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I have an idea for a new open universe involving humans colonising a new planet i think for the first official story for it i want to take a page from thinking horndogs Swarm cycle and do a stand alone story to start it off i have 2 ideas one is pov of one of the ppl the other is to write it like its a history channel doccumentery/ news broadcast on the aniversery of the event
Im trying to avoid spoilers her but which sounds more appealing?
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Two comments:
1) How many people watch documentaries?
- but -
2) If your intention is to give a solid feel for the universe, so that others will have a good basis for writing follow-on stories, a single character's point of view is not the clearest indication of what a world is like.
Figure out which is more important to you, and go that route. There is also the idea of telling a story with a point of view that shifts to various characters. This would differ from the documentary style. It would be more like multiple "single person point of view" stories told together.
Just my thoughts,
Eric Storm
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Eric Storm wrote:
2) If your intention is to give a solid feel for the universe, so that others will have a good basis for writing follow-on stories, a single character's point of view is not the clearest indication of what a world is like.
The other thing you can do is establish the rules of your universe and spell them out for other authors. Thinking Horndog did that and as you can tell, it has worked out well.
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well thats why i thought a sort of documentary format might work as a framing device for the set up maybe change perspective halfway to show what it was like for those selected
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You can absolutely do it that way, Neitherspace, but personally, I think that you would be better served overall by outlining the universe in a non-story way and then writing your story in POV. It allows you the freedom later, if you want, to write a documentary style story, but it gives you the instant readability of the much more popular POV style. If this is a universe you want other authors to be inspired by and contribute to, I think you are more likely to attract them this way.
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I agree, people who write in other people's universes generally speaking need a clear outline for them to be able to join in in the journey or making the journey their own. We can write fan-fictions because the universe is clearly set up for us in whatever fandom we live, breath, and die in. But if you gives a great story without a clear universe, then all we can really do is join in on that one adventure. So give an outline, maybe, or right from a better perspective that paints with a better brush so we can all join in with our own ideas.
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