How I made writing “Doubt” fun and interactive with fans
by Anne-Vasquez
Doubt (Among Us Trilogy) is a story told in a young/early adult voice about former child prodigies Harry Doubt, creator of the Truth Seekers online game, and Cristal Hernandez. Harry decides to take the game offline when his mother and other gamers’ loved ones family go missing. Their search for the truth uncovers supernatural forces among them which inadvertently triggers the beginning of the end of the world as they know it.
The story mixes social media communications such as text messaging and video messaging as a form of communication between characters as they go on missions to find their family members.
All characters have aliases and avatars which is displayed as a splash page image at the beginning of the book. The official website of the book (amongus.ca) also has detailed M.O.’s of the characters so readers can also view and interact with the characters on the website.
The story although geared to young adult/ early adult readers is also entertaining for general readers who are interested in the supernatural, sci/fi urban fantasy, apocalyptic genres with themes similar to the TV show Fringe (by J.J. Abrams).
As a filmmaker, journalist and web design programmer, I tell stories in multiple mediums. Doubt (book 1 of the Among Us Trilogy) was literally created from an interactive online reality game that I created with the help of my developmental editor (Josefina Rosado).
The official website http://www.AmongUs.ca interacts with visitors allowing them to participate as Truth Seekers following the theme of the story.
I wanted to give readers another way to connect with my story. Entertainment does not need to be contained in one medium. I believe in telling your story in many mediums. How do we do this? One way was to entice readers to participate in the experience of the story as it is being written. Putting Theory to the Test Here was the plan I used for fan recruiting for my new novel Doubt, Book 1 of the Among Us Trilogy:
1) Design website for the book series using the theme of the story
(Theme: Truth seekers who are online gamers use the internet to communicate with each other and also hack into global networks to save the world from catastrophic events caused by an unknown entity.)
(Theme: Truth seekers who are online gamers use the internet to communicate with each other and also hack into global networks to save the world from catastrophic events caused by an unknown entity.)
2) Entice beta readers to read drafts of the chapters as I write them but only awarding the first 10 who register
3) Assign characters from the novel to each beta reader.
4) Provide the beta reader with their assigned character’s strengths, weaknesses, personality traits and physical characteristics.
5) As more chapters in the book are written, the ten beta readers will be asked to provide input with the incentive that what they write may be included in the next chapter. They will not know until the next chapter is released.
6) Release each new chapter to the first ten fans as an award for having joined early.
7) As more beta readers register to the site, ask them to create their own character and post the character’s 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses and 3 physical characteristics on the website.
8) Entice additional beta readers to complete simple mission assignments related to the story with the incentive that their character may be chosen to be written into the Book 2 and Book 3 of the series.
9) Give beta readers a Thank you credit on a Thank You page on the site and also on the credit page when the book is published.
10) When the beta readers pass a mission assignment, a chapter will be released to them.
Using this approach to write Doubt, I also allowed fans to participate and shape the story. This has helped build the fan base and also promote the book launch. The release of the book is November 9, 2013 and because of this approach, Doubt is being featured at the Rain Dance Book Festival in Canada.
If you’re a reader, what do you think of this approach to writing? If you’re an author, how did you write your novel?
About Anne-Rae Vasquez
Anne-Rae Vasquez is a freelance journalist for Digital Journal.com, author, film maker and web design programmer. Her latest novel, Doubt, is the the first book in the Among Us Trilogy series. Her other works include: the novel and screenplay for the award winning feature film and web series Almost a Turkish Soap Opera, Salha’s Secrets to Middle Eastern Cooking Cookbook Volume 1, Gathering Dust – a collection of poems, and Teach Yourself Great Web Design in a Week, published by Sams.net (a division of Macmillan Publishing). Almost a Turkish Soap Opera was her feature screenplay and film directorial debut. Anne-Rae Vasquez is available for interview.
PR Contact Details
J. Suarez c/o AR Publishing 7360 137 Street #517 Surrey, BC Canada V3W 1A3 +16046085747
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Do you love shows like J.J. Abrams' Fringe and read books like Cassandra Clare's City of Bones?
"Doubt" mashes fringe science, corporate espionage and paranormal encounters to catapult you into an out-of-this-world experience.
At 21 years old, Harry and Cristal are fresh out of university with their PhD's. Labeled all their lives as being 'weird' and 'geeky', they find true friendships with other outcasts by playing online virtual reality games.
Harry Doubt, a genius programmer and creator of the popular online game 'Truth Seekers', has a personal mission of his own; to find his mother who went mysteriously missing while volunteering on a peacekeeping mission in Palestine. His gaming friends and followers inadvertently join in helping him find her; believing that they are on missions to find out what has happened to their own missing loved ones. During Harry's missions, Cristal and the team of 'Truth Seekers' stumble upon things that make them doubt the reality of their own lives. As they get closer to the truth, they realize that there are spiritual forces among them both good and evil, but in learning this, they activate a chain of events that start the beginning of the 'end of the world' as they know it.
Doubt is Book 1 of the Among Us Trilogy. Among Us is a book series which delves into the world of the supernatural and how it intersects with the everyday lives of seemingly ordinary young people as catastrophic events on earth lead to the end of times. Among Us weaves the theme of a young man and woman, who while not fully understanding their 'abilities', are drawn together in their desire to find out the truth about the world they live in which is similar to themes used in J.J. Abrams' TV shows Fringe and Lost.
What readers have to say...
As a big fan of the show Fringe, this book appealed to me tremendously. The writing was well done, and the way the "supernatural" forces were introduced was great.A good, clean read for any age.
It was an excellent story that I'm sure both adult and teen urban fantasy fans will enjoy. You don't have to be a gamer or know one to identify with the characters. They're very well developed and definitely feel like people. I would definitely recommend it to a friend and I'm really looking forward to the second book.
...the novel is written in such a languid style, it moves on effortlessly and absorbs the reader into the story completely. Although the story itself revolves around the online gaming industry, one does not have to have an in depth knowledge as it is ably explained and discussed within the plot line. OMGosh! I just finished reading "Doubt" INCREDIBLE! I couldn't put it down.
˃˃˃ >>> Depth and Substance mashed up with Fringe Science. Will entertain young and old alike.
This book is intended for mature young adults and new adults. Ages 16 to 45 +
˃˃˃ >>Inspired by real Truth Seekers Aaron Swartz and Harry Fear
The main character Harry Doubt was inspired by Aaron Swartz, internet prodigy and activist, co-founder of the Creative Commons and Reddit, and Harry Fear, journalist, documentary filmmaker and activist whose coverage of the conflict in the Middle East was seen on UStream by millions of viewers.
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre - Young Adult, Paranormal, Science Fiction, Thriller
Rating – G
More details about the author
Website http://amongus.ca
this is cool to follow along on the tour! Enjoy reading about it.
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