Jack Schaeffer Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 I'm a lowly serf just freshly arrived to the realm. After wandering around, seeing a few familiar sights (stories), I am intrigued by the idea of alternate "universes". This is a new concept to me. Could someone please elaborate so I can determine which, if any, universe I may wish to visit? Thank you in advance. Oh, and assume I know absolutely nothing about fantasy and sci-fi and alternate worlds - because I don't...grin. Mark C., Kyle Aarons and ken barber 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken barber Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 Well Jack, The first thing to keep in mind the Term Universe does not necessarily mean sci-fi or fantasy,(although in the cases of the Universes on Castle Roland that is the typical case.) The Universe is a collaborative writing environment. The authors all write stories surrounded by the that worlds current affairs. For Instance the Revolutions Universe is alternate timeline to our world where a Second American civil war is brewing. The stories are all independent but may have character cross overs. They all deal with the same world wide issues and events. Hope that helps a little Mark C. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Schaeffer Posted December 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 It helps...a little. Do the authors who write stories in those universes actually collaborate on ideas and character development, or just read what's there and then add their own story arc to the universe? If I was inspired by a particular story line or character, could I just start writing, or is there a review process for inclusion in the universe? I'm just curious as to how it all works. I'm plenty busy writing my own story for now, and I have a long way to go with it, but you never know when a crazy idea might morph into a short story or something like that. (Oops! There's that pesky "that" again...ugh!) Not that I have an idea in mind, but is the Emperor open to a new universe being created at some point? (Oooo...creating a universe...makes me feel god-like powerful...grin) ken barber 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Schaeffer Posted December 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 I just noticed I'm not a lowly serf anymore - I'm a much more worthy peasant. (He says with swelling chest...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Caldwell Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 Schaeffman, in a universe like the Revolution universe, the authors all tend to colloborate on the direction of the overall story arch, but each author controls his or her own stories/characters and they can run stories that are independant of the main story arch, but they will know the main arch and might include a side mention or reference to a larger event. Another author may tell his or her story based on what is going on in the main story arch. At times you will have two or more authors to get together and work together because their characters cross paths for some reason. It can get complicated at times but it brings with it an element of excitement and challenges the authors in ways they might not have been other wise. ken barber and Mark C. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Schaeffer Posted December 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 How do you identify the main story arc, or do I have to read all the stories in the universe to figure that out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.B Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 lol... that would be nice....if we had enough authors to create other 'universes" is it allowed by our emperor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Caldwell Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 Speaking for the Revolutions Universe, the main story arch is the Second American Civil War. The stories by the authors speaks more to how different groups of people deal and cope with the new reality they are living in. We do have someone on staff who is working on putting together a order to read list for the community. This list would be a guide for readers so they can follow long and have a better understanding of the universe as a whole. Though the thing about this system is that it is not necessary as each story can be its own entity. It is really up to you and other readers as to how involved you want to be in the greater story. There are many who are really invested so we are trying to do the reader order list to bring some clarity to the readers. Mark C. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Schaeffer Posted December 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 If I could suggest something... For a new reader, you have the Universe "view" in the Library. In this view, if the stories were present in that "sequential" order it would be easy to know where to start and then work your way down the list. Just a thought... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Aarons Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 Schaeffman, one thing to consider is all our RU stories are part of a big picture but are also stand-alone. You can easily read one sorry and not another and still be reading a viable story. The only thing you will miss is the behind the scenes brewing in other stories which give more detail and flavor to the universe as a whole. For instance, if you read some stories, you will find reference to what happens in Austin TX, however if you read mine, you will find out what is happing in Austin TX. On the other hand, if you read mine you will hear bits and pieces about what is going on in California, but another author will have a story with much more detail about it. The same holds true for the East Cost where some very interesting Navel problems are brewing. I may make mention of it, but the real details with be in another author's crosshairs so he will be putting out the facts as they happen on the waves in the big pond Mark C. and ken barber 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Schaeffer Posted December 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Thank you all for the feedback. I'll start a story then and see where it leads me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rilbur Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 How do you identify the main story arc, or do I have to read all the stories in the universe to figure that out? Despite how Zach phrased it, I'd argue that while there is definitely an 'overall' story arc to the Rev universe, there isn't anything close to a 'main' story arc. Some stories carry certain core aspects, but ideally each story should be able to survive completely independent of the other. That's one of the reasons why some story chapters contain scenes that are practically direct copies of each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken barber Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 I think all the responses are accurate. And as far as creating new universes that would be more up to the authors. Just Recently Eric Aune, D'Artagnon and I started a new Universe Called Bloodlines. In this case we are working more as a team on the overall story plot its a little different than Like say the RU as all three authors are writing essentially the same story from different perspectives and locations. So each "Universe" has its own unique process and system. ( Look for Bloodlines this spring coming to a website near you) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken barber Posted December 12, 2014 Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 Schaeffman, one thing to consider is all our RU stories are part of a big picture but are also stand-alone. You can easily read one sorry and not another and still be reading a viable story. The only thing you will miss is the behind the scenes brewing in other stories which give more detail and flavor to the universe as a whole. For instance, if you read some stories, you will find reference to what happens in Austin TX, however if you read mine, you will find out what is happing in Austin TX. On the other hand, if you read mine you will hear bits and pieces about what is going on in California, but another author will have a story with much more detail about it. The same holds true for the East Cost where some very interesting Navel problems are brewing. I may make mention of it, but the real details with be in another author's crosshairs so he will be putting out the facts as they happen on the waves in the big pond Some very interesting things happening on the big pod. But I am told that some really Crazy things are happen in the lone star state as well. Schaeffman, My advice is start with "revolution" it really lays the background for the current situation in the universe.Then any story you think sounds interesting from there, They are all really great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.