Preferences for next Fan Fiction (III)
 

Greetings, readers.

This'll be quick. In case you haven't been following my plans (for which you would be forgiven, since they change regularly and without warning), I've been working on Eternity, a multi-fiction project. I intended to make Eternity an infinite series, meaning there was no set end, and I could just keep adding fan fictions onto it until I was ready to write my novels.

Eternity was originally about the war on Valhalla, picking up shortly after wave ten. However, I struggled in finding a place to start the whole thing, and I kept coming back to a backstory idea I had for Utgar. Finally giving in, I wrote that, styling it as a prequel to Eternity.

Now, however, there are questions about Utgar which weren't answered: specifically, how come he seems so evil, which is contrary to how he was portrayed in the prequel. I can't just start Eternity without answering those questions, since approximately forty years will have passed. But answering those questions is proving harder than I expected, since unlike the original backstory, I have nothing to work off of. At the same time, an idea for how to start Eternity proper has still not been found.

In short: the expectations of Valhalla and HeroScape are tying me down. All the characters of Valhalla have more or less set personalities and things they do, and I'm finding it difficult to incorporate that into fan fiction without just directly contradicting every bit of lore. Additionally, Eternity is lacking drive, as made evident by my inability to find a way to start it. And to finish it off, the defining principle of the setting - the fact that the wellsprings prevent any kind of death - is constantly getting in my way. When no one can die, motivations are disturbingly hard to come by.

THEREFORE...

Here's where I'm at: The entire reason I'm trying so hard to write fan fiction is so that I can practice my writing, in preparation for writing novels. I don't want to be hampered by things which aren't writing problems, like backstory continuity issues which I didn't create (HS character expectations). Or logical setting conflicts which I did create, and now wish I hadn't (immortality).

So while I am not yet scrapping Eternity, I am opening up the field to other ideas. I would still like to stick with one ongoing series, because that frees me up from having to create fresh characters and settings for every fan fiction. I can branch out as required, and stay focused on the things I need to work on.

So if you, the readers, have any input on what kind of series you would like to see, let me know in a post below. Be aware that my interest has a mind of its own, and may do anything from ignoring all ideas presented, to combining several, to expanding a vague idea into something it was never intended to be. But that hasn't happened yet, so if you post below what you'd like to see, there's a chance it will catch my interest.

Please center your suggestions around a SETTING and/or a CONFLICT. And remember, HS characters are the whole reason Eternity is currently not working, so stories involving them as main characters are not what I'm looking for. Below are some examples which have piqued my interest, but which haven't taken off yet:

• Feylund-ish forest/elves/vampires/undead/wolves kind of thing. Basically Dilmir, but refocused on the vampires and undead and the like. I do like this setting a lot, but I'm a bit wary about going there, because I intend to write fantasy novels, and don't want to use up a ton of ideas on a fan fiction.
• Zombie/apocalypse kind of thing. Fairly straightforward, affords EXCELLENT creation of conflict and easy creation of stakes, something which I very much need. My only concern is that things could get boring pretty quickly - open to suggestions on how to handle that.
• Terminator-style/Isadora prison/resistance kind of thing. Basically HiS type of scenario, though not necessarily on Isadora. Evil robots/undead/marro have taken over and the resistance must evade them. Your typical Terminator-resistance story. This could be combined with other ideas fairly easily.

Do you have any additional thoughts? What are your thoughts on the ideas above? Remember, the less character-centered and more setting-conflict-centered, the better.

~TGRF.

Re: Preferences for next Fan Fiction (III)
 

@TheAverageFan @William099 @BiggaBullfrog

Forgot the mentions. If you could weigh in on the above when you have a moment, I would appreciate it.

~TGRF.

Let's get weird with it
 

Well you've done all three of these things before with Dilmir/Apocalypse/HiS respectively. I guess you could combine them where Zombies have taken over Feylund and a small resistance of Vampires must evade them, an' since zombie blood is no good they've gotta scavenge for resources or whatever, complete with a Terminator-esque Werewolf Zombie constantly after them. I dunno.

I guess that'd make my suggestion as SETTING = FEYLUND ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE with CONFLICT = ZOMBIE BLOOD IS NO GOOD.

~TAF

Re: Let's get weird with it
 

A terminator-esque werewolf zombie has its appeal... Not to mention vampires who are the outnumbered resistance for once...

I am beginning to be slightly intrigued by the possibility of returning to a zombie apocalypse. I think I want to stay away from fantasy just for the sake of my novels, but the rest holds potential...

~TGRF.

Re: Preferences for next Fan Fiction (III)
 

I am beginning to be interested by a part zombie apocalypse, part marro invasion idea. Half of Valhalla is being overrun by marro, who aren't so much zombie-like as just unstoppable and unkillable. The other half of Valhalla is being overrun by a true zombie apocalypse, likely orchestrated by Cyprien or something.

I like this idea, as it allows me to stick with the vampire ideas I had for Eternity, use the futuristic worldbuilding I did (also for Eternity), and utilize the marro and zombies for their easy stakes/conflict creation (so I can start simple if I need to).

There would be similarities to the world of Apocalypse, for sure, but I don't think that's really something to avoid...

~TGRF, still pondering ideas.

EDIT: I can also easily plug in other things with the way I'm thinking of doing it, so like if I get a big urge to do some elven fantasy thing, I can still do that, just with zombies in the background.

Re: Preferences for next Fan Fiction (III)
 

I like this because what happens when the two sides run into each other will be interesting to answer. Cause there's going to be a time when the zombies and the marro are both trying to expand into the same territory.

This is an interesting idea, and possibly could be the backdrop for a big battle which I build up to or something. I'm currently running up a rough outline of what could be the first installment in this series.

~TGRF.