I've been having one of my 'hey, I could write something' phases again recently, and although I've not actually put anything down in words I've been thinking of creating a fictional super setting. 'What is a fictional super setting?' I hear you ask. Well, I'm not 100% sure yet, but the early workings in my mind want to be able to have a single fictional planet that will be able to give me a very long history. I'd love to be able to plot the events of a planet that can take the inhabitants from a fantasy-like medieval time period through to a space faring species.
It's probably me being extremely lazy in the long run by being able to keep everything related (and yes, I am anal enough to keep track of it) and it could give a very diverse and wide range of events for me to mine until death...
One thing I wasn't sure of though - has anything like this been done before? I know I vaguely recall seeing something written somewhere that Larry Niven says all his stories are set in his 'Known Space' setting (although I will confess I've yet to read any of his stuff), although nothing else. Anyone with any ideas?
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5 comments:
Hey Mark, I s'pose you could say that Karma's been good to me lately (though if I have been uncosciously using the Force it wouldn't surprise me at all!). :-)
On to your FSS - I think it's a great idea! I immediatly thought of George R R Martin; I've got Volume 1 of his Dreamsongs collection, and many of the short-stories (and even some of the novella's) are set in a galaxy he created; time-wise, he jumps around, and hardly ever stays on the same planet, but it worked pretty well. Also, Stephen King came to mind: most of his novels interlink with the others, so maybe you could use that, too - telling many different stories with different characters but set in the same world. :-)
I'm busy putting together the history of my world, too, and I've discovered that over a period of five thousand years, I've got pleanty of stories to tell. :-)
I'll by surgically crossing my fingers next time I enter a contest - it may work!
I haven't read Dreamsongs, but I have heard about it and thought of investing - you've definitely pushed it higher on my list now :)
Also, I love King's Dark Tower series and I know that quite a few things relate to that, but it never feels like other books are in that setting. Shame really, it really is great!
I think I may start putting some stuff down, I may get as far as you have in time! Let me know when you've got some stuff out and about though, I'll be more than interested in having a read :)
Thanks Mark, but I've gotta tell you, it takes time. :-) I've drawn a few maps for my world, with all the continents and islands, etc, and as I fill them in, I create the history; keeps the mind fired up and in imagine-mode. :-)
I can well imagine! I'm not a huge map fan so I wouldn't go down that route myself, but I can see how it can really benefit the whole setting :)
Ken MacLeod's Engines of Light.
Dune.
:)
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