New and looking for some help
Hello Reddit!
I’m looking for a writing partner, or possibly a small group of writers, to help me develop a rather extensive fictional universe I’ve been working on for a very long time.
The setting is a modern-day world that blends science fiction, fantasy, horror, superheroes, kaiju, the supernatural, and a healthy amount of satire and occasional parody. Rather than being one enormous story with a single cast, I’ve been treating it as a collection of smaller projects that can stand on their own while still existing within the same universe.
I’ve actually been developing this for as long as I can remember, and would like to actually be able to do something with it in the near future.
Most of the material currently exists as notes, character information, setting details, story ideas, and lore in one enormous Word document that has grown to nearly 300 pages and around 100,000 words.
I actually like the fact that it’s organized this way. Instead of trying to develop the entire universe simultaneously, I can focus on one character, setting, faction, or story at a time and gradually build outward.
For example: Blue Ties — working title
This is the supernatural/horror side of the setting, following a character known as The Revenant, a man with some rather unusual and dark secrets of his own.
His stories can range from relatively grounded investigations involving criminals and serial killers to encounters with supernatural creatures, cryptids, monsters, cults, folklore, urban legends, and other strange phenomena.
The idea is to explore the darker and more mysterious corners of the world through his perspective, while still leaving room for the occasional bizarre or humorous situation.
I Kaiju -
This side of the universe focuses on giant monsters, kaiju, and human beings who have been forced to live in a world where things dozens and even hundreds feet tall actually exist.
One of the main characters is Mara Jensen, a genetically engineered giant super-soldier who has spent much of her life dealing with kaiju at very close range.
Another is Sven Friedheim, a descendant of the giant-killers found in medieval folklore. His story approaches the same part of the world from a very different perspective, focusing more on what it actually means for an ordinary human being to try to survive and make a difference in a world infested by giants.
Highrider -
This is the more action heavy and guns blazing side of the universe that focuses on a blend between vehicular warfare and military drama.
The main character is Caid Aarons, aka Highrider, a scorned and battered police officer who takes matters into his own hands when the justice system fails him.
His story becomes entangled with a bloodthirsty militia attempting to seize control of the country, while various otherworldly events unfold around him.
And those are only a few corners of the setting. There are superheroes, science-fiction elements, fantasy characters, strange civilizations, monsters, organizations, historical events, and plenty of other things that I haven’t even gotten into here.
The important thing is that none of this is meant to be one giant story that everyone has to work on at once.
I’d like different stories to feel like their own things while occasionally allowing them to overlap. A character from one story might eventually encounter someone from another, or some event might have consequences elsewhere in the setting, but I don’t want every character to constantly be meeting each other just for the sake of making everything connected.
I’m trying to make the idea of a crossover feel natural rather than forced. For example, if a killer car possessed by the soul of its last driver appears in a Blue Ties story, something like that could potentially show up in a Highrider story because it fits the world and the kind of things that happen in it. I want those connections to feel like they were always possible, rather than characters crossing over simply because I wanted to make a crossover.
What I’m looking for -
I’m still relatively new to writing. This has mostly been a hobby that I’ve worked on whenever I’ve had the time, and although I have a lot of ideas and worldbuilding material, I’m still learning how to actually turn those ideas into finished stories.
That’s where I’d like some help. I’m looking for people who enjoy writing and worldbuilding and would be interested in:
* bouncing ideas back and forth
* developing characters
* brainstorming stories
* pointing out problems or inconsistencies
* offering constructive criticism
* helping turn rough ideas into actual stories
* developing their own ideas within the setting
* and potentially collaborating on stories themselves
I’m not looking for someone to simply take my giant document and write it for me. I’d much rather find people who enjoy the creative process and want to build things together.
I’m very open to people who are interested in only one particular aspect of the universe.
You wouldn’t necessarily need to learn 100,000 words of lore before being able to contribute. If someone was primarily interested in the horror side, for example, we could focus on Blue Ties.
Someone else might be much more interested in the kaiju side, superheroes, science fiction, fantasy, or something else entirely.
Obviously I’m also not expecting anyone to just commit to this as like a second job or spend hours every week working on it, we all have our work schedules and personal lives that take priority. Even if you’re just interested in occasionally bouncing ideas around, helping develop a character, or critiquing a story when you have the time or feel up to it, I’d be interested in talking.
I’m still figuring out exactly what I’m doing, so I’m not expecting anyone interested to be immediately interested in this, but I would very much appreciate any help thrown my way.
I’m mostly hoping to find other creative people who enjoy throwing ideas around and seeing where they go.
Honestly, I'm not even sure if this is the right place to post this, but if this sounds interesting to you, I’d be happy to talk and show you more of what I’ve been working on.