: Re: How to merge conflicting narratives? I am setting up my story setting, a sci-fi story, and the people that I work with have created their own lore(s). Some of them conflict with one another.

@Vandalay250

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So, it appears you have multiple, conflicting stories about the same general events.

Sounds like most of history! People will almost always tell their stories in whatever way makes them look better. They'll emphasize their own virtue and diminish their opponents'. They might entirely leave out bits they can't justify, and as the story is passed on, those bits might be completely forgotten by one side—while another holds them as indelible scars. These principles don't apply just to societies, either; interpersonal relations can experience the same general problems on a smaller scale.

Take each narrative you have and assume that story is 'true' from the perspective of the people telling it. Find the points where they conflict, and examine the motivations of your storytellers for spinning them in the way they chose. Chances are you can explain most of the discrepancies away, and as a bonus, you'll have fuel for future character interactions between people on opposite sides; the things they 'know' to be true differing can easily lead to conflict or misunderstandings.

In this specific case, since you're working with multiple authors, you might run into a couple irreconcilable differences, but once you've done most of the work of blending the different narratives as above, you should be able to work with them to smooth out the bits that don't fit. Sometimes someone is just plain 'inventing' history. And sometimes you have no choice but to delete a piece you like for the greater good of the story.

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