

"- Thesis. The philosophy (or rather, philosophies) that drives the order.
- Praxis. Rules, regulations and methodologies employed.
- Schisms and heresy. What philosophies and praxes have been declared anathema by the Mysterium over the years?
- Titles and duties. (And the Status Merit dots required to achieve them). Two of these (Censor and Curator) were given brief mention in the core book; those need to be expanded, along with additional roles. Make sure you tie these into the degrees of initiation in the Atlantean Mystery (see below).
- Path roles. Discuss how the mystagogues see the role of each order within their fold.
    Acanthus
    Mastigos
    Moros
    Obrimos
    Thyrsus"

Some parts of an outline seem pretty basic. It's still good to list everything you want to see covered, just to be safe. You don't want to be looking over the layout proof and realize "Oh, crap, we forgot to talk about the Thyrsus!"

"• Spells (Various; 9,000 words)
    Jess Hartley (1000 words)
    Michael Goodwin (2000 words)
    John Snead (6000 words)
New spells and Mysterium rotes for each. There weren’t a lot conjunctional spells in the core book, so here’s a good place to add some more. While the bulk of a spell description’s text is universal (as an improvised spell), its rote portion should be written specifically for Mysterium, and with more text than we gave to the short paragraphs in the core book.
I am also looking to get some detail to the rotes, there; when writing up the rotes section for the spells, use the following format, which diverges from the core rulebook format. The core book is really good about telling us what the rote is used for by that Order, and not so great at giving us ideas of what the mage is actually doing when using that rote. About half the rotes you write should use Investigation, Occult or Survival. [[Check out the Tome of Mysteries Excerpts document I am sending with the outline for more info here.]]"

Hey, that's interesting: "diverges from the core rulebook format." Yes, you can do that. You shouldn't do it arbitrarily, but Joe offers a good reason for doing so, and he has the authority to back it up. Unfortunately, my sieve-like memory is failing to provide specifics, but waaay back in the old days of the original World of Darkness, we would sometimes figure out better ways of presenting material halfway through a line, and then incorporate those changes more regularly. Games are evolving things, and we respect that. Don't get me wrong, we also value consistency — it's a way of showing the reader that they can rely on the information presented. But you don't want to be locked up in consistency so tightly that you aren't able to see a way to improve a game or its presentation.

"• Factions (Jess Hartley; 15,000 words)
Five general categories, into which numerous local factions can fall. I suggest the following categories, but if you’ve got a different take, let me know:"

It is also generally good to provide basic ideas where you can. Now, authors are clever people, and they may well come up with something more interesting than your base ruminations. But at the same time, you want to spark their ideas when they're writing just as the book is supposed to spark ideas for the reader. Some of this may be handled in the online discussion with authors over who and what to cover, but if you embed as much of it as you can in the outline, all of your authors have it right there to look at. Just be careful to let the other authors know if an author has a better idea than you did; you don't want them to refer to something that was in the outline but was improved on during drafts.

"Use this format:
<3>[Shadow Name]
<n>Quote: [In italics rather than quote marks]
Background:
Description:
[As a separate paragraph (only one or two sentences), include a description of the mage’s Nimbus, the visual aura that accompanies a character's vulgar spellcasting. For example, Ikazuchi is a character in Boston Unveiled, an Obrimos who Awakened by getting hit by lightning; he's all about Forces and such. His Nimbus description is: "His Nimbus appears as a wreath of tiny electrical arcs or Lichtenberg figures (fernlike branches of electricity) coming off of his body."]
Storytelling Hints:
Dedicated Magical Tool: [One general tool, based on either Path or order. Optional: Some characters might have additional tools tied to specific Arcana.]
<s>Real Name:
Path:
Order:
Legacy:
Mental Attributes: Intelligence X, Wits X, Resolve X
Physical Attributes: Strength X, Dexterity X, Stamina X
Social Attributes: Presence X, Manipulation X, Composure X"

This is an excellent move: including the format for characters, in as much detail as you can. Everyone knows how to write up a character, but there are format issues that may vary. For instance, a mage's spells will be listed with dots after them, while a vampire will have simple numerals to list their rating in a given Discipline. You have to list individual Gifts, spells or Contract clauses, since they can be bought out of order. A werewolf needs many Traits listed by form, and the math certainly needs to be right for those. Being thorough in an outline will save you work on the latter end, and it makes life easier on the freelancer as well.

One more useful tidbit: Your outline can be saved, rewritten, and converted into the principal art notes document for the book. It may be that the discussion of themes will be just as useful for artists, and hey, you have a chapter-by-chapter breakdown ready to go. If you're interested, I'll show you one of those in an upcoming post, or at least what we tend to send to Production. It might prove interesting to compare the art notes to the final book, so you can see how that works out, too.

All of this should provide you with an even keener glimpse into a developer's brain, and the weirdness to be found there. If that wasn't sufficiently off-putting to drive you away, excellent — see you next week, and we'll dig even deeper!

--
Ring Name: “Ennie Award-Winning” John Chambers
Hails From: Parts Unknown
Angle: Face; soft-spoken workhorse
Style: Technical wrestler
Entrance Music: "Hot Stuff," Donna Summer
Working the Crowd: “Detaches” his thumb
Foreign Object: Green Lantern power battery
Finishing Move: Chambers of Horrors (modified full nelson)