Writing Challenge: Shared World Project

Come one, come all, and take a gander at this!

Who likes to write? You do, of course, you’re here after all. Well, if you like writing (stories and tales of wondrous things especially) or want to earn some fiction/story points and practice, this could be for you. Even if you don’t: keep reading. Anyone looking for something interesting to do, something extraordinary, exciting, and fun, something that can involve whoever, whenever, and in so many different ways, something brilliant, take a look.  

A quick bit of background:

Some of you may remember a YWPer by the username of Locke-Peter; well, in my endless journey for stuff to read, I came across some of his stuff from a few years ago, and stumbled upon some amazing writing! It’s incredible to read, and my favorite things were part of what’s called a “Shared World”. Locke-Peter, after some inspiration from Neil Gaiman, started up the original project, and it was incredible.

What is it?

Anyone know what a “shared world” is?

“A shared world is a common literary world where writers can create characters, plotlines, and have them interact and intertwine.” It’s basically a universe, which someone sets up, with a few loose guidelines, i.e. time period, location (Earth, parallel Earth, etc…), and few basic laws (like, you know, gravity).  They present vague outline, a twist, something to get it going, and there it is. They introduce a story, a character, a plotline, and roll with it.

But the genius of the shared world concept is the “shared”. Any user who wants to can add a new character/plotline, introduce a new story that exists in the same universe, and can interact with the characters and events of anyone else’s stories.

            For my own purposes, I created a small universe where three of my novels I’m currently working on take place, including (for those of you have come across it) “Cosmic Joke of the Day: I am a Ghost”. There are characters and events in that story which will reverberate and reappear in later stories of mine, eventually (whenever I get that far in writing).  It is complex, but so amazingly fun and endlessly crafty.

So, why?

Well, first of all, this would seriously be incredibly fun. The stuff that they came up with the first time was incredible, and I think it would be so beyond amazing if we, the current generation of dedicated writers of imagination and fancy, could piece together something like this, make it work; I know we have the potential, all it takes is interest and participation. It’s not something that’s hard, it doesn’t take long complex novels, it doesn’t take much skill – it can be simple stuff, short stories, even just writing for practice in the realm of fiction.

What now?

Well, basically, just let me know if you want to be involved in this. I think it’ll be a lot of fun, but like I said, it takes the interest of a group of people to let it fly. Leave a comment or a message, carrier pigeon to my home address, snail mail (with actual snails of course), message in a bottle, whatever! Just let me know so it can go on, so it can live! Give it the wind in its sails and it can take to places you’ve only ever dreamed of, adventures of unimaginable magnitudes.  

Thank you sincerely one and all for your time, and I hope you're intrigued!

~Ciel

 (So, before I get started, I'd like to thank Archibald the Prophet and Bart the General for all their help setting up this introduction into this new wonderful universe! Thanks you guys, couldn't get it going without you!)

This is an introduction to “Shared World 2.0”

(That should be the keyword you use, like I have. After it’s tagged and posted, by clicking the tag you can view all the other stuff that’s a part of the world.)

This is just a basic introduction to the world, the universe, and the general setting, a kickboard for your future writing endeavors.

So, my friends, finally, welcome to Eos.       

      The human race, right from the genesis, from the days they grasped their curious hands around the secrets of knowledge, borrowed the spark of life, they’ve never stopped moving forwards. They spread across the globe, existing in all corners of the planet, literally, moving mountains to suit their needs; some say they were greedy – I say they were brilliant. By whatever divine right they were blessedly granted, they were given a world on which to thrive.

       But what is given must eventually be taken away. Homes, resources, even life. The Earth was no exception.

       Humans expanded and developed, molding the world, nearly perfecting their civilization, on the brink of the pinnacle of existence, when their world was lost. The Cataclysm engulfed the Earth, stranding the survivors of a race thousands and thousands and thousands of years in the making on seven massive space crafts, salvaging only what they could. Outfitted to carry on life for half a millennium, the ships read the stars, drifting with no home, analyzing transmissions from ancient “Voyagers”, following a hope, a single star less than two hundred light years away with a ring of planets, one which fit the general criteria of inhabitable.

       150 years later, the starship Bastion touched base on 572-TAZ3, a densely forested Earth-like world, comparable to Mars in size, in the solar system Orion-Senka. It orbits, much like the Old Earth around a massive star – Helios – with a few gas giant planetary neighbors. The planet was christened Eos, and colonization began.

       Each of the seven ships - Gosheng-Kai, Ragnarok, Bastion, Skadi, Ozymandias, Bazrius, and Serenity – landed on a separate part of the world, and webbed out with steel threads, creating a massive network of tracks and bridges and buildings far above the surface.  The wild forests of massive trees and animals that humans have never seen the likes of roam far beneath the structures rooted on high up trunks and thick metal masts, each ship the epicenter of a new metropolis where the survivors reside. The ones who work the ships, know the technology, they are in charge, a group governing each “city”. Salvaging the limited information saved from Earth, they set up the Network, a global communication, information, and monitoring system.

       The human race, so advanced and hailed, now just passengers, riding on the solar waves of a strange planet, never so out of place, but never so determined; and here they thrive today, generations after the Cataclysm and the Pilgrimage, building a new life in a world so unbeknownst the them, facing the challenges as the ship’s resources empty rapidly, and divides in location and population shift the humans from survival to domination, once again.

(Looking deeper: facts just for knowing.

Helios was the Greek deity of the Sun, Eos was the Greek god of the dawn, and Orion-Senka means "Shadow of Orion". From that galaxy, I imagine there to be a rather spectacular view of the Orion Nebula.)

Lastly, I’ve compiled a little more basic information to help avoid confusion, and set a more specific but really general setting.

       About four or five months after colonization and the mass building of cities is when the supplies on some of the ships are starting to reach a lower marking. Through damage and other circumstances (up to your imagination) some supplies was inevitably lost.  

       Also, if you were wondering about what year these shenanigans are taking place, I’d say circa 2500 A.D., though due to abnormalities in the ship’s logs, we can’t be exactly certain of the year.

       The Network is a global satellite system that transmits, stores, and monitors information regarding population, supplies, and general information. It also has links that can take you back to Old Earth history and literature/art and such and such. Not all was salvaged, but some data was saved.

       For the sake of continuity, I have here included a general map of Eos, and where each of the ships branched out from, and their relative sizes. Keep in mind, they’re massive “cities”, almost more like provinces. 

Please, remember that I in no way intend to impede your creative ideas! If you feel the need to deviate, do so without remorse! These are just guidelines… suggestions… ideas…. Springboards… Nothing more!

Happy writing, and thanks for participating as always! Can’t wait to read your work!

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