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I have a few things that I think are needed and which need to be discussed between those of us who are writing in the Comic Retcon Universe of Lilith's creation.
First thing I want to suggest: Let's limit the number of characters that we are writing on. There are literally thousands of comic superheros in DC and Marvel, and since both of those universes are open to our fast fingers, I'd like to ask for a voluntary limiting of the characters.
And I'm not just talking about limiting them *in general* but also in specific. It's tempting to have fifteen different origin stories of various heroes by one author, but that detracts MASSIVELY from the story since it becomes very hard to keep the characters as people and to keep their narrative flowing.
Second, I'd ask that we all put up a blog post in our own blogs, linked to the "Comics Retcon Universe" keyword about what is known about the character we are writing on. Kind of a "rogue's gallery" of the people we will be writing on. That way, an author who is coming in and going to be writing an additional story can easily find the references on a character that might be mentioned in their story, and can keep the facts straight.
Another thing I'd like to point out, ONLY the characters on the Series Page at http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/20577/comics-retcon-universe are cannon characters. I think it is getting a bit blurry as to who is actually in the universe and who is fan fiction. (Thinking specifically about "Sin and Steel" which is loosely based on the CRU, but which is mentioned as part of the cannon story of another character later.)
I am also suggesting that all those authors who are writing in that universe make sure they PM a link to their story to Lilith so she can decide if that story is part of the universe's cannon.
Thoughts/suggestions and discussion?
(Maybe if Erin or another admin could add the CRU to the list of TG Universes & Series in the "add content" list? That would be helpful.)
Comments
Added CRU to menus
Actually thought I had already done that, but I hadn't. :)
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
You had done it for "The
You had done it for "The Center", but not for the CRU. But thanks anyhow. ;-)
----
May the Stars Light Your Path
Maid Joy
http://i-know-i-know-but.net/
I'm sorry - I couldn't
I'm sorry - I couldn't resist.
So, since they aren't canon characters, are they cannon fodder?
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Calling Dibs
EDIT: Looks like Lilith Langtree already did it! So, point your PMs at her!
Edeyn Hannah Blackeney
My original plan was to
My original plan was to write a four story arc including GL, Terra, American Dream, and Thor-girl, tying them all together in the fourth story. Then with a cameo in the fourth story, starting another arc to three more characters which would be a separate storyline. Wash, rinse, repeat.
I would encourage others to actually write an origin story, and not a drabble where *poof* "I'm a suprehero! The end." is not the entirety of the story. It kind of takes away the chance of that character actually being fleshed out and defeats the purpose of the Retcon to begin with.
Those of that follow comics, for the most part, are already familiar with the popular origin stories. A retelling of the exact same story only with a TG twist isn't the purpose. It's telling a "new" story that includes the TG twist. There's a difference. I highly encourage everyone that is interested in writing in the universe to read the comments portion of the CRU page to see what I'm talking about.
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/20577/comics-retcon-universe
I like the idea of having a central place to access all of the stories without having to hop around from one author to another. That's what I attempted to do with the CRU page, but can't figure out how to circumvent the link/author/stories list problem. With the CRU tag added to the story, it will help track them down, but the CRU page was neat to me because it had pictures (I'm easily amused, sue me).
~Lili
Blog: http://lilithlangtree.tglibrary.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lilith_langtree
~Lili
Write the story that you most desperately want to read.
The only thing I can think
The only thing I can think of to solve that if the original author doesn't link it, is to ask one of the admins here to do so. That could work.
I'm also thinking about installing a wiki software on my blog and using THAT as a rogue's gallery with more info on each character as they are explored in the stories. Could be used for The Center too, if you want.
----
May the Stars Light Your Path
Maid Joy
http://i-know-i-know-but.net/
Edeyn has volunteered to
Edeyn has volunteered to organize the CRU page charting and adding the links.
And I had a volunteer contact me yesterday that has already set up a better version of the list-o-characters i have on the Center page. It's just not complete as of yet.
~Lili
Blog: http://lilithlangtree.tglibrary.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lilith_langtree
~Lili
Write the story that you most desperately want to read.
If you like, I can publish snippets of code...
...similar to the backlink code to this page, to allow authors to point to each other's stories as well, or for the Retcon home page to point to the author's story pages, simulating what the site does automatically if a real relationship exists in the outline tab.
As you've discovered, the outline scheme allows only binary tree structures, so creating a network is a little more difficult.
One thing that might be useful is a "backwards, up, and forwards" link to sit on top of the regular outline links to allow readers to skip through author retcon pages -- forward and backward, with "up" pointing to the retcon "home page."
We already did this for another complex story cycle, so it doesn't have to be reinvented, although I'm sure Edeyn could knock out a similar scheme.
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
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Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Whatever would make finding
Whatever would make finding the other stories easier would be welcome. If you come up with it, I can post it to the other stories, and it would make me a happy kitty.
~Lili
Blog: http://lilithlangtree.tglibrary.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lilith_langtree
~Lili
Write the story that you most desperately want to read.
an idea
an idea for "non-cannon" stories - they could take place in an alternate universe. just a thought. I noticed my little take on Phoenix didnt make the cut, ah, well.