It has been a little while since I have done a post about my story, I wanted to give my readers and anyone interested - an idea of what I've been doing.
I have been living in a world of fantasy, I have imagined creatures, beings with powers, massive battles, families struggling to survive, men wanting to prove their worth.
As I write I see the scene evolve in front of me as if I were watching a movie, the vision is clear the characters real in my mind and now I just need to get it all out so people can read it.
To be honest I am spending more and more time focussed on the story, I now have over 5 books full of basic character profiles and a massive master character list.
Within these books each character is given two pages of focus, one page outlines their name, race, position, relationship status and family members - including references to their corresponding entries.
The second page is left to outline major plot points and scenes or moments the character will be involved in with the story, this allows me to be able to reference any character and be able to find out crucial details quickly - this is essential for a story of this size to ensure continuity.
In total I now have over 420 Characters included in these books, some with more detail than others but all structured to contain all the relevant information pertaining to each character - they are all sorted by their home location.
I have also spent a fair amount of time working on the timeline, I have created a calendar and year/month system for the world - including a timeline that stretches back over 2500 years.
I have managed to start to record events as far back as 2500 years, and over two years into the future after the story commences - this is crucial to ensure events and travel all take place at the correct time and fit within the overall storyline well.
I have also been fleshing out plot lines and setting up historical events, that justify actions taken by the characters - even minor characters nee motives established to explain their views and actions.
Since beginning intense worn on the storyline, I have discovered and created more characters that are required to help the story unfold and progress.
Since their creation I have realised that they need to be established earlier in the story, for their existence to make sense - this means multiple rewrites and additions to scenes and storylines, to accommodate these characters properly into the story.
In addition to the Master list of characters and the basic profiles books, I have been writing highly detailed character profiles for all the major and large supporting characters.
These include:
- Detailed History and Backstory
- Character Personality and Motives
- Physical Characteristics including Appearance, Clothing and Weaponry
- Future Actions and Roles
- Future Outcomes and Resolutions
During this time I have also created new creatures and beings with different abilities, I have given these species their own detailed history, cultures and traditions and I have attempted to develop them into credible additions to the story.
I have also been creating the main story, I am trying to ascertain the progression of events and introduction to new characters - plus knowing when to reveal clues to the readers.
I like to make my readers think about what is happening behind the scenes, what are the characters seeking and why?
I believe the best stories to read are the ones that make you think about the story, my readers will have to keep very focused to be sure not to miss crucial evidence.
I also have a complete folder filled with notes some on scraps of paper and others that span pages, these pages are filled with ideas, corrections and suggestions t the characters and events - these all need to be interwoven into the story as it stands at the moment.
Some of these are small details others pertain to major events, this story is rapidly evolving into a massive saga - with so much content I am struggling to sort through it all and ensure it is all in order and makes sense.
This is all in addition to all of the posts I have already submitted to steemit:
The story set 7 years in the future:
The Kingdom of Valcanne:
The Fauna of Keltorin:
The Flora of Keltorin:
The Kingdoms of Keltorin:
I work on this story pretty much daily in some way, I have lost count of the hours I have spent writing and planning - evaluating and rearranging events and plots.
This story is epic in size and scope, I want to do the story justice and make it as enjoyable as possible to read,
I have never written so much so fast before in my life, I go to bed with hands that are cramping from overuse.
I'd also like to note that never before have I gone through so many pens, I wish I had kept all of them but at least I've started now - these were all bought brand new and were only used to write this story.
I hope to start posting the story on here again, but I have to be sure it's ready - I know what this story can be and what I want it to be.
I have to be sure I have everything in place before I begin, I want to ensure the integrity of the idea and ensure I manage to include all of the elements and issues I want to discuss with my readers.
I believe stories can be tools to make you question and examine your own world and reality, this story is going to make you question everything - nothing is off limits.
What's your favorite story that made you think about the world?
or follow me on twitter @krystlehaines