sarahlin
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The Weirkey Chronicles short story poll
🕑 Added 2023-01-21 18:08:09 +0000 UTCI've been wanting to make this poll for quite some time, there have just always been chapters or other content to post first. Now it gets its own post, so I hope everyone can spare a minute to give some feedback. This is your chance to influence something major going forward with TWC.
Specifically, I am thinking of writing a few short stories set in the Nine Worlds. There was a poll about this a while back, with a decent amount of interest, but I've never wanted to focus on this to the detriment of other goals. Now I'm returning to the subject. You'd get the short stories here, of course, but they would also find their way into the special collected editions of TWC that might be coming over the next couple years.
Short stories would be posted in between main books and their existence or non-existence wouldn't have a major impact on the release pace of the main novels. But I'm less interested in discussing the basic concept of adding short stories than I am asking about what would interest people most.
This topic isn't terribly well-suited to a poll, but I've populated one with some basic options, both to inspire ideas and so those who prefer not to comment can contribute. Please feel free to comment any opinions, though!
Think of the first two as worldbuilding-based. There could be a story about the city of Norro Yorthin when it isn't in the middle of a crisis, for example, or about the everyday members of House Blacksilver and how they feel about the main characters. The most self-contained and traditional short stories would be featuring new regions of the Nine Worlds... these wouldn't be purely stand-alone, as the characters and details of those could be relevant in the future.
The next couple of options are character-focused. Prequels are an obvious choice (Theo in his past life, Fiyu meeting her relative, Nauda doing [redacted]) but perhaps the least "necessary" in that they'd somewhat duplicate information already in the novels. Stories about side characters are the opposite, fleshing out characters who weren't essential to the narrative.
There are also two more options to try to get a full spread of opinions. Let me know what you think!
(Side note: if you have Kindle Unlimited and haven't read Bloodcrete there, please consider it! I have a serious shot at some awards I've never gotten before, if I can get enough pagereads this month. Rereads don't count and this isn't really all that important, though, so no worries about this. Posting just in case.)
Comments
Bradur
I think you have done a great job at visualizing the range of most abilities so im not complaining but im a math brain and numbers make a good base line. I think the best thing to do would range estimations beforehand and then act on them with abilities. For example having a battlefield distance and then using theos gravity field, subsequently understanding that his range is reaching X meters. Not that its necessary but i do enjoy some numbers.
Sarah Lin
It won't happen in the first set, but a short story from the perspective of an armament crafter seems very likely! The tricky thing about giving numbers is that they're increasing as the characters ascend. Fiyu can sense extreme detail within several meters and get general information over several kilometers. Theo's senses are vaguer but extend many kilometers even at the start (his gravitational fields depend more on different variables). Nauda's binding is the most limited, only stretching several meters before weakening severely.
Bradur
I would love to know more about armament creation and other artifical constructs relying on cantae. Like sleighs. I guess the sleigh the crew has is somehow connected to individuals or has slme security features but i was always on edge when fiyu had it and it wasnt stolen. Also random side note. I need more numbers. Fiyus senses seem to range kilometers wide and theos senses are possibly farther. How far can nauda use her binding technique? Or how far do theos gravity fields reach?
Sarah Lin
It's virtually certain there will be some stories along these lines!
Elliott
Having thought more about this, I’d love to see short stories that could showcase “the road not taken” with soul crafting. What would someone who has a career as a librarian or researcher and will never get beyond Archcrafter (or maybe dreams of Ruler) choose to build?
Sarah Lin
Only the core three are the main cast, but there will be a variety of important secondary characters, and Krikree is one of them! She'll take the seventh book off, as it will focus on Noven, but I hope everyone will like her return in the eighth. ^-^
Drew
What? What?
Reborn
Is she coming back in any substantial way in the main storyline? I didn’t care for her at first, but she grew on me and now she’s my favorite behind Theo. I was hoping she would be part of the main cast….
Sarah Lin
Haha, it's pretty likely to happen eventually, but not in the first book.
Reborn
I don’t see an option for more Krikree, I am disappoint.
That's me!
I want to know what they were doing before getting teleported in the first book.
Daryl Piffre
I would personally prefer it if it was related to the main cast/story. For example other points of view on some events or things that the main cast encountered but were not really explored too much. Also I'm sorta fascinated with senka, so some backstory with her would be awesome.
Runcible Technician
Considering what Jim Butcher's short stories contribute to his setting's narrative I recommend many, many short stories. Spoil us.
Sarah Lin
The world you're thinking of is Siata, and we'll eventually get a lot of time there! But overall, I hope you'll be happy with the kind of stories I have in mind: not wholly unrelated, but revealing elements that haven't been explored in the novels.
Irakli Jishkariani
I chose new worlds and side characters, but also I would like it if less explored world are explored in side stories. For example, Navim's world is really interesting and people are interesting there too. Also, that dark world other than ichil, forgot the name, that has light columns, that is interesting too.
Sarah Lin
Yes, absolutely! I'll definitely want to write a variety of stories no matter what, I was just curious what patrons would care about most.
Can the a little bit of each they all are something I would love to read about
Nimh
The competition for Soulhome design sounds awesome if it ever happens count me in!
Sarah Lin
Hmm, a competition between soulhome concepts is interesting, but I'd have to think about how it would function. Patrons at higher tiers are welcome to pitch designs instead of materials or names, of course!
Felix Smit
I love the magic concept you have set up. The main protagonists all have unique soulhomes each of which explores different aspects of soulcrafting. This, in my opinion, adds more than enough variance to the art for the average reader. That being said I will always want more! I think short stories can be an ideal place to explore other approaches in soulcrafting, those which wont be able to make it in the main story line due to various narrative reasons for example. This way we can see the good, the bad and the downright strange (mhmm fleshmaskers). A thing that I think would be really cool, is if you throw a little competition/poll where some of the readers on this platform could submit a soulhome concept and you choose one of them you find the most interesting to modify and incorporate into one of these short stories. I obviously have no idea how much work this would be for you or if its something you would want to pursue. I would absolutely love it. One set in Senka's time, where soulcrafters where higher tiers, can also be fun.
Lamsey
I ticked all the boxes, because I'm always interested in additional content to flesh out the series, but my vote would be for you to focus on whatever you think would make the best story, rather than aiming at a specific topic.
