There are good writers and bad writers. There are good storytellers and bad. But there is no such thing as a bad imagination.
The Purpose
I was never that good of a writer. Imagination — that I can do.
I tried my hand at writing an original novel in my youth. The publishers kindly told me that the science fiction market at the time was over-saturated, and that kid books did poorly. Given that this happened back in 1989, I wonder if I had persevered would I have come out with the next Harry Potter…or just wasted my time.
No matter. I have found an enjoyable niche in working with established universes. There is a wealth of material, of possibility, of choice and chance that one can explore in such huge creative spaces as the Mass Effect universe gives us. Yet for all that space, all that potential, Bioware managed to mangle and distort the very message they wanted to send.
My fan ramblings started with nothing more than filling in the gaps of Liara’s conversation with her father, and on writing a story that tried to make more sense than ME 1 did. Which would not be hard, given that ME 1 would make more sense if you got bombed on maui and watched the Zero Punctuation review of the game…
At any rate, some people seem to like what I write — God knows why. I figured if I’m going to do something I should do it right, and this website explores my work and thoughts and all that jazz.
The Rules of the Premiseverse
1) All Mary Sue characters must be deconstructed and defiled at some point : many of my characters and OC’s will come off with a seeming level of perfection. But each one of these characters will have multiple flaws, and in the end their greatest strength will either end up being their downfall or serve no avail in their darkest hour.
2) Nothing worth having comes without pain. The focus of most of my stories will have to deal with people getting over their own problems, their own pain, and either rising to triumph or being destroyed. Those who endure such are rewarded, but those who are given everything are usually destroyed.
3) The amount of foreshadowing for a plot point must be related to how much of an ass-pull it ends up being. I refuse to bring up shit that is never even referenced or alluded to and then saying “oh well obviously I meant that all along” , as with the stupid organics vs. synthetics storyline that makes no logical sense.
4) The why is more important than the how, but the how is what separates dross from gold. Bioware often missed on both the why and the how. I find myself more inclined to make sure the why is explained, but how you get to that place is also important. The biggest issue I always had was the game just giving me things without context.
5) Every OC must have a reason for being in the story. Wherever possible, utilize existing characters. Where not possible, make them memorable. I will only use OCs where I need to, and I will repurpose existing characters as I see fit rather than making new ones. That being said, if I’m making up characters they will have to be very good and very necessary.
6) Garrus is awesome. No exceptions
7) Happy endings always lead to tragic losses. This one is simply because I am a jerk… and because it feeds angst, which I enjoy.
8) A story that evokes no laughter or tears is a complete failure. I don’t write for reviews, or to prove anything, but to entertain others. If at the end of the day one of my stories made someone burst out laughing or wipe their eyes, then I’ve succeeded.
9) The measure of success of a chapter is not in reviews, or comments. It is in if the reader forgets about everything but the next chapter. Expansion on the above.
10) Canon is a gilded chain. Whenever it doesn’t make sense to follow canon, I probably won’t.
Your literary strength level is much higher then the one you’ve posted. Can wait to see the legacy team in action.
Hey just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the pictures aren’t loading correctly.
Huh. I come to dust off these writings, and all i see is true, but there’s one i think can be changed. The one about the happy endings. A happy ending is nothing more than the end of a cycle, the start of another. Like day and night. Where i live, it can get really hot at high noon in summer(like, 50+ degrees Celsius or so). Hot enough to, i shit you not, cook someone alive if you let them inside a car. High noon is a nightmare for us. People wait for the dusk to go to the park, the supermarket, etc. It all comes down to the eye of the beholder and from where they observe, in the matter of perspective.
BTW, you got an updated Discord Link? I tried with an old one, but it was taken down. I really like what you built, and i want to help.