Universe Page

This is more complete description of the term "universe" as used in this context.

The writer's universe is the set of people, places, and things that make up the stories the writer writes.

It is possible (and common) for an author to write in more than one universe. It is also possible (and not uncommon) for more than one author to write in one universe. (This is especially common on television.) It is also not uncommon for a universe to consist of a single novel.

Well known examples of universes is the Star Trek universe, which had been written in my innumerable authors and has several television series. It has, as things, the Enterprise. Also, the Earth is in this Universe, although it does not appear often. There are also enumerable planets with inhabitants. There is a "transporter room" and transportation from the surface of a planet to the enterprise is usually by the transporter, "Beam me up, Scotty."

People includes, of course, Scotty, Captain Kirk, Sulu, etc.

If Darth Vader were to show up in a Star Trek episode (even assuming the copyright arrangements were made) it would be called an error, because Darth Vader is part of the Star Wars Universe, not the Star Trek Universe.

In some non-science fiction universes, the Universe is close to the "real" universe. However, unless the "novel" is, in fact, a news story, or a history lesson, they are never the same. (In fact, all too often, they are not the same even in news stories or history, which results in much controversy about these.)

For example, taking an old television series, I Dream of Jeannie (which I truly enjoy) there are genies. The universe is definitely not consistant. That is, in some episodes Jeannie cannot be photographed, and in others she is. In the first few episodes we learn that Jeannie was turned into a genie by the "wicked gin" who shows up in the first episode of the second season. However, in other episodes he sister is a genie, and her mother also is a genie.

In reality, NASA is a civilian agency. Therefore, astronauts would not wear uniforms even if they were in the military. If an astronaut did not wear a uniform in I dream of Jeannie then that would be viewed as an error. By far the majority of astronauts that were in the space program in the 1960's were married. Yet, in I Dream of Jeannie most of the astronauts are not. (In fact, the only one I recall is Major Nelson after he married Jeannie in the last season.)

The point is that even though this is a fictional account of a real time and place, the universe is not the same as the real universe.

In literature, two book write about the same universe, then the second is called a "sequel" to the first. Since the writer's universes also include a sense of time, if the second takes place at a time prior to the time the original story took place, then it is known as a "prequel."

(One issue that has come up in my thoughts about writing is what if two stories occur in the same universe at the same time. An example is the story The Gustave Station and The Revolution.

hsiaox The former talks about Paul Hunter and his adventures in the Gustave Station, and also the events on Earth that directly relate to that adventure. The Revolution (which is not started, as I write this) deals with the same period of time, and a bit of the time after. The focus is Paul's brother Chuck, however, and his underground activities.)

In each case, the writer's universe consists of those people, places, and things the author is writing about in a particular story or sequence of stories.

Writing Universes

A writing universe refers to the Universe the writer creates for the execution of a novel.

For a more complete discussion read Writer's Universe discussion.

The Gustave Universe

The Gustave Universe consists of a series of novels each dealing with the Gustave Station, a starship/station.

Gustave Universe