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Develop Your Story / Anim--Refocused
« on: June 13, 2016, 07:12:26 PM »
First of all, WHOO, it's been quite a while. I had forgotten what email I used on this site for a while and thanks to someone sending me a PM and giving me an email notification, I was able to get everything back in order!
Secondly, I recognize that previously my story was a hot mess of a wreck. Like, yikes. I decided that if I'm going to create a whole universe settled with its own history, why not make things simple for myself and focus on those events in history and use the theology to bring a character through time to bear witness and partake of the progress, right? What matters more, to me, as a writer, is the story I want to tell and the characters who move those actions forward.
Thirdly, I want to thank the users of this forum whose many criticisms and ideas marinated in my mind over my, what, over year of absence? After much time, thinking, and college courses, I think I finally have a better story outline set up.
Now, onto the important bit! A legitimate summary of the important events that take place throughout the history of Anim, my universe!
Development. Atonement. Reincarnation. Lessons Learned. Healing. Guidance. Recovery. Karma. The Ways of Man.
These are the building blocks for the story I want to tell. This is what I want Anim to stand for.
They say you can sometimes see a lot of the author in their work. I wonder, then, what all of this must reflect on me.
Of course, I am open to discussion and such on ideas. I'd be happy to hear what you all think, and will consider honest criticism where given.
Secondly, I recognize that previously my story was a hot mess of a wreck. Like, yikes. I decided that if I'm going to create a whole universe settled with its own history, why not make things simple for myself and focus on those events in history and use the theology to bring a character through time to bear witness and partake of the progress, right? What matters more, to me, as a writer, is the story I want to tell and the characters who move those actions forward.
Thirdly, I want to thank the users of this forum whose many criticisms and ideas marinated in my mind over my, what, over year of absence? After much time, thinking, and college courses, I think I finally have a better story outline set up.
Now, onto the important bit! A legitimate summary of the important events that take place throughout the history of Anim, my universe!
- The Isthmanian Empire--much like I described in my initial plans. Three powerful brothers, one a king, one a warrior-prince, and one a priest-prince, revolutionize warfare and expand their empire. The middle brother, the warrior-prince, is the main focus. His tactics resort in so much bloodshed that the embodiment of Death curses him to walk the world for nine lifetimes to atone for his destruction.
- Domination from the Navy of the South--as time and technology advance, the smaller southern body of the continent unites under a royal family, spearheaded by a somewhat progressive-minded queen and her business-minded king. They fund expeditions to previously unknown islands to the northwest of the main continent and make use of the natural resources. The warrior prince's incarnation in this lifetime is as a young man who was a thief caught by the navy and given a seven-years' punishment to work on these expeditions.
- Northern Insurrection--after the death of the beloved queen of the south, the northernmost body challenges the rule of the older king for rights to the resources of the islands. During this lifetime, our main character lives as an islander, whose very way of life is threatened by the mainlanders' constant pressure on his home.
- Religious Revival in the Plains--when our main character is once again resurrected, his soul has been in the world for quite a while, and as such he experiences interesting insights and at a young age he begins to remember his past lives through dreams that play out like memories. In his quest for redemption, he serves as a wandering priest and philosopher through the northeastern part of the main continent. It is during his travels in this life that his soul recognizes that of his older brother from his first life, who also still walks through reincarnation. Sadly, despite his attempts to get his brother to listen to the truths of the supernatural, he refuses to listen. The priest vows to try to find those close to him in lives to come.
- Creation of an Island-Prison--war after war has wrought many criminals throughout Anim, and as the government attempts to unify, it is decided that a small uninhabited island to the west will serve as a work and recovery location for these criminals. In this lifetime, our main character is something of a freedom fighter who has chosen to work on this island-prison to help guide some of the lost souls on their way. It is there that he finds the reincarnation of his first wife, who he had long lost. At first she detests him trying to "guide" her and explains her life of crime as survival, but eventually, they become friends again, although not lovers, much to his heartache.
- Prison Island Revolution--while the main continent experiences civil rights debates based on labor laws and the treatment of island natives, the command of the prison island becomes unstable, and our hero, in this life, was reborn as a child of two of the prisoners whose lives were spent on the island. It came to develop its own culture of gangs, and in his teenage years, the main character, once again mindful of the atonement he owes the world, leads what became known as a "revolution" to unite the gangs of the island into something resembling a government, and in his older years, meets with the leaders of the mainland, who come to recognize the island as its own nation and agree to stop treating it as their dump for dangerous criminals.
- The Isthmanian War of Independence--in the aftermath of the civil rights movements, which did not have much progress in regards to the treatment of certain ethnicities, stereotypes of people from the old empire who originated in the land-bridge portion of the continent came about in popular ideology, and in this lifetime, due to a twist of fate, thanks to his knack for understanding the mechanics of things, is drafted by the unified northern and southern army to combat a rebellion coming up from the region. The rebels aim to declare the isthmus as an independent state from Anim, and an intelligent general among them eventually accomplishes gaining global attention by setting up an embargo on their own country. During these struggles, our main character's group is raided by the rebels, and he is captured as a bargaining chip for the rebels to trade for supplies from the Anim military. In his time with them, he meets the general, who, much to his surprise, is a woman his soul recognizes once again as her wife. The general takes some interest in her conversation, given that our main character, due to his past lives, has developed immense anti-war sentiments. The general goes onto explain that she also does not enjoy war, but will do what needs to be done for her people. Eventually, Anim recognizes the Isthmus as independent and our hero returns home, shaken in the aftermath of another war.
- Development of the City--Of course, as time and countries of the world progress, so do the people and cities that hold power. In the northwest, a coastal city, rich in mining and fishing history, becomes a bustling metropolis. In this lifetime, our main character is born once again as a man, and this time again as the middle son of three brothers. The embodiment of Death visits him in a dream when he is nine years old, telling him that he grows ever-closer to atonement, and that this life will be a difficult one. As prophecized, our main character is framed for a murder, and karma's retribution serves that the people he helped in his previous lives' descendants seem to hear him and listen to his cries for help. They hide him and work with him to find the true killer and put him to justice.
- Founding of Anim Academy--in this lifetime, our main character is blessed by his triumph in his last life by being reborn into his first family name, and again as the middle child between two brothers. However, in a somewhat cruel twist of fate, he is reborn as a woman. Feeling rather old, even from a young age, she took an interest in history, and wanted nothing more than to share its lessons with others. For this purpose, she uses her family resources and acquired wealth to help construct a college with many options for the next generation to equip themselves with knowledge to progress themselves and the world. Incoincidentally, some of the like-minded individuals she works with to found the institution also bear the names of important figures of the past, including a direct descendant of the powerful king and queen of the south. She is once again reunited with the woman who many lives before had alluded her. In this life, she is a singer, and agrees to teach at the academy for performing arts students. Finally, in this ninth life, our main character's legacy is set and order has returned from the chaos.
Development. Atonement. Reincarnation. Lessons Learned. Healing. Guidance. Recovery. Karma. The Ways of Man.
These are the building blocks for the story I want to tell. This is what I want Anim to stand for.
They say you can sometimes see a lot of the author in their work. I wonder, then, what all of this must reflect on me.
Of course, I am open to discussion and such on ideas. I'd be happy to hear what you all think, and will consider honest criticism where given.
) and on Jacob's bed I found a book titled "How to Draw Anime"...I think you can get the jist from there