Work changes

I've been working on this project of mine for well over 20 years now, as many may know, and it's all been progressing in one specific line over those years, up until the point just recently where I decided to rewrite things. This decision has had quite the impact on things, in many ways. But most importantly, it has made me re-think how to share these stories. I've been saying books for many, many years now, and it's been the main plan all this time that I'm working on writing books. But, maybe, just maybe, books aren't right after all.

As I was trying to sleep a while back, just right after I had started the re-write by adding the newcommers, I was trying to imagine certain scenes and how they would be after the change. And new scenes just came pouring in, to add to the story, and they were all in the form of pictures - drawings. More specifically; manga drawings. And the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. The visual images I have related to my stories are so strong and important, that I feel that books aren't enough to portray these images. Maybe a manga would be better.
Besides, making a manga out of it would help me reach the audience I actually want to reach, way better than I think books would. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense to me, this idea.

Do you know where these stories originated? Where and how I began it all?

The stories all came from Elizabeth, whom I've mentioned before in my journal (for those who can't remember, she was my "imaginary" friend when I was a kid), as she always told me stories of these worlds when I was lonely and feeling sad. I used to doodle a lot, as a way to attach these stories to my reality, and that I started so early that I can't even remember the first time I did so. I was pretty young, so it was long before I even started school. That's where things originated.

The first time I actually started drawing and making up an actual story was right after The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time came out, and I got to play it. I was about 12 at the time, I think, and OoT made me want to create my own game. The first story I wrote and drew back then was not a part of the world Elizabeth used to tell me about, as it was something new that I made up, and I originally meant for it all to be a game. That was my dream back then. Still kind of is, and I don't think I'll ever give up on that.

But the first and original stories that I started writing down, as a part of that world Elizabeth introduced me to, with the actual intent to publish something, was not meant to be books. The story of Teen Warriors - the story that kind of started it all for me - was originally intended to be an anime. And this has never changed, as in the later stories, that anime was actually made real and published, and many of the characters make references to the anime. This is such a vital part of my stories that I feel that it can't be changed no matter what. And one day, I do hope I get to make that anime real.

Looking back, seeing where things originated, and what the idea was when I first started properly writing on these stories, I see that a manga isn't too bad an idea. Maybe that's the way it was supposed to be, all along.

But if I am ever to create a manga, I'd have to hire someone to draw it for me. I can write the dialog, and sketch down the general idea, but actually drawing it is not something my skills can do. But, I'll worry about that when the time comes.


Now that I'm changing so many things, it has made me want to change the general design of this project as well. I've already decided to not use the original logo I had when I first started out on this project - back when the project was known as Tales of the Night - which is the logo I have tattooed on my arm (the ankh and the crescent moon). That was something I decided on years ago, when that logo became the symbol of the main organisation in the stories - Crevida - instead. Every member of the organisation has the symbol tattooed on them as proof that they are members. I suppose that technically makes me a member then, since I've got it tattooed, haha! But, yes, the logo has been removed, and these past ccouple of years the night theme and the dark colours have been removed as well.

And now I think it's time to make a new design for it all. The new name of the project is, as many may already know, Tales of Arcaiia, and it has been the name for many years now. But the new design of it all is something I've yet to decide on. I still haven't even found a new logo that I feel would best represent Arcaiia. Up until now, I've kept using the ankh and the crescent moon symbol, since it's still such a vital part of the stories, but the idea all along was for it to just be a stand-in kind of thing. I need to find the replacement now.

I'm partly excited about coming up with a new design, but I'm also kind of nervous. There's a part of me that fears that I might not be able to come up with anything good, and that I'll just keep struggling with it and never really getting anywhere with my work. But I know it's a silly thing to fear, and that I just need to ignore it and sit down to at least start working on ideas and suggestions.

And, I need to figure out the design of the web page.

I bought a page a while back, but I've yet to make anything of it, cause web design is definitely not something I have any clue about. I don't even know how you magically create a page that people can visit. I'm pretty sure I'll have to hire someone to make me the page I want, but that will require money, and we all know I don't have much of that. So, still not sure what to do about this issue. I've tried googling the matter, but for some reason I just can't find a good explanation on what the hell to do. Heh, I guess I'm just hopeless.


I really do feel that this change is right, and necessary. There's something in the back of my mind telling me that the world has been waiting for a long time on this change. It was meant to happen - I've just been slow in making it happen cause my focus has been elsewhere. If I just keep working and focusing on this, I'm pretty sure I'll reach some kind of amazing eureka moment, and everything will finally make sense.

That is, at least, what I feel.