How I Invented an Alternate Universe

Note: Contains minor spoilers for the Sun Maker Saga and Breaking Colossus.

First, a Word on Alternate Universes

An alternate universe is an imaginary world, one which exists outside of the bounds of reality. It can be used as a tool for exploration and invention in literature, film, television, and video games. Inventing alternate universes provides authors with a limitless scope for creativity - creating characters, stories and worlds that are entirely distinct from our own.

Alternate universes allow us to explore different points of view and different possibilities within the same story or setting. The concept of an alternate universe has been popularized by science fiction works such as Star Trek and Marvel Comics' multiverse series. However, it has also been used to great effect in fantasy literature like JRR Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings trilogy as well as historical novels like Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.

In order for readers to connect with the story, authors must create believable characters that inhabit this alternative realm. In addition to having personalities that resonate with their audience, these characters should also fit within their environment and adhere to its laws and customs. It's important that each character has a distinct purpose and backstory that serves the larger narrative arc.

At its core, crafting an alternate universe isn't just about building a world. It's about developing unique characters who exist in that world. This is why I fleshed out characters before I even began developing the universe. If my characters aren’t interesting enough, readers won’t care about the world around them.

In The Anatomy of Story, John Truby highlights the importance of focusing on characters first:

…in good stories, the characters come first, and the writer designs the world to be an infinitely detailed manifestation of those characters.

This concept is key to alternate universes—which can be alternate versions of Earth, or brand new universes that only you control. By “infinitely detailed,” Truby means that we can add as much as the story needs. To the reader, it will feel infinite because of how those details manifest in the author’s writing.

For centuries, authors have been captivated by the idea of other dimensions — realms that exist alongside our own yet remain hidden from view. By creating these alternate universes, authors are able to explore uncharted territories and challenge their readers with new ideas about time, space and reality. A dimension literally means “direction.” So when we talk about an alternate dimension, we’re really talking about another direction beyond the ones we’re familiar with: depth, width, and height.

Alternate universes are a new direction the author is taking with their story world. Whether it’s a cozy mystery or an epic science fiction saga—the author creates a version of the world that is not an exact replica of Earth as we know it. They are creating an alternate universe, even if the story only takes place within a single room. To create a believable alternate universe, authors must draw from existing elements of the natural world and manipulate them in unique ways.

Authors may be inspired by the cultures, customs, and values of our own world or those imagined by others before them. Their creativity allows them to combine old ideas with new ones to create something wholly unique. The process requires careful thought and attention as they have to consider all components required for a story set in another realm: language, architecture, religion, geography and more. They use this knowledge when constructing worlds that feel real even though they are fictitious.

The Sun Maker Saga

I didn’t expect to create an entire universe with my first self-published book, Ruin Star.

The idea behind the Sun Maker Saga was a simple one: I wanted to write about my transition from fantasy to science fiction; from a simple, fantasy world to a highly complex science fiction universe. I began with four unique characters who grew up in a fantasy world and were unaware of the science fiction universe beyond their own.

From there, the fantasy world manifested as a desert, a wasteland with almost no opportunities for growth, and one that could not fulfill their needs and desires. Each character desired to break away from their assigned limitations, and the world was the biggest limitation of all—one that had been imposed upon them without their consent. In a wasteland, people are fulfilling purposes that are not properly theirs but have been put upon them as inescapable laws. This is straight out of Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth.

What lay beyond this wasteland? A jungle of technologically advanced superpowers. My characters move from one extreme to another like lambs to the slaughter. The only difference is this: As if emerging out of the old world into the new world, my characters brought magic with them—a power that the thriving, technological Civilizations had collectively forgotten. And this gave them the edge.

So the story became about a marginalized people whom the forward-thinking, narrow-minded society had unfairly left behind. The universe of those books had to reflect this idea.

Breaking Colossus

From here on out, stories in this vast universe will need to fit the jigsaw puzzle I’ve started. In Breaking Colossus, I created characters based on the Odyssey by Homer. Although the major protagonists represent Odysseus, Penelope, and Telemachus, they are not one-to-one adaptations. Before they were royalty, they were a family. The enemy of family is war, but this is just one interpretation of the Odyssey. One that I ran with.

The universe of Breaking Colossus is only 300 years older than universe of the Sun Maker Saga. Far enough removed so that I could start something new. Now, the universe is at war with each other. It is polarized between tyranny and rebellion, order and chaos. Neither side is wholly right or wrong. Grey Soleis (Odysseus) is pulled into the conflict against his will. He would rather have stayed home as a family man. His son, Roth (Telemachus) was a mere three days old when he left to fight.

The universe, then, must be the great separator of families. This family in particular wants to unite, but the universe will not allow it. This makes Roth and Alora’s (Penelope) struggle all the more bitter. However, because the revolution of the Ascendancy against the Dominion is inevitable (and in some ways admirable), the separation is bittersweet.

The universe’s war also represents the war inside Grey, who is actually the main character of the book—even though he only has one chapter from his perspective. He was created as a result of a Genic program—a super soldier with the strength and intellect to defeat the Dominion. But he did not choose that life, and he resisted it until the last minute.

Alora, Grey’s wife, lives in a world of isolation and upheaval. Her world is filled with plenty and yet it feels empty because her family may never unite again. It represents the cold turmoil inside of her. In the end, Alora suffers the most because she is alone, but that suffering makes her stronger, not weaker—one of the things I felt was missing from the Odyssey. Penelope holds her ground against the suitors, but she is saved in the end by Odysseus and Telemachus. I wanted Alora to take command of her kingdom by her own sacrifice.

Roth’s world is transitive and has the most change. This is because his character is the one being called upon to change the most. His journey is one of self-discovery. As he travels from world to world learning about his father, he learns about himself.

Also from Joseph Campbell†:

The father quest is a major hero adventure for young people. That is the adventure of finding what your career is, what your nature is, what your source is. You undertake that intentionally.

By undertaking the call to seek out his father, Roth is actually entering his father’s world—a universe of death and upheaval. He is called upon to kill, yes, but he learns a very different lesson than his father did. Grey uses death as a means to a peaceful end. Roth abhors killing and does everything he can to avoid it. His journey is to transcend his father rather than become him, so the ending point must outwardly illustrate his transcendence.

Measuring a Universe

Events that take place in our actual universe are almost impossible to track. Most of them we will never know about no matter how far our science and technology advances. In a made-up universe, it becomes only marginally easier since we can take the time to create what we wish to populate it.

A writer is only as good as their techniques and tools. One of my tools is an app called Aeon Timeline. It is a huge relationship machine that as the capability to keep track of hundreds, if not thousands, of relationships within any given story. It’s fully customizable, but it’s also a complex app designed for a complex purpose. It took me days to learn how to use it, and it would take too long for me to explain it in this post. Perhaps I will create a review/tutorial in the future.

But Aeon is not only meant for huge sci-fi epics. In fact, one of the tutorials includes a full breakdown of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. Beyond storytelling, it can also be used for planning projects of various sizes and deadlines. It’s a versatile tool that can be used however you want. For me, it’s perfect for managing a universe.

Going Forward

The alternate universe I’ve created is a canvas onto which I may paint my most fascinating characters who will illustrate what is most important to me. The world around the characters will illustrate what is most important to my characters. I know the rules that govern this universe because I’ve laid the foundation. I’ve established that both magic and science exist here, and they are both problems and solutions in their own ways.

All that remains is to discover stories that will change my life and try to tell them as best as I can.