Universe Setting...Not sure where to go with it...

[Androxine Vortex]

So digging through some old folders that i wrote on in high school, I found this amazing setting that I created. It was actually a huge, detailed world that was basically my version of D&D. Everything was left "open" so there were multiple possibilities to create your characters and have adventures. The main focus on the game was which religious pantheon you followed, factions, etc. I have the urge to continue writing moreof this world but I'm not sure what to do with it. I never intended to actually write a story in this universe I made because the whole point of it was that it was this immersive world, with so much backstory and detail and history, and the fact that it was all open for you to use your imagination and explore! So I see 3 options:

1) Write it as just a universe-setting book

This I'm not sure would be a great idea for wanting to get published. My universe in my mind is like one giant "wiki" page full of lore, so to a publisher I'm not sure if they would view it as "selling material." I guess it would be like that, if someone were to write a "wiki-book" telling you all the lore and info of D&D, Elder Scrolls, etc. I myself, can spend hours on wiki's reading all this fluff, but I'm not sure how that would market well, especially with a new author.

2) Make a create-your-own-adventure novel(s)

This actually seems interesting and incredibly intimidating at the same time. I feel like there would be so many option either A) the reader would feel there isn't enough choices. Or B) There is tons of content and is either one gigantic book or multiple volumes. Probably not going to go with this one...

3) Just try to make a story out of it.

This seems the most logical in terms of publishable material. I guess it would be like creating different characters and writing stories for them individually, so that there's no main protagonist. This way it still somewhat retains that Huge world concept. I think of it like Star Wars novels. Star Wars is a pretty big universe (pun intended) and there's probably hundreds of novels set in the SW setting. But not every one of them is a "the world is at peril and only the chosen one can vanquish the evil!" They are just small storiesof a great big idea. It's just easier for SW because the movies were such a hit, you know?


Looking to this great community for ideas.

 

[Androxine Vortex]

Oh you know what, what about making short stories and making volumes? Maybe each volume contains four or five short stories set in this fictional world? But it might not make any real lasting or memorable characters. Hmmm....

 

[Nimue]

If you really don't have a story or plot that takes place in this world, honestly, you should wait until you've thought of one. Otherwise, I think opportunities to publish something like this are minimal.

However, if you want to write in this world even if it's unpublished, what about running a play-by-post roleplay in this setting? I've run a few standalone RPs on forums, and it is a great way to write in a world without committing to a novel beforehand. You'll find that the story that comes out of it takes on its own life, and it's a good way to get people to interact and appreciate this kind of writing.

 

[Androxine Vortex]

Well i do have lots of ideas for stories, mainly will be involving important characters i already created, i am just wondering if making each story a stand alone book or have each book contain a few short stories. I think I'm leaning toward the short story idea but haven't decided yet.

 

[Saigonnus]

Since you know the world, have ideas for stories, then just start outlining the story you feel is the most important one and start writing! I like the idea of a series of short stories because it will populate the world and give it some history that might be conducive to a larger piece later. I have done something similar with my world when not actually working on my WIP; which is also set in my world.

 

[Nimue]

Yes, I would agree--start writing it! The story may tell you whether it's going to be short or standalone-length. Ideas do some of their most wonderful growth during the process of turning them into words on paper.

Don't worry too much about the end result or what format to publish in. It may be that you end up with a short story, but over time and further writing in that world, it gives you the seed of inspiration for a novel. Or you end up with the idea for a novel, but as you write it the plot splinters into many stories involving different places and different characters. See what shakes out!

 

[Androxine Vortex]

Good posts! I've Already begun writing down different ideas for stories and i agree it would be easier to portray the world from multiple perspectives. I haven't seen many books published as short story collections but i suppose there's many out there. One thing I'm unsure on is since there will be multiple stories, each one will be about different factions, religions, characters, etc. I don't want the reader to feel like they finally got understanding about what's going on and then switch to a different story, if that makes sense.

Not sure if this is a good idea but maybe between each chapter have a little glossary or something with a list of things pertaining to that individual story. Suppose this story is about a specific cult that wasn't mentioned at all in previous stories. I could provide a brief description of what they are, what they believe and any other relevant info. Again, not sure if that's a good idea or not.

 

[Saigonnus]

One thing I'm unsure on is since there will be multiple stories, each one will be about different factions, religions, characters, etc. I don't want the reader to feel like they finally got understanding about what's going on and then switch to a different story, if that makes sense.

I think as long as you have a good idea of the "rules" (and I use the term loosely) of your world, or possibly some reference material you use to keep things straight, it won't be too harsh a transition from one story to the next. I think the biggest issue to watch for is directly contradicting yourself from one short story to the next, even in small things. If for example, you have a story set around the town of Goober's Hole and you describe it as a ramshackle, overgrown mining town in the southern end of the continent, then subsequent quests through the area in other books should describe it the same way and it should be in the same place it was in the first book.

As for the idea of a glossary, it could work well. I've seen it done a time or two; especially for words that the author has to inevitably make up during the writing process. One example I can think of is Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. He tells you in the glossary what the Aes Sedai are, what spear sisters are, or dream walkers. I think you get the point. I think if you kept a running "compendium" of all those glossaries for yourself; you know, adding to it as you write stories, it could be a great source of reference material for you to work with when you finally sit down and write a novel.

 

[Androxine Vortex]

I'm not too familiar with wheels of time though i have heard of it. I am just wondering if placing a "glossary" at the beginning of each new short story would annoy the reader, then again i wouldn't want to just dump everything all at once on the first page because they might be more likely to skip it and it would be irrelevant until much later in the book. Or maybe i could do that and if they come across a name they don't understand they can flip to the front and read about it, but that sounds like that would become tedious.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

To me the best idea would be the compilation of short stories based in the world, each of them linked in some way to the world but not to each other. That way each story can explore some new aspect of the world, building on your world build. But you need an overall theme to tie things together.

So for example if I was writing Star Wars type stuff, I might do tales of those fighting the Empire etc. So the heroes might be rebels on some worlds, smugglers and thieves, civilians and jedis. And the plots may vary widely. But always in the background is this theme that the Empire is there with its storm troopers slowly increasing its strangle hold on the people of a thousand worlds.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[evanator66]

I would read a universe setting book, but I'm kind of weird like that. That is one of the reasons I like Tolkien, he wrote a crap ton of background stuff. You could write the universe book to help you write stories set in it. If and when you become successful, you could sell it.