The final installment of The Bridge author commentary has arrived. To close out, I’m talking about the special bonus file attached to the book, The Grissom File. SPOILER WARNING!
The Grissom File
The origin of The Grissom File was very much in line with those mentioned previously. There was the diary entry for The Clearing and the deleted scene for Promethean. Every book had some form of bonus involved, but when the books were restructured from weekly/monthly releases to novels, those first two instances folded into the books to flesh out certain details.
Not so with The Bridge.
At the end of the novel, Ben Riley opens up The Grissom File and begins to see the events that led to the demise of Jacob Grissom. I thought it would be fun to show that to the reader. I can’t stress the importance of The Grissom File. Clues and motivations really come to light in the document, and you really gain a level of insight into the characters. I know I certainly did.
Figuring out how it would be structured was an absolute blast, with the redacted links and the timestamps on the opening dossier.
The transcripts of Hollis’ interviews with the team were what really made this bonus special to me. Every single page was from the original draft back in 2015, if you can believe that. Sure, there was a tweak here or there but, for the most part, everything stayed true to the original vision of the file.
How the script influenced future drafts
As I mentioned above, the transcripts proved to be quite informative. Each character showcased brought in a level of personality not really seen before in my earliest drafts.
This was originally just an exercise to get into the characters’ heads and figure out who they were as people. Putting them under the spotlight in the tense aftermath of Grissom’s death helped me learn what made each of them tick and what their priorities truly were.
When Zac realizes it was Metcalf’s fault what happened, that cemented what kind of role he was going to have in the series. When Ruth clammed up and asked for her glass of water, it said something about her failure to lead following Grissom’s demise. Each member of the team brought something unique to the file, and their characterization grew from these interactions for every scene since.
Why isn’t the file included in the paperback?
I wanted it to be. I really did. But I had no clue how to format it. Multiple attempts were made, but none succeeded.
The Grissom File is included in the DSA: Complete First Season box set. That was challenging in itself.
I hope readers do go back and check out the file online, though. It really came together nicely, and they are some of my favorite exchanges in the opening season.
That’s a wrap on The Bridge.
Spectral Advocate is up next. If there is something specific you were curious about in any of the books, be sure to shoot me a message/email/telegraph/smoke signal and let me know.
