a Metastory and World: two ip investments to bank on
If you are a creator looking to develop your IP, two important investments can spark creativity, guide development, and create long-term fan bases: a compelling metastory, and a well-developed World.
What is a "Metastory"?
As you’ve probably heard, the metastory (or metanarrative) is the overarching, behind-the-scenes story that lies behind and binds together every story and character of an IP in all of its productions and permutations. Metastories are not new: the Trojan Cycle, for example, is an ancient metastory that connects a myriad of productions across 3000 years, from the Iliad and the Odyssey to contemporary blockbusters like Troy. Franchises such as Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Valdemar, and The Elder Scrolls each have compelling metastories that bind their productions into an exciting, engaging, and meaningful whole. Does your IP have one?
It should.
A metastory is crucial for successful IP development and diversification. It is not only the source of gripping tales, the birthplace of fantastic characters, and an engine of the major tensions and resolutions that drive your IP narratives. It also provides structure and strategy for your IP development, and gives your creative energy focus, purpose, and meaning.
What’s more, metastories are crucial for building enduring fan bases, communities, and revenue for your IP. Why? Because people don’t just want – they need – to know the rest of a good story. Once hooked on your metastory, your fans will eagerly await, watch, read, listen to, or participate in every additional story from it that you choose to tell them. And they will want to hang out and interact with other fans who share their passion.
However, if you’re like most creators, you didn’t start with a metastory. You started with an idea. And idea for a terrific story, game, film, or show. Then, chances are, more ideas and bigger plans came from it. And that’s exciting. But once that starts happening, you need a metastory.
But won't a metastory just ... develop itself as you create more ideas and releases?
You might be surprised at my answer here, but, yes, a metastory can evolve organically as you create sequels and spinoffs for your IP.
The problem is, that process tends to be haphazard, lengthy, and fraught with risks such as incompatible story arcs, characters that grow stale, awkward tie-ins, and declining fan interest. If you are planning to develop your IP and you don’t have years (or even decades) to wait in order to see if it works out, it’s not an efficient or effective way to go about it.
Instead, establishing a metastory early in your development process keeps your development on track, allows for staging releases that maintain and build momentum, and keeps your stories engaging, purposeful … and profitable. Because, if your fans understand that each story that you tell and every new character that you introduce in the IP is an intentional piece of a larger puzzle, they will want to finish that puzzle (and in some cases, even create it) with you.
The World: your metastory’s foundation.
However, behind every compelling metastory lies a vivid, vibrant, and engaging World. The World provides the rich context from which your metastory develops and within which it takes place. It provides the geographical features, environments, flora and fauna, and natural forces that characters inhabit, travel through, and struggle against. It produces the particular peoples that inhabit your World, each with their own particular societies, cuisines, cultures, languages, and customs. In short, the World gives you and your audience a framework within which your IP creations make sense.
If done well, a well-crafted World will give your IP creations a crucial sense of place, a place that your characters and fans will call home. Think about how many fans over the years have come to love and feel “at home” in Tolkien’s Middle Earth, Rowling’s Hogwarts, In similar fashion, if your fans come to love and feel at home in your World, they will want to stay and play in that world with you – for as long as you choose to keep them there. One release at a time.
Metastories and Worlds can be kept in-house for development or they can be published as World Bibles for fans to savor, study, debate, and enjoy. And, for creators who open their IPs to other creators through creative commons licenses, World Bibles can be essential for inspiring spin-offs, determining canon, and maintaining control over one’s own brand.
World-building and metastories are important investments in your IP’s future success. So, invest well.
World-building and metastories take time, resources, expertise, and effort to develop. But they are worth it. For your IP, they provide a framework and roadmap to explore and build out the possibilities of your IP efficiently and effectively to its full potential. For your bottom line, they are critical for developing the kind of brand recognition, IP diversification, and fan bases that sustain creators financially. And for your fans, they provide meaning, solace, excitement, and a sense of belonging.
Like most important investments, a metastory, World, and World Bible can be a bit daunting and risky to tackle on your own. But the good news is, you don’t have to.
RowanWood Writing Services has a combined over 50 years’ experience teaching, analyzing, evaluating, and creating metastories and worlds. We love to assist creators – like you – to develop compelling metastories and the fascinating worlds that go with them. And we can work with you to assemble, write, edit – and even crowdfund – a World Bible that will inspire fans and other creators alike. For crowdfunding, we partner with Zombie Orpheus Entertainment, a pioneer in fan-supported entertainment (The Gamers, JourneyQuest) and crowdfunding partners for campaigns like ElfQuest, Vandemar, Lords of Vegas, and Shaman’s Tears. Wherever you are in the development process, from concept to campaign, we can consult, collaborate, or contribute.