Library:Main Page

This Library namespace is used by the Scholars of Novia (a player-run group) as defined below.

Scholars of Novia Charter
September 5, 2014

Definitions
Lore: A body of knowledge, especially of a traditional, anecdotal, or popular nature, on a particular subject. May contain Canon, Fan fiction, Wiki entries, and in-game content.

Canon: In fiction, canon is the material accepted as part of the story in an individual fictional universe. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction. The term "canon" can be used either as a noun, referring to "the original work from which the fan fiction author borrows," or as an adjective to describe whether or not certain elements are accepted as authoritative parts of the fictional universe.

Fan Fiction: Stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator. Fan-fiction would be described as "non-canon," while an event from the official source material would be "canon."

Vision
We envision a New Britannia filled with great player-created literary works to entertain, educate, and inspire people for many, many years. We seek to foster a community which loves to read and write. We are committed to discovering and documenting lore for everyone's enjoyment.

Mission
The player-run Scholars of Novia are devoted to the promotion of a rich literary culture in New Britannia by encouraging player-authors, compiling and curating a collection of canon- and lore-consistent literary works in New Britannia, and providing in-game and out-of-game resources which foster the development, study, and enjoyment of in-game literature. To this end, the Scholars will offer services to allow those who choose to have their literary works peer-reviewed, recommended as consistent within the loric framework of the game, published and cataloged. The Scholars also wish to provide an opportunity for authors to interact with a large community of readers and authors throughout New Britannia.

Organization

 * 1) The Scholars of Novia are a purely player-run group of people.
 * 2) We are led by three Grand Masters:
 * 3) Grand Master of Scholars - ensure The Scholars of Novia operates smoothly.
 * 4) Grand Master of Scribes - receive and discover player-written lore.
 * 5) Grand Master of Lore - discover and research all lore.
 * 6) Masters directly support the Grand Masters as needed.
 * 7) Scholars include the Scribes and Lore Keepers who do the detailed work of the Scholars of Novia.

Methods
(prior to persistence in game)

Prior to persistence in New Britannia, player-written lore will be received, discovered, reviewed, and recommended via the SotA Scholars of Novia forum.


 * 1) We will issue Calls for Submissions to the public on the forum.
 * 2) We will receive author submissions via the forum.
 * 3) We will review the submissions for literary quality and consistency with lore.
 * 4) We will work with authors as desired to enhance the quality of the work.
 * 5) We will add books to our recommended reading list on the forum.
 * 6) We will publish books into a repository (Wiki Library) and an in-game library (when available).

Future Methods
When more capabilities are available in New Britannia for testing and eventually persistence, we plan to have one or more in-game libraries where we publish and put books on display. We intend our library to contain high quality works that will be enjoyable to be read by many people across New Britannia.

Player Submitted Fiction Guidelines
To help players who are interested in writing fiction to be submitted for, here are some simple guidelines that everyone should know.

 You are NOT your character. When writing fiction, be sure to separate your character from yourself. This is very important. Your characters are your creations, but you do not have a personal stake in their lives. Just because someone doesn't like your character doesn't mean they don't like YOU. You cannot take attacks upon your character as attacks upon yourself, and you MUST be able to keep your personal feelings out of your writing. Your characters should act naturally. Characters should (generally) obey the established limits of nature. No single character has the power to do anything, breaking all limits and laws of physics, ignore established lore, or never be injured. It is natural for a writer to feel an attachment to their character; however, dramatic tension increases dramatically when the danger feels real. Avoid creating characters (or weapons, spells, etc) that can do anything, can never be defeated, are the most interesting, etc. Instead, make them dynamic, interesting, flawed, and limited; everyone has things they are not the best at. Characters are living, breathing people that need to be as complex and deep as yourself. They are more than their occupation. Know who they are, know how they think, and know how they'd react to a given situation. Give them thoughts and feelings! Give them depth! Think about them as actual people, think about what they do, and provide that nuance to your writing. Consent and Collaboration. If you plan on including characters created by another writer, or used by another writer, including player characters or developer-run characters, be sure to ASK for permission. Communicate with your fellow writers to plan inclusion, especially when you plan to connect the two characters. ANYTHING that requires the participation of someone else's character requires the consent of the other player. If you wish to collaborate and have your character related to another character, or know them from somewhere in the past, you MUST work with that other writer to establish this! Avoid the Omnicient Character. Your character does not have the same knowledge that you do. As a writer, you have access to a wealth of knowledge about how the world of New Britannia operates, the beings that inhabit it, and the lore that has been established. However, a Braemar peasant will have little knowledge of Titans or magic, nor have any idea what court is like in Norgard. Believable characters are *limited* characters. Not all characters are Avatars. Player characters come from Earth, but the majority of characters in the world of New Britannia did not. Native characters do NOT have the knowledge, technical ability, or idioyms that we have here on Earth. Avatars are bringing influences from modern day culture, but that doesn't mean that New Britannia is receptive to pop culture (i.e: Ardoris may be based off of Chinese/asian culture, but there are no samurai or code of Bushido in Shroud of the Avatar.) <h4 style="display:inline-block;">Be original! Coming up with exciting, original ideas is hard. Ask any writer! However, you should never steal ideas from other games, works of literature, videos, etc. Not only is it unfair to the original work of art, but can cause issues with copyright and intellectual property. Use your own ideas.</li> <h4 style="display:inline-block;">Be Consistent With Established Lore The background of New Britannia has been established, and has plenty of gaps to fill. Use the established lore as a framework to create your story, rather than attempting to rewrite history in order to fit your story into an existing piece of lore. For example, establishes that the person who found the titular sword is named Aren Bennis, and was a soldier in the Obsidian Empire; he is NOT an Avatar from Detroit named Benny. When writing about places, events, people, and things that affect the known world of New Britannia, it is important to not contradict other writings about those items. Review the information on SotAwiki (http://sotawiki.net/sota/Main_Page) as you are writing your narrative, so that it fits within those parameters. Established lore consists of two main aspects: <ol>Lore that is created as part of the context of game, either by Portalarium, Richard Garriott, Tracy Hickman, etc.</li>Lore written by the community and published through the Lore Council.</li></ol> Community lore will be added to the wiki after it has been approved by the council. It will be considered 'established' once Portalarium has adopted it into the New Britannia universe. Your writings may well affect others, and indeed the game itself, so keep this in mind before you have New Britannia implode in a reign of Chaos. Nonetheless, don't be afraid to leave your mark on the storyline, either! Remember, the Lore Keepers and Scribes will work with you to bring your work into the fold, so feel free to push the envelope somewhat.</li> <h4 style="display:inline-block;">Learn to TAKE criticism. You cannot grow as a writer (or artist) if you cannot take criticism. Someone pointing out a flaw in your story isn't them insulting and attacking you. It is natural that you appreciate what you've written, but quite often our objectivity suffers for our own work. If a Scribe questions whether this fits the existing history of a character, what do you do? You need to be ready to write around the existing lore, or accept that you made a mistake and correct it. The hardest thing about writing, and the one that will make you a better writer, is learning to listening to criticism and being willing to change.</li> <h4 style="display:inline-block;">Learn to GIVE criticism. There are multiple ways to get your point across to others. Especially when assisting others by providing feedback, it is important to use constructive criticism and suggestions. Before posting feedback, make sure to re-read it, consider its impact, and try to focus on the positives.</li> <h4 style="display:inline-block;">Be courteous. Not all your characters will be kind and polite, however you can NOT be disrespectful or rude to other writers, scribes, or administrators. This is a rule for the entire forums, but is especially important when dealing with art (and writing IS an art!).</li> <h4 style="display:inline-block;">Spelling and Grammar All submissions should be spell checked and be free of grammatical errors. However, the Scribe appointed to review your work will do another pass through the writing to ensure that all spelling matches that used in New Britannia (where it differs from the English norm), and for legibility.</li> <h4 style="display:inline-block;">Submission Length All stories submitted should be no more than 500 words in total length. This is the length of a single entry, which is enough for several pages of text in-game. Individual entries can also be submitted as volumes of a longer work. For example, Robert has created an epic fantasy that he wants published in Shroud of the Avatar, but its total length is 6,425 words. Working with his Scribe, they find logical breaking points, and his book turns into a series of thirteen volumes! Note, however, that each volume must be submitted and reviewed separately. Multiple-volume works require longer review and editing times, and generally require more rewriting before being accepted and published. Also note that in some cases, story submissions may be combined into a series with other authors. An example of this is the Tales from the Vale series, which includes stories from multiple Avatars regarding the Hidden Vale.</li> <h4 style="display:inline-block;">Use of Narrative Style Depending on your desired genre and writing style, you can use different points of view (First, Second, or Third Person) or tense Past or Present). However, the majority of writing is done from a third person point of view (a narrator), who is usually omniscient so that we can know things about people and places that the main characters do not, and is written in the past tense. Breaking this rule is ok, as long it is done for the need of the story. For example, a suspense story may be relayed by a third-person limited narrator. A horror story may be told in the first person present tense, in order to hold a sense of urgency for the reader. In general, unless there is a narrative reason, write your stories in past tense, and start with a third person narrator. Additional information on narrative styles can be found on Wikipedia.</li> <h4 style="display:inline-block;">Recommended Resources for Creative Writing <ul>Creative writing on Wikipedia</li> Fantasy-Writers.org</li> Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Works Trust</li> Science Fiction and Fantasy RoundTable</li> Creative Writing Now</li></ul></li> <li><h4 style="display:inline-block;">Have fun! </li> </ol>

Now, go write! Be creative! And if you have questions, ask.

Stories
All current stories can be found in the Books category. Books will be sorted by Genre, and listable by Author (and other criteria) at a later date.

External sites

 * Scholars of Novia Forum