I had this idea for a world called Scoosha, in the series I'm writing. It's a sci-fi series, which I have taken to calling Off-World. I looked it up and there seems to be a show or movie from a few years back called Off-World, so I may have to change the name of the series when it comes time to release the book. I want something catchy and something that describes the series and genre in the shortest amount of words possible.
I think Off-World lets people know what they're in for, but, at the same time I don't know if I'd be allowed to use it without being sued. Ahh roadblocks, gotta love em. There's no way around it really and there is also no major rush right now as far as naming it goes, so I have plenty of time to think of something a bit more solid that won't get me in trouble with some studio. Anyway, on with the post.
I like writing (World Building Notes) Posts, as they allow me to go think of elements of my story in a free-form way. Nothing is set in stone, however, these notes may change. I always find that voicing an idea is the best way to let the thought truly sink in, even though you may have an idea floating around in your head, saying it out loud or writing it down is a great way to really think about it and it also gives a point of reference to make changes and expand on the idea in the future. The way I look at it, if it's written down as a note, it can change, but, when it gets used in a book, that's where it is solidified. But, changes can still be made, because a character may have interpreted something a certain way, they might believe something based not on the facts, instead, they base their assumptions on their experiences, personality, or even a random thought that dawns on them when presented with something. I think the unreliable narrator is a good get-out-of-jail-free card when it comes to certain things, at the same time I wouldn't want to rely on it based on any uncertainty of my own. So when something is added to the lore in the series, you'd be damn sure that I've thought about it in detail.
Scoosha's Capital
I have this idea for a planet called Scoosha, which was essentially bombed back to the stone age during The Confederation Invasion. In the current mainline book series, set around 19 years after the initial invasion, we find a planet, mostly devoid of life to the untrained eye. They have one major city left and this city sees nearly all of the visitors to the planet, the city is in the process of being rebuilt, but, not by an overseeing government. Instead, it is being rebuilt by the citizens of the city, who are willing to work to make it a better place to live for themselves, and some work with the hope of making enough money to leave the planet.
The citizens work in this city, while it is also in a state of chaos. The entire city has been divided up into territories by separate factions and gangs, leaving it as a constant warzone prior to The Confederation. After they left, many of the citizens of Scoosha with battle experience had two choices, try to go back to their previous lives or take up arms and fight for a small patch of the city. Most do this as a way of carving out a living from what remains, which is very little in the grand scheme of things. Unity should have followed the invasion, but, in the hearts and minds of the survivors, division and hate preoccupied them, based solely on their survival instincts.
Scoosha is considered an Outer-World, or Fringe Planet. Far removed from the Free Space Alliance, they have to fend for themselves for the most part, along with the other Fringe Worlds who dwell too far from the main planets.
Beyond The City
Beyond the city, the wastelands have been overrun by wildlife and the wildlife of Scoosha is deadly. There is no choice for most people, but to remain in the city, and battle there instead of battling the wasteland.
The wastes are full of abandoned settlements and dotting the desert are small bodies of water, which could be a good place to start up some settlements, it would only be viable if the city could organise and work together. That is happening, although slower than it could be.
Shipwrecks fill the land too, which are valuable sources of income for scavengers, but, getting to them is difficult. Only some of the factions have access to ships and one of the biggest crimes in the city, which has started to scare away visitors is hijacking. Most who visit Scoosha must beware of this and ensure they leave guards stationed on their transports to protect them while they go about their business.
The Wider Wastes
Beyond the wasteland is a far larger wasteland, but, instead of it being a desert, it is more mountainous and rocky. Throughout this terrain, there are many old mining settlements from before the war and even some cities and towns that would be capable of being re-settled if the current tenants were evicted.
There is a small start-up, that has been trying to restart one of the mining settlements, but, setbacks and failures have led to them being stalled for the moment.
Beyond The Mountains
Far beyond the wider wastes and forgotten by all inhabitants of the capital of Scoosha is a large area of land, which varies from forests to mountains and even the long-lost seaside city. In this area, many people live, completely disconnected from civilization, so they have had to create a life for themselves based solely on survival against the harsh environment.
Some of the groups are cannibals, which makes traversing the area hard. By the sea, is the most civilized town, a fishing village, which has experimented with heading out to sea to find out if there is anything left beyond the blue waste. There are groups who have headed north into the wider waste but, few have returned with any tangible information.
There is one small group of warriors living in the mountains of the region. They have formed a tradition amongst their group, where, when a man or woman comes of age they complete a trial that sees them leave the village alone to kill one of the many fearsome creatures, using only their bare hands, and after they return with its head. With the head they treat the skull and don it as a helmet, proving themselves as a warrior and allowing them to join the upper class of their small society.
This practice has left their population small, albeit small, they are some of the most ferocious fighters around. Not even the cannibals would want to challenge them.
You are one creative guy! I could really visualize life on Scoosha, the culture, the struggles. The interesting landscape and politics of what seems to be a very tribal kind of people. I can't wait to buy 15 of your book to give out as gifts! 😁
How do you plan to publish when the time comes? That's been a big question in my life lately, my novel is at roughly 35,000 words currently (not perfect ones though, they need adjusting) ... I think that will find me finishing up within six months, which feels too soon somehow 😂
Thinking of publishing gets me all anxious, do you ever feel like that?
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Thanks so much! I love the world building side of things and it really helps me get a good idea about elements of the story and problems the main characters could encounter along the way. Hahaha that's mad, I can only imagine how someone would react being gifted something I wrote hahaha
I was thinking of self publishing on Amazon as a kindle and they also do a print on demand thing for hard copies which is cool I think. To be honest, it does get me nervous, especially when reading about the different particular formats it all needs to be done in so it looks good when it's printed. I'm more nervous about how it looks, I don't really worry about things like "Am I good enough?" "Will this sell?" "Am I wasting my time?" My concerns are mostly. "How the hell do I format it correctly?" "Where will I get a cover designed?" "Are editors expensive?"
I'm thinking of going to route of an editor and they can do some supervised caretaking. It'll be like hiring a landscape gardener to take the literary bit of waste ground I have and make it look pretty haha But, I don't how much they are. Someone reached out to me about hiring them, but, didn't give me a price when I asked.
We have a few authors here on Hive who I am hoping to bend there ear about the process when I have a completed manuscript.
I'm so close to completing my one now, but, getting the first draft down is the first hurdle. The revision is important to clean up elements, then hand it off to an editor for their finishing touch and format.
Then there's a thing I heard about I'd need to pay for. It's essentially a bar code or whatever, I don't know how to describe it, but you need one for each version of the book. One for digital, one for soft cover and one for hard cover, I think. I'm not sure though and can't remember the name of it, it's required to make it official or something.
To me it sounds like an author tax, which I'd rather not pay. Sadly though, seems like it's needed.
!PIZZA
Thank you SO MUCH for that detailed answer- you've taught me a bunch with this comment !LUV That's a lot of small details I'd never have thought of without TONS of study, so much gratitude to you for sharing the logistics of this journey for you!!
I'm so proud of you for doing the dang things man, you're killing it !PIMP
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Thanks! I can see the end of this novel in sight, but, I know that it's not exactly the end, it's scary to think of all that logistical kind of stuff. I try not to think of that stuff too much though until the time comes, but, yeah it's good to have a certain amount of the journey plotted, just so there are no surprises.
I think one of the things that have really helped me out, is Hive. Writing the chapters and putting them out publicly has been great as I've been able to be active here, while also receiving so much great feedback!
There should be a front end here on Hive that works like some of those writers' websites, where you can plot out a story and write world-building notes and stuff and have it all organised. I might talk to some of the Scholar and Scribe people about it and see if they could think of a way of doing it.
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