Open-World Fiction: re: the first stories

In my first article on flash fiction, I went on too long.

We’ve come to the deadline for the first stories for the open-world project. There’s been some confusion, but we’re not publishing them, yet. We need to read them all, and then write the rest of the stories.

Part of the confusion is that I gave you all the facts in a post that was just too long. Additionally, I’ve been on vacation, and if you asked me for information while I was in Finland, the “facts” I gave you might have been fishy.

Let’s try this again, but I’ll try to keep it brief.

But first of all:

Check out the work Haly, the Moonlight Bard ✒️ has done in both on our slack and at the worldbuilding hub for the open-world project.

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This article is part of Literary Salon, issue #1.

What open-world writers need to know: Each author will write one story during this round. Do not publish it. You’ll message me the draft link and let me know if you’re available to write another story. When all the stories are ready, I’ll post the links for all of you to read.

The story you’re submitting now is meant to be the end of the story. Some of you didn’t understand that point, I know. We’ll figure it out.

Let’s read the stories and see where we stand.

Email your draft links to judasdthomas [at] gmail.com.

A note from Haly: It will be helpful to have a World Anvil account, jist a free one. Optional, bit it will give another income avenue to authors who want it.

Start DMing me with any character/setting details that didn't make it into the final cut of your stories, I'll begin building wiki articles. (They will be private until the beginning/mid July when we start pushing about release, the WA account will allow me to give authors early access.)

I'm going to start a second publication dedicated exclusively to Franklin; this is more than a section and needs it's own list and chat. (Don't worry, T, I have this, you don't have to manage anything. I know why you scaled back; I haven't hit that wall, this will only be my 2nd.)

What readers need to know: We’re building an open-world flash-fiction story. It’s similar to those choose-your-path stories from our childhood, but this time, you’ll get a flash-fiction story and then choose which character you want to follow into the next story.

That’s the important stuff.

Welcome to shared-universe, open-world fiction.

Rule 1: The unifying factor among the stories will be its location, an American city by a river. The place is fictional, but loosely based on St. Louis so writers can consult maps as needed. Its name is Franklin, and the state is intentionally unknown. (Franklin is the most common city name in the United States. There are 31.)

Rule 2: The time is present day.

Rule 3: Each story will be roughly 500-1000 words.

Rule 4: Your story can be any genre, but at the end, we return to the present-day city of Franklin, a city that has gone largely untouched by the events of your tale.

Flash fiction, by necessity, tells a story with few characters.

Rule 5: Each story will have at least two identifiable characters, and after the story’s end, the reader will have two choices of whose story they follow next.

In a recent story of mine, the second character was only identified as “the old woman”, and she would be a logical option to write about. The author of her followup story would give her a name.

Rule 6: No politics. No erotica. No slurs. No extreme gore. Nothing that undermines a group effort, not matter how justified it might be in a standalone story..

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E.M.R Bradley Trapp H. A. Titus Hamish Kavanagh Tabitha Pearson J. Fishwick Renni Grier Jeffrey Salem S M Garratt MillennialSaint Mary J Hunt Rhys Hickmott Nuno Pinto Mercedes de Santiago Brent Robbins

— Thaddeus Thomas