Wired has a fascinating read into the writing process of the new Star Wars franchise. Basically they intend to expand the universe and turn it into a process that spits out stories in a rich universe. Maybe expand the universe isn’t the right word, but flesh it out. Fill out those details, those shadows, the places where other stories happen.

They mentioned doing a movie about the spies that steal the Death Star plans. In A New Hope it’s a line of yellow text and something Mon Mothma comments on. But holy shit, think of the story there! The greatest military marvel ever, totally secret, and somehow someone manages to steal the plans. Like, all of them! Take that document and data control.

So here we have a rich, verdant, thick, universe that is bursting with potential stories. Wired’s piece mentions Star Trek’s Seal Team Six. Star Wars is big. A much bigger universe than Star Trek. There’s potential brush wars all across the galaxy between Rebels, Imperials, crumbling alien empires, rising new ones, mercenaries, alliances between them all, betrayals, and characters that have to sort this shit out.

But the best part is they’ve got that Marvel sense of familiarity. You can tie in so much story by showing a single Stormtrooper. That right there tells you tone, style, outcome, lays out the good and bad, expectations are leveled. Your setup time goes down, the plot potentials rise.

This also offers a way to escape the linear path. Marvel is running into it. You get story lines weaving into story lines and somehow it has to work. But what happens with a contradiction? Or even worse, a plot point in one movie that totally screws one down the line.

With a Star Wars Universe you can dance on the edge (of the Galaxy) and take in these amazing side plots and just dip into the main arc. You get that end of the Marvel movie moment where some little plot point becomes the main point of another movie. Steven King did it well too with his Dark Tower series, little tidbits in his other novels linked into Roland’s quest.

Star Trek has the same thing, as does RPG’s. Battletech is one notable example with a huge catalog of fiction that really flesh out the world. Some of it’s good, some not so much. But it all lays out the Canon of the universe, and surprisingly enough it fits a good arc. Even though it could have gone horribly wrong.

What do you do when the core of your setting is changed in one bad novel or movie? Or you set out onto an arc and realize it’s shitty? As long as the basic theme is strong, I think it survives. Look at Phantom Menace. It didn’t derail the series.

One rich story area is Palladium’s Rifts. Earth is torn apart, filled with magical rifts leading to damn near everywhere. There’s magic, cyber knights, bad guys in skull armor, aliens, and enough content to choke a goat. Earth is struggling to survive while a ton of threats are knocking on the door. It’s ripe for stories. While I find the world interesting and fascinating, the game much less so.

Warcraft hits this well, as does Shadowrun, Warhammer of course. All well orchestrated and laid out worlds. And all run like a business. These are intellectual properties with value. At some point Games Workshop will just be (already is?) a licensing shop.

So how can I do this with my stories?

The world needs to be big enough.
I need to show this world, but not so much that the story is just a setting delivery device.
There needs to be the potential for a ton of conflict everywhere.
That conflict can’t always be universe saving. Though it can tie into a universe saving moment.
There must be linked bad guys, good guys, themes, and technology. Lightsabers. Stormtroopers. Orks. Space Marines. An “Ah hah, I know that.” moment.
I need a guide. Not just a rough item, but a story document that keeps me from writing wrong.
One book needs to set the stage, and deliver a knockout story.

I’m not sure if I have a universe like this yet. Steel Legion series maybe, but even that’s not varied enough yet. There isn’t that wide overarching theme to what I have. Hard Nova is focused on one planetary invasion. A Star Too Far has a smaller universe laid out. Dogforge is, well, I’m not going there. Even my newest one, Silent Star, might not be the right piece, but it’s close.

I’ve got some cool ideas (lots actually) so I just need to get that story document down. Instead of it being a world of conflict in my head I need it written down. Then it’s real. It’s a place. I learned long ago that just because something isn’t true, doesn’t mean it’s not real.

Look at Battletech, 96 novels. Easily double that in RPG information. This is a 100% pure data dump, no story, just setting.

Palladiums Rifts, same thing. Tons of supplements to back up the game. But each one meshes more story, more details, more conflicts.

Pathfinder RPG has a really awesome World Guide that’s just cool to browse through and pick out stories.

I’ve got some works ahead of me. But just like they didn’t write all of that in a day, neither will I. I just need a core concept that’s cool enough to contain it all. Stay tuned…

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