So it’s the first day of October, which means I start prepping (and writing things down!) for the yearly round of NaNoWriMo, which will kick off on November 1. Here’s my initial scribblings for this year’s project, which is set in the UNSETIC Files universe and will be called Universe until I get a better idea for a title.
Initial notes
- Story set in 2015, about a year after a successful crowdfunding campaign brought GreySoft’s Universe game to the masses. Virtual reality integration is an offering of the game starting in December 2014. The company starts testing full-immersion options starting in September 2015, with a few “gaming cafes” set up in test markets.
- Peter and Jason Grey are largely estranged from their parents. Marissa has a somewhat better relationship with them at this time, though she respects her brothers’ reasons for distance.
- Marissa and her husband, Brannon, have a young daughter at the outset of the story (Wynter Marie, born in 2012).
- Marissa is several years older than the boys and met Brannon while studying abroad in the UK. She half raised the boys, especially Jason, who their parents never seemed to have time for (focusing most of their attention on Peter, who resents them for it).
- Peter has been in and out of hospitals since childhood. He has a rare neurological disorder that in part inspired the full-immersion technology he developed with Jason and Brannon.
- Jason and Peter were legally emancipated from their parents when they turned sixteen.
- The work that went into the Universe game is part of Peter’s doctoral work, supplemented by Brannon and Jason’s expertise.
- Jason did a brief stint in the Navy before he went back to college. He was finishing his undergraduate work when Universe
- Elaine and Joslyn are roommates and friends from their days as undergraduates. Joslyn is just finishing up at temping gig (getting ready to start another) and Elaine is doing graduate work.
The Characters
Peter Ezecaius Grey
Elaine Cavanaugh
Jason Grey
Joslyn Ballard
Marissa Grey
Brannon Marsden
