Thanks! :D Tales from the Triverse is definitely one of those "how much exposition, and when?" stories. There's a lot of backstory, most of which can emerge naturally over time, but some of the core essentials really need to be there up front, otherwise I'm just going to confuse everyone.
Hence the prologue, which establishes the three separate universes and how it came about. Still leaves a lot of mystery about what happened in the intervening 200 years, but that core concept is at least embedded straight away. And then this press release bonus establishes the SDC, aka the portal crime squad, which will be the focus of season 1.
In some ways, this Friday's chapter is the first 'proper' chapter of the main story.
Of course exposition is tricky. Who does the infodump - a character? Omniscient narrator? In-world reference? Epigraphs? I like epigraphs when done well.
In this case it's an in-universe source, but it's the handwritten notes setting this one apart. Hope you can keep that as an image in the future e-book.
Think my favorite uses of epigraphs are Dune and the Robotech novel adaptations. It both cases the epigraphs represent in-universe sources and, particularly the Robotech novels, are very efficient ways to convey more depth to the main narrative. Also, Brian Daley and James Luceno (writing together as "Jack McKinney," are much less dry with their prose than Frank Herbert.
On the other hand, I just finished "Ivanhoe," and, talk about dry prose... I think some of Walter Scott's end notes are seven pages long. Even I, a wordy, loquacious, voluable, effusive man who suffers from what my father called "diarrhea de la boca," was thinking, "Get on with it!"
Asimov was also a master at effective epigraphs. The encyclopedia entries in the Foundation books, which always get truncated at exactly the point they get interesting, work brilliantly.
The handwritten notes were really fun to do. Hopefully those journalists can show up later on in the main story, even if only in cameos. That's where this stuff gets really satisfying and rewarding, as it all starts to bind together.
Well, that figures; new portals and of course, people are gonna be crimin' all over that stuff. So it goes. Looking forward to see how the SDC plays out and how this connects to what I've already read!
Oddly, with this now immediately following the prolog, instead of a week delay, my brain transliterated the handwritten note, top right, as "Sally Detective Corps." A side effect of my own dubious humor I suppose?
Memory tells me most of the founding SDC members don't appear in the next arc, but there is another 10 year time jump...
Poor Sally, depending on her pluck, and religion, either ran screaming off to become a Nun, or she became the first person to pass through a portal once the threshold stabilized, where she was either eaten by a koth or interrogated by an AI.
If I were to approach such a tale I'd probably jump her into Max-Earth. The magic world is something she could mostly grasp, drawing on myth, superstition, folklore, and the bedtime stories her nana told. The sci-fi world would be totally out of her frame of reference.
I mean, someone HAD to go through a portal first, and, given that the Library/School in Palanor took some serious damage, and that the AIs seem to be more networked terminals than robot bodies (at least as far as I've read to date), Sally actually is a plausible choice.
I wouldn't think they (founding SDC) should (play a major role in the narrative). Again, it was one of those things that jumped out since I've read the first season already and now get to speed through the existing chapters at an accelerated pace. Not every mentioned character needs to be in a scene. There's three whole worlds of people! 😊
Love the handwritten notes!
Thanks! :D Tales from the Triverse is definitely one of those "how much exposition, and when?" stories. There's a lot of backstory, most of which can emerge naturally over time, but some of the core essentials really need to be there up front, otherwise I'm just going to confuse everyone.
Hence the prologue, which establishes the three separate universes and how it came about. Still leaves a lot of mystery about what happened in the intervening 200 years, but that core concept is at least embedded straight away. And then this press release bonus establishes the SDC, aka the portal crime squad, which will be the focus of season 1.
In some ways, this Friday's chapter is the first 'proper' chapter of the main story.
Of course exposition is tricky. Who does the infodump - a character? Omniscient narrator? In-world reference? Epigraphs? I like epigraphs when done well.
In this case it's an in-universe source, but it's the handwritten notes setting this one apart. Hope you can keep that as an image in the future e-book.
Think my favorite uses of epigraphs are Dune and the Robotech novel adaptations. It both cases the epigraphs represent in-universe sources and, particularly the Robotech novels, are very efficient ways to convey more depth to the main narrative. Also, Brian Daley and James Luceno (writing together as "Jack McKinney," are much less dry with their prose than Frank Herbert.
On the other hand, I just finished "Ivanhoe," and, talk about dry prose... I think some of Walter Scott's end notes are seven pages long. Even I, a wordy, loquacious, voluable, effusive man who suffers from what my father called "diarrhea de la boca," was thinking, "Get on with it!"
You, wordy? Shurely not? :P
Asimov was also a master at effective epigraphs. The encyclopedia entries in the Foundation books, which always get truncated at exactly the point they get interesting, work brilliantly.
The handwritten notes were really fun to do. Hopefully those journalists can show up later on in the main story, even if only in cameos. That's where this stuff gets really satisfying and rewarding, as it all starts to bind together.
Well, that figures; new portals and of course, people are gonna be crimin' all over that stuff. So it goes. Looking forward to see how the SDC plays out and how this connects to what I've already read!
Oddly, with this now immediately following the prolog, instead of a week delay, my brain transliterated the handwritten note, top right, as "Sally Detective Corps." A side effect of my own dubious humor I suppose?
Memory tells me most of the founding SDC members don't appear in the next arc, but there is another 10 year time jump...
Ha, I think I'm going to have to write a Sally follow-up story at some point just for you, Mike.
Most of the founding SDC crew are still around, although the high-ups mentioned here don't feature in the story as much as the DCs.
Hah!
Poor Sally, depending on her pluck, and religion, either ran screaming off to become a Nun, or she became the first person to pass through a portal once the threshold stabilized, where she was either eaten by a koth or interrogated by an AI.
If I were to approach such a tale I'd probably jump her into Max-Earth. The magic world is something she could mostly grasp, drawing on myth, superstition, folklore, and the bedtime stories her nana told. The sci-fi world would be totally out of her frame of reference.
I mean, someone HAD to go through a portal first, and, given that the Library/School in Palanor took some serious damage, and that the AIs seem to be more networked terminals than robot bodies (at least as far as I've read to date), Sally actually is a plausible choice.
Ha, that's a great idea. I hadn't actually considered that, but might have to give it a go. ;)
I wouldn't think they (founding SDC) should (play a major role in the narrative). Again, it was one of those things that jumped out since I've read the first season already and now get to speed through the existing chapters at an accelerated pace. Not every mentioned character needs to be in a scene. There's three whole worlds of people! 😊