1. GUST9897

    GUST9897 New Member

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    Use of multiple dimensions in the same story

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by GUST9897, May 25, 2022.

    A few days ago I made a post regarding political issues of one of the scenarios of my plot and I was very grateful for those who debated with me, but now I wanted to bring up another topic. I am creating a universe for my story in which there are four dimensions interconnected with each other.

    "District of Corrupt People": represents our world and is seen as a doomed place, both for its beauty and for the high rates of violence, crime and scarce magic. It was the place where the nuclear war between Atlantis and Lemuria took place several centuries ago.

    "Prortus": a kind of reflection of our world but full of magic and ancient peoples enclosed in a giant magical terrarium.

    "Endless Zone": a melancholy and gloomy place with aspects of Victorian London and is used as an exile for prisoners or people who have committed something serious during their lives and are now unable to rest. Despite being dangerous, it is considered less worse than the District of Corrupt People, so it is seen as a kind of spiritual limbo.

    "Eternal Dream Zone": a space of rest for those who are gone or where people go in their sleep. Its maintenance consists of a network of dreams that connects all people of each dimension in a collective consciousness. It is considered a sacred place.

    I would like to tap into the potential of each of these dimensions in my story because I feel that for the characters to understand the issues that are affecting not just the world they come from (disappearance of children, mysterious murders, and climate change) but also other realities, they would need to explore, interact and look for clues to unravel a solution, so I'd like some pointers on how I could exploit this dynamic without making it too confusing or dense.
     
  2. Bruce Johnson

    Bruce Johnson Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    This is a difficult question for a random person to answer that's never seen your story, because the answer may write the story itself which should be you.

    You could read or watch similar media like Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness but you'd have to be careful if you want your story to be as unique and original as possible.

    There are also some Chinese tv shows with sort of similar themes like 'Ashes of Love'.

    Personally I'd try and just write something logical with internal consistency. As long as it makes sense in your world building, I think readers won't care.
     
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  3. FFBurwick

    FFBurwick Member

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    Nice ideas, but I don't think dimensions with the right meaning of those fits this. I think it should be few of any individuals of those separate realities that would explore those or interact with any who are of the other realities, but you can have accounts explaining why they would.
     
  4. VicesAndSpices

    VicesAndSpices Member Contest Winner 2022

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    Are you familiar with The Magicians? I've not read the books by Lev Grossman (which might be ideal for you as an example), but I have seen the SyFy show, and your concept reminds me of it. They start in just modern New York but very quickly start playing with other dimensions. It starts by introducing portals and teleportation to other places on Earth itself, but they eventually discover portals and teleportation to other worlds, too. Before the end of the first season, they've spent significant time in the fantasy realm of Fillory. Then, as the seasons go on, they add the Neitherlands with the Library, the Underworld, the Mirror Realm, and a few others.

    My point is, all these realms have always existed, but we weren't told about them all at once. That would've been overwhelming. Instead, we find out about them one by one as they become relevant to the story. Unless it is a realm that everyone is inherently aware of (ie, the one they live in and maybe the Eternal Dream Zone, based on your explanation), then you shouldn't introduce it right away. That's a good way to make it too confusing. Start with one extra dimension, then slowly start having your characters explore the others as they come across them. Try to only explain one world at a time.

    I really enjoyed your explanations of each realm. They're each inciting in their own way. I understand they interact with each other and society probably plays a role in deciding who goes where, but I think your MC needs to be clueless to this at first. Have the government of Prortus keep The District of Corrupt People a secret to prevent people from trying to help those born into the District. Maybe they're painting the Endless Zone as worse than it actually is because they want people to be afraid of it. Maybe people born in Prortus don't know about the Endless Zone at all, and people born in the District know it only as a scare tactic.

    I'm not sure what the story is that you want to tell, and I definitely don't want to step on your toes here trying to suggest things. I like the foundation you've built, and I'm excited to see where it goes next!
     
  5. altra

    altra Banned

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    Hi Gust. I just wanted to send some thoughts, and this is just one person's perspective. The multi-universe is the hottest thing right now and you would expect that to come crashing down as the hot button moves on to the next thing. That is NOT to say you shouldn't write about that topic. You should write about what you like to write about regardless of what anybody else thinks. Just as a movie fan, I am getting bored with the multiverse thing. I think writers are going too far in creating overly complex rules and logic on how these multiple universes work. (And I lump time travel into this as well). When I'm watching or reading, I just get lost in the complexity of it. And I think you are concerned on how your work will play out along those lines, as you mentioned.

    Here is an example. You may not have seen this movie, but I watched the last Spider Man, the one where past Spider Man's come together at the end to fight the baddies. I really enjoyed the movie. There was one scene in the middle of the movie that lost me. Spider Man is fighting Cumberbatch's character, on a train, on tracks in the air, while changing dimensions and there is reflective glass all around. I sort of zoned out during the scene.
    What makes me think of it now, is that after watching the movie I was telling some people at work about it. But when it came down to this scene, I couldn't even describe what I was seeing on the screen.
    Okay to me that's a problem. As a writer, whether somebody likes what I write or not I wouldn't want the story to be beyond description.

    I don't like to tell people what to do, just do what you want to do. But if I was given the parameters, you described and was told to make a story out of it, here is what I would do. I would concentrate on one of those dimensions for the focus of the story. Maybe 50% of the storyline would focus on it. As the story unravels, we get into the other dimensions as well, to varying degrees. Maybe one of them, although we enter into that world, we keep it more of a mystery to the reader.
    I feel like that would simplify things. It would be a big undertaking to get into all four dimensions and describe them fully, within one book (or whatever the format is).
     

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