- Joined
- Jul 6, 2015
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So What Is This?
Well, not too long ago I made a post about writing a Massivecraft inspired story, which you can read here:
https://forums.massivecraft.com/threads/well-i-got-carried-away-a-massivecraft-inspired-novel.37866/
About a year and a half later (2 years? Who knows!) I actually ended up finishing the story. It was a simple side project for a while, something I'd come back to every now and then to work on, but eventually it evolved into something more. Eventually I found myself focusing on it as an actual project. You see, I always wanted to write a novel based off of my experiences here on Massivecraft ever since I got here. It was just an idea, I even started writing it at one point. However, my writing skills were dramatically worse back then and while it wasn't bad, it wasn't really anything I would show off. I planned the whole thing out but only ever got around to writing the first couple of chapters.
Years later, I found that notebook. Reading the story I started to realize that there actually might have been something there. That's when I decided to go on with it, taking the starting chapter of my original idea and moving on from there. Part of me doubted I would ever complete it, but we all have low self-esteem sometimes!
The main idea of the original book was to write something based on all the various roleplays I had experienced over the course of my time on Massivecraft. I originally decided to carry this into the actual novel, but soon realized that all my adventures were a bit too disjointed and out of focus for an actual complete story. I also found myself creating a world which seemed disconnected from the actual lore, so I worried that my story was evolving into something beyond Massivecraft, which was against the original intent.
That's where I got the idea to not make it about the actual world itself, but more about the stories roleplay created. The whole thing is practically a love letter to the concept of roleplay itself. I eventually started changing names of stuff in the universe, but all of that can be edited. I'm quite proud of it actually, and I hope that all of you will end up liking it as well.
What Should We Expect?
If you're hoping for a story involving the complete history of the lore or the wacky and wild misadventures of the Noble crowd, expect to be disappointed. Like I said, it's more about the stories roleplay helped make over the years, specifically from when I first joined Massivecraft. If I were to make it a series, each book would focus on a different part of my time spent playing on Massivecraft and how I grew in terms of roleplaying. Obviously the first one would focus on my beginning, a time which many of you might recall as being quite different. The lore wasn't as refined and I was learning the ropes on how my character should act and all the different people on the server itself. These ideas are centralized in the book itself, making it more personal, all the references in it are mostly to older times.
Don't expect it to be too accurate to the world either. DockedRelic helped me certify my idea of creating a world inspired from it. Regalia is a different place and the plot isn't something you'd usually expect from the server nowadays. MonMarty also mentioned plagiarism, which I'll get to later, but I actually already mentioned that I changed the names of most of the stuff, which helps the alternate version of the game universe feel less alien than the one on the server. I took creative freedom and made a story I would have loved to see when I first joined, pulling characters and set pieces from the time I started developing my roleplay skills.
What's It Even About?
The book currently stands at 127,899 words. The plot went in a direction I wasn't expecting it to go, but that's a part of the joy of writing. Despite me mentioning my idea for how sequels should go, the story is definitely self-contained. It mostly revolves around where all the characters go, ending at a pivotal point in the development of my character. Some of it is left open, but you don't have to read it and worry about it ending up incomplete.
Anyways, the story follows Peter Marini (All the names are subject to change) who has just returned back to Insignia (Regalia) with his cousin after a long trip away. Both of them are struggling to get back into regular life as they still seek adventure and excitement in their lives. This call soon serves to quite problematic however, as Peter Marini finds himself getting more and more wrapped up in a plot against the city. Peter is determined to watch over his cousin and not let her find a way into trouble and finds himself blind to his own problems.
The story is very character based so it's more of a combination between a drama, a thriller, and of course, fantasy. It may not be all about drama in the Noble world, but if you're interested in any of that I'm sure it'd be a good read for you. It's the grand adventure I would have liked to have really been a part of when I first joined combined with the character arcs I would like to see now. I think everyone can find something to enjoy in it, but remember, this is my first major work. I've written short stories that you can find online (Most of them were written a while ago so they're not that well made) but I've never worked to this scale, so there will definitely be problems in the story. That's why I'm glad to get it out to you guys, the feedback received here will definitely help improve my writing career. With the advice given from this first story, I could probably work towards a second one focusing on more current topics. That's something for the future however.
What Now?
Well, I still have a lot to work to do. Despite the story actually being done, I still have to go through and do a second draft. Then after that second draft, I'll have to go through and read it again, tuning up everything and making it perfect. Most of the beginning needs to be changed as I was still improving when I first started, plus a lot of the concepts don't fit the later ones. Writing is a long process, but I do want to get this thing out by the summertime. Expect to see it by then, I still have to go over everything. I also need to find a good title because the one I made when I was younger doesn't really fit. Also I'll need a cover, but this is another issue for the far future.
The current issue I need to fix is with the world itself. Who should I really talk to about making this an actual thing? I actually want to get it published in physical book form, so I'll have to go through all of the publishing issues with the world. If I can't get it into book form I'll settle for E-Book, but I'd rather avoid that route. It'll probably be self-published too, so there's that. Despite all the changes, the world isn't really mine so to speak. I had a world given to me to help me create the story itself. This might prove to be a big hassle, but I'm willing to communicate to staff members about the topic. It'd be really helpful to help me find a way to get this out without any issues.
For now, that's everything though. I hope some of you are interested in it because I've worked really hard on it and put a lot of time and effort into creating this story. Not all of you are going to like it, but I'm proud of it myself as my first step in growing as a writer. What are your thoughts on my project? Do you have any suggestions for future development? Sorry if this seems a disjointed, I really wanted to get everything out once I finished.
