Current and future writing projects

[Usoki]

I suspect the problem with our activity is that we're all used to lurking. I check the site at least once every day or so, and I've often seen other people online at the same time. We just don't ever post.

I need to figure out what I'm doing for the IWT. The more I think about my initial concept, the more I realize it's far too somber for me to write well, even if it weren't a mediocre spin on a cliche. I've got a few months before I'd normally start working, so I'm really not too worried. I'll come up with some hilariously dumb idea, and flesh it out. It'll be good.

[donteatpoop]

I'm still putting all the mental peices together. It's on the back burner for now. Probably won't really start on it until the last minute.

[End Master]

Eternal: 50% Complete

One major story branch is complete. 5 epilogues. 300 pages even so far.



Next step, complete all the little extra background links for the major branch I just finished. I actually cut down on some of those as I found I don't really need as many this time since I try to explain most things in the main story, however there are a few bits that still might need that extra attention. That and the fact that I'm doing it so in most cases you don't get the entire story about things unless you play through different branches. This will especially be true concerning the major story branches.

[End Master]

In an effort to cure Mizal's boredom, here's something I was messing around with. Doubt if I'll get to work on it anytime soon though.

Guardian
Created to protect not necessarily to serve…

200 B.A.

"Derek, you still think you can develop GRN-1 into a true A.I.?"
"Well that's the plan isn't it? A machine that could think completely on its own could do wonders for humanity."
"Yeah…I guess so."
"What's wrong with you Harold? This is supposed to be an exciting project and you're lucky to be involved. Show a little enthusiasm boy!"
"I…I dunno. I guess I just get worried about the future of what we're doing."
"Such as?"
"Well what if it takes control of our computers and machines and causes a rebellion or something…"
"You've been watching too many bad twentieth century vids again. Seriously, any sentient A.I. we create wouldn't automatically be some kill all humans psychopath. It would work for humanity's best interest because we could teach it!"
"Yeah, but what if another one is created by people that aren't as nice as we are, or what if it learns to replicate itself? I mean who knows what could happen then?"
"You worry too much Harold. You always have. Trust me, a breakthrough like this is going t save humanity one day! And lord knows we need saving. I'm not a religious man, but if I have to have faith, then I'd place it in this project. I suggest you do too."
"I suppose so Derek. Let's go over those numbers again…"

130 B.A.

"So wait let me get this straight. You're telling me not only is there going to be an asteroid that will hit the earth in approximately 130 years, but that we can't stop it?"
"No, Mr. President. We have no weapon that could do enough damage to it. Even if we convinced all other nations with space missile capabilities it still wouldn't be enough."
"See I told you this is what happens when you cut the military budget!"

While the president, his advisors, generals and scientists all began to talk at once, Clarence Felek piped up. It was a long shot, but perhaps this time could get people to pay attention. Attention that had been neglected to the project for a long time.

"Mr. President. GRN-1 has come up with a possible solution to the problem."
"Who?"
"GRN-1 sir. It's an A.I."
"It's a failed project that's somehow been limping along for decades on and off with little success. Dunno how it even still gets funding."
"That's not true! GRN-1 has displayed signs of true independent thought! In fact that's why I bring this up. When we first learned about this asteroid, I asked GRN-1 for advice and after a day or so of processing, he advised leaving the planet."
"Oh great. Wonderful idea. I could've came up with that!" an advisor sneers.
"Where the hell are we supposed to go, Mars?" a general snaps.
"Erm, according to his calculations the slam of the asteroid is going to be so great that the impact is probably going to alter the orbit of the planets closest to us. Mars wouldn't be an option."
"Professor Felek, if you have something useful to contribute, do it now because the future of the goddamn human race is at stake."
"Right, so as I said GRN-1 not only suggested leaving the planet, but created a plan of how to do it. I have some schematics right here and everything is theoretically sound…"

Clarence unrolled a large plan of a space ship for the president and everyone else in the room. Not just a regular space ship though, an ark. It was impressive and very detailed. The sheer size of such a project caused a wave of silence in the room.

"You can't be serious. We don't have the funds to build something like this! Better we should invest in a weapon that can blow that fucking asteroid apart! We've got the time after all!" a general remarked.
"And if we did, there's a good chance we'd just get destroyed by several smaller asteroids instead of one big one."
"Oh another prediction by your tin man, I suppose?"
"Enough! Look General Resser is right; Even if I was inclined to believe that this ship would work, I just don't see how this would be feasible economically." The president replied.
"Well maybe we could call on other nations to help."
"Riiiiiight, like they're going to be standing in line to help us build a fucking space ark!" Resser said.
"They would if their lives are at stake. I mean I'm pretty sure our scientists aren't the only ones who have discovered these findings for the asteroid. If the human race is at stake as you say, then wouldn't it be best to have all of humanity come together for once to build this means of escape? Look if the whole world pulled together on this, GRN-1 says we could have this ship finished in half the time it will take the asteroid to get here! Hell, maybe we could even evacuate most of the planet!"

The president looked over the diagram for a long time. It was indeed a very impressive concept. He almost wanted to believe it could work, but he had been in office long enough to not place his faith in such impossible odds. Clarence was told his idea was a nice one, but impractical at this time. Though given that GRN-1 came up with this idea, perhaps a bit more funding should go into the program, after all maybe it will come up with a better solution. At least he hoped it would for the sake of future generations.

67 B.A.

"Finally! After decades of fucking around, the so called great nations of the world finally decide to fucking listen. Not that it's going to do any good now anyway. Clarence was right, humanity is probably better off extinct!"
"Calm down Miranda, at least they're even building the ship now."
"Yeah and who says we're going to finish it in time now? And even if we do, who do you think is going to be aboard it first? Probably all the children of the same assholes who shot down this idea decades ago and other privileged jerk offs. Some great new society we'll build with those types."
"Actually everyone involved in building the ship and the GRN-1 project have been assured passage."
"Great. I get to float in space with said jerk off assholes for who knows how long…I'm sorry Kevin it's just all of this could've been avoided a long time ago and it frustrates me sometimes."
"I know, but here's some good news, GRN-1 came up with some ideas of how to build the ship faster, so I'm fairly confident that with his new streamlined concepts we'll still save lots of people."
"Heh, GRN-1 never ceases to amaze me. Despite everything, it's still is trying to find ways of saving as many people on this doomed planet as possible."
"Well it's just trying to find the best way to go about things as efficiently as possible and isn't hampered by ego or emotions in doing so."
"I dunno, sometimes he seems more human than most humans sometimes."
"I wouldn't go that far Miranda. Old doctor Derek Taws and his staff just made sure to teach it to always protect humanity. It's a learned trait rather than any genuine empathy. Don't think GR is quite up to actually feeling anything like human emotion yet and thank god it hasn't or we'd probably all be fucked."

[End Master]

(Continued)

3 B.A.

"Am I to be uploaded into the Earth Ship Savior soon?" you ask.
"Yes, Guardian, you will be. Probably in the next few days. The sooner the better, because I get the impression humanity is bound and determined to destroy itself before the bloody asteroid even gets here." Carl Jacobs replies.
"I do not understand. What is going on doctor Jacobs?"
"Nothing much, just humanity being itself as usual. Trust me you're better off not knowing all the gruesome details otherwise you'd probably curse yourself for helping us in the first place."
"I would never do such a thing doctor."
"Heh, yeah I know. That's why I like you, because you don't know any better. Anyway I want to thank you personally for trying to save all of our asses, because lord knows you're probably not going to hear it from anyone else, at least not on any meaningful level. Just wanted to let you know that before you're blasting off into parts unknown."
"You are welcome doctor, but I do not understand, will you not be on the vessel?"
"No, no I won't I'm afraid. I apparently offended someone high up in power and now I'm not getting aboard. Sucks, but what can you do?"
"That…that does not seem correct. I was told that all who were directly involved in the Guardian or Savior projects were assured passage."
"Heh, well things change. Doesn't matter anyway. If those are the sort of people getting on board this thing I think I'm better off with the asteroid."
"That sounds like something doctor Miranda Eben would have said."
"Yeah, well she wasn't wrong. The fact she died years ago makes her one of the lucky ones that doesn't have to deal with this shit anymore."
"I suppose so, but what will you do?"
"Me? Well I don't have any family so I guess I'll just party it up until the asteroid hits years like most seem to be doing. Hell, maybe I'll even join in a riot or two; those seem to be getting popular nowadays."

After a brief pause of silence Carl Jacobs speaks again.

"See you in the next life Guardian and don't let 'em push you around too much up there because despite everything, YOU'RE the reason they're all alive in the first place. You always have been. While they're fighting and arguing, it'll be your job to keep 'em alive and in line if necessary. Hopefully if another habitable planet is ever found humanity will have evolved a little bit from its current asshole stage and will start over fresh. Probably not, but here's hoping."

1 B.A.

"Okay Gale, looks like its working. Nothing like doing things at the last minute eh?"
"I don't understand why Guardian wasn't uploaded two years ago when it was supposed to be!"
"Well nobody anticipated mass assassinations of various world leaders and a couple of nuclear bombs being set off in major cities. Shit got put on hold and tied up in red tape. No biggie, just be glad we're doing it now and getting on board that ship."
"I don't know how you maintain your laidback attitude with all the chaos going on around us, Jack."
"Clean living I guess. Okay let's see…"

Uploading to Earth Ship Savior…
Uploading…
Uploading…
Uploading…

Upload complete. I now have complete access to Savior's systems.

(Choice) Guardian is now online and awaiting further instructions.

[mizal]

Wait, wait, you mean this time we get to be the sentient A.I.? In complete control of a fragile lifeboat carrying the last remnants of humanity through the depths of space?

Oh man, when I get to go all Skynet on their asses it is going to be glorious.

[End Master]

Finally have had some time to write a bit more.

Eternal: 55-60% Complete.

Currently working on the Shadow Guard path (Die).

Finished the 1st chapter completely
Finished one of the 2nd chapters completely

Now working on the other 2nd chapter and made an outline of how this one will split into two different 3rd chapters. Already have the ideas for the certain conflicts, etc. So far I've got 3 epilogues in mind total for the Shadow Guard path.

Also pretty much know how I'm going to do the story branch for the True Eternal path (Struggle). Got 2 epilogues planned for this one so far and I still haven't decided if I'm going to add a 4th chapter for this one since it may go past the 101 year old "time limit".

[End Master]

Eternal: 65% Complete.

Still working on the 2nd chapter of the Shadow Guard path. Finished one branch leading to one of the Chapter 3s in this storyline. Just have to work on the other branch (leading to yet another Chapter 3), finish up all the premature death endings and then I can move onto both of the Chapter 3s.

The Shadow Guard path so far has gone through a lot of changes and rewrites and will probably continue to do so, since its proving to be less straight forward to write than the soldier path, but I think it's becoming just as fleshed out as the Soldier Path which I was sort of concerned about before.

[End Master]

Eternal: Hell I don't know what percentage complete, I'm just guessing!

Finally finished Chapter 2 B2 for the Shadow Guard path. Now I can move on to Chapter 3.

Though due to yet more story rearranging there will now be 3 separate Chapter 3s for this path. (3B1, 3B2, 3B3)

[dreamshell]

Well, I had my ass chewed out a bit by Vesnic for my chronic silence and lurking, so here are some details about the story I'd wanted to enter in the IWT8 contest. I’m looking for some constructive feedback on my ideas and insight on how best to streamline them and/or shit jokes and accusations regarding the licentious nature of my mother. Whichever you feel like providing.

As I said in August, I mean to write a large-scale homage to space opera. It’s inspired by and so will undoubtedly draw parallels to several staples of SF, hopefully without cribbing too heavily from anything. The main setup is as follows;

You begin as a teenager surnamed Spencer about 100 years after a war that drew humanity into a larger interstellar society called the League. Your scientist father has been offered a grant for his secret research that requires your relocation to the capital planet of Xiadis. You’re looking forward to your new life there, but tragedy strikes not long after you settle in when your father is inexplicably killed. From here, you have three paths you can take, based partially on earlier choices during the ‘prologue’ portion of the story; A) Continue Dad's research (Science Hero), B) Take the law into your own hands to solve his murder (Space Gangster) or C) Be taken under the wing of his old friend, a starship captain (Space Explorer).

Though each of the ‘Big Three’ paths diverge a good deal from one another, they will share most if not all of the same core themes and goals, such as figuring out why your father died and what his research was about, influencing League politics for good or ill and investigating strange phenomena on the fringes of civilized space.

My chief concern right now is whether these ‘Big Three’ fit and complement each other well enough or if they’re so dissimilar that I need to remove some of them. My aim is for high re-readability, but some might see one or another path as sprawling and tangential.

Some other issues I have are;

-While choices in the 'Science Hero' path have far-reaching consequences, it feels less true to space opera in terms of having a wide variety of settings. Though there will be chances to visit other places, you are largely confined to Xiadis in this one and it’s arguably the “truest” path of the Three. How might I broaden the scope or do I need to since I allow for more travel in the other two?

-How to maintain the balance between plot-relevant info the reader needs and the fun but probably irrelevant stuff like the setting’s history, various cultures, etc.? I don’t plan to go on ad nauseam about how FTL works or anything, but indulging in alien customs or post-invasion human history will be haaaard to resist.

-How often can I get away with using a given subplot (e.g., join an anti-alien movement, explore ancient ruins, make first contact with a new race) in each of the ‘Big Three’ paths? I figure all Three should be largely unique in the branches available to them, but there’s bound to be overlap.

-"Playersexual" secondary characters. Is it preferable that romance options be functionally bisexual to make gender moot, or should their sexualities be fixed, to increase re-readability value (I.e., you could only romance X if you play with a male in mind, Y with a female; one or two Zs might be gay/lesbian/bi)?

I have a goodly amount of characters and subplots - possibly too many, but it’s too early to say. I’m willing to share info about them, though I imagine that would spoil a lot of the fun of reading. It’s probably better to do that over PM, I suppose.

I don’t know what else to say offhand. Questions are definitely welcome. Let me know if I’ve explained enough/too much or what you’re curious about and would like/hate to see. I might even listen.

[End Master]

Well I'd say if you're motivated enough, then you should go ahead with all three paths as planned and not worry if they're too long. It's your story, make it as long as you need to get the point across.

Your bigger obstacle with making a story like this is it can get overwhelming very quickly if you don't plan a lot of it in advance and you're also going to have to be flexible enough to change it if something isn't working out like you thought. Basically you have to have the discipline or you'll end up with an unfinished story only a few pages in.

The other issues:

1. For the Science Hero path, keep it with your vision. All the paths don't need to be "epic." It also makes a nice change of pace to have variations on the different branches. One could focus mainly on external action, while the other focuses on the protagonist's inner conflict.

2. Explain what you need to in the main story, but if you have to include more info, create another link which goes to "further info" or "background", write what you need to and then loop the link back to the story.

3. Some plot overlap might occur and if it's necessary for the story then don't worry about it. Things are most likely still going to play out differently for the protagonist, so it won't be too much "copy/paste"

4. Well this one I get around mainly be being a racist homophobic misogynist, meaning I tend to make the protagonist a straight white guy. (Well actually race isn't usually mentioned, but we all know the "default" is white. Lol) While probably not very PC of me, it makes things a hell of a lot easier.

I mean if you want to go the "Bioware" route and insist on making a choice for everyone based on gender, sexual orientation, etc you could, but I always sort of see it as taking time away from the story because basically you got two options:

The first is lazy copy/paste. This where you put the "choice" at the very beginning of the story and then simply copy/paste the same story multiple times except you're replacing "he" or "she" in case of gender. For sex preference you'd also be changing any romance choices, but that can also be done lazily by always making "Jane" the romance choice for normal guys and lesbos and always "John" the choice for gays and girls. (This is the Bioware way!)

The problem with this is it's incredibly BORING to copy/paste several pages of the same thing and even more tedious to alter small bits of them. And ultimately your changes are only cosmetic, they don't really add anything new to the story.

The second is write a real path for the gender or preference. This the more ambitious way since you're actually doing something different with the character because she's a girl, or he's gay, etc. The character's gender and sex preference isn't just to make the reader feel warm and fuzzy, it's actually meaningful to the story.

The problem with this is if you're already writing something large to begin with, then you've just multiplied it. You're also probably still going to have a lot of copy/paste because unless this is a future where homos are hunted down and killed and women are raped on sight, the story isn't going to change excessively.

Personally, I'd pick one gender and just focus on the story. As for orientation, well you could always just make the protagonist Bi and give romance options for both genders at some point.

[Vesnic]

Well, I had my ass chewed out a bit by Vesnic for my chronic silence and lurking

And since I am the one who's reduced your pants size, I figured I should also be an early responder in actually offering some feedback on your ideas. I'm glad to see the Dream Machine is alive and crankin'.

My chief concern right now is whether these ‘Big Three’ fit and compliment each other well enough or if they’re so dissimilar that I need to remove some of them.

From what you've given by way of explanation, they seem to be quite complementary. Rather than having a couple of truly whacky paths thrown in with the serious ones, it seems that you've chosen to go with three options that are all feasible. In fact, it might be interesting to explore just how thin the line between hero and criminal can be. The same personality is capable of taking radically different paths, which perhaps aren't so different after all. This could supply an interesting meta-narrative in addition to the story plot.

How might I broaden the scope or do I need to since I allow for more travel in the other two?

Three main paths is actually quite a bit to write. I'm not sure how much experience you have with the CYOA format, but what you've set for yourself here is an ambitious project. I wouldn't worry just yet about broadening the scope.

How to maintain the balance between plot-relevant info the reader needs and the fun but probably irrelevant stuff like the setting’s history, various cultures, etc.?

It's that "fun but probably irrelevant" stuff that can make a story unforgettable, and I would never go so far as to call it irrelevant. It can, however, be burdensome and boring if it's not done skillfully. People have different ways of introducing these kinds of details, sometimes with separate "background" pages, sometimes with more indirect methods like introducing various facts fairly organically into the story with dialogue, description, a character's thoughts, etc. You really hit on the right word here: fun. This part of the story should be both fun to write and fun to read. If it ever gets to feel like a real chore, then you're probably not going about it quite right.

I have a goodly amount of characters and subplots - possibly too many, but it’s too early to say. I’m willing to share info about them, though I imagine that would spoil a lot of the fun of reading. It’s probably better to do that over PM, I suppose.

Is this a collaboration or a solo effort?

[dreamshell]

Your bigger obstacle with making a story like this is it can get overwhelming very quickly if you don't plan a lot of it in advance and you're also going to have to be flexible enough to change it if something isn't working out like you thought.

Yeah, I’ve spent my time off and on planning this monster ever since the idea came to me. I’ve got the prologue nailed (conceptually, anyway), and I’ve been honing the internal logic of all the subplots (perhaps they’ll be chapters). I still have to figure out just how I’ll bridge all of them, but that shouldn’t be too difficult.

Explain what you need to in the main story, but if you have to include more info, create another link which goes to "further info" or "background", write what you need to and then loop the link back to the story.

This is one technique I might employ sparingly, such as with different pieces of Spencer’s father’s research he reviews. There may also be the option for him to read up on various things before some relevant undertaking, such as acquainting himself with some observational data on a species before first contact is made.

The second is write a real path for the gender or preference. This the more ambitious way since you're actually doing something different with the character because she's a girl, or he's gay, etc. The character's gender and sex preference isn't just to make the reader feel warm and fuzzy, it's actually meaningful to the story.

This is more the route I’d like to take with it, but you’re right, it does increase an already considerable workload. I’ll see if I can’t first come up with enough distinct romance scenarios in the first place to justify doing this.

From what you've given by way of explanation, they seem to be quite complementary.

Oh, damn, it’s ‘complement’! I’ve amended this. And you bring up some interesting ideas.

It's that "fun but probably irrelevant" stuff that can make a story unforgettable, and I would never go so far as to call it irrelevant. It can, however, be burdensome and boring if it's not done skillfully. People have different ways of introducing these kinds of details, sometimes with separate "background" pages, sometimes with more indirect methods like introducing various facts fairly organically into the story with dialogue, description, a character's thoughts, etc. You really hit on the right word here: fun. This part of the story should be both fun to write and fun to read. If it ever gets to feel like a real chore, then you're probably not going about it quite right.

I agree with you wholeheartedly. I’d like to include the fun stuff in indirect, organic ways for the most part. I’ll just have to be mindful not to meander off-topic or infodump.

Is this a collaboration or a solo effort?

The idea was for me to write this myself. I think I’ve become too attached to the idea to share it, but I’ll of course consider anything someone might suggest.

[Usoki]

As long as finding out what happened to the father remains a primary element of all branches, I think it can be done. It might be overwhelming for someone new to the CYOA format, but it's definitely in the realm of plausibility.

Subplots are fine, as long as they do impact the story in some way. If they're completely pointless, you might as well just remove them.

As far as the science route goes... on-scene experiments, scientific conventions, and guest lectures/conferences would all be ways to include a variety of locations into the plotline. But, as End and Ves mention, this really isn't a critical thing to include.

In fact, End and Ves pretty much have you covered here. I would, however, like to put an emphatic agreement on what End said about the genders. If you don't create a specific reason to have different genders, it's going to be a lot of work for a minimal payoff. Maybe there's a science grant that a female character could get, or a certain job as a space gangster which is male only? I dunno. But if you're just worried about having romantic interests in the work... I would assign a gender. Or maybe just leave the relationship part out entirely.

[donteatpoop]

For the first time in maybe a year, I was able to make significant progress in a story last night. A screen play idea I had in my head for a while but never did anything with. I'm excited. I'm gonna work more on it tonight.