Story/Novel Help

Okay, so I've been working on my science fiction universe and have finally gotten around to writing a story based in that world. My main problem is with keeping hit original. Not that I'm directly copying anything, but that some things in my world are too similar to the things that inspired them.

Case in point: the story I'm writing, which is focusing on the Tauj (an all male species that was inspired by the Asari from Mass Effect and a little bit of the Twi'leks from Star Wars) and a government conspiracy which involves them hiding the existence of the Vaali, which are an ancient Eldar-like species who protected the Tauj in ancient times and watched thm evolve.

To me, it already sounds way too similar to the Asari covering up the Prothean Beacon they had on Thessia and how the Protheans protected Thessia and the Asari in ancient times.

I know this is rather vague, but is really love some advice. Thanks.

Maybe write out a general plot for the story before you focus on culture specifics.

Also you could possibly be too hung up on the mass effect Asari or whichever race you're focussing it on, and wish to keep up too close to the source material cause it's stuck as a barrier. Maybe you should first consider, what does the race do? How do they behave? Then work out the aspects on, well, what could have resulted to this culture? Is it recent? Has it been mostly unchanged for centuries?

Why are they hiding this Vaali? Why do the Vaali need help hiding? Why are the Vaali so interested in helping the Tauj? Could there bere ulterior motives? The Eldar you base them on aren't exactly angels either, if you know what I mean.

At the beginning, don't be too hung up on the specifics, work out how the race its self behaves. The rest could possibly come as you go. I hear a lot about how writers have this little book that they take along everywhere they go to, and if they get an idea, they jot it down.


A good story isn't written in a day. And you'll probably change your mind quite often that you'll be rewriting the story as you go.

Toreador wrote:

an all male species

You're making it easy on Freud.

Hod do you even define gender in a species that has only one?

Dragatus wrote:

Hod do you even define gender in a species that has only one?

The same way that mass effect did it, very poorly.

Dragatus wrote:

Hod do you even define gender in a species that has only one?

And how do they procreate?  
Spores?
Split up in the middle? That might work for amoebae, but for anything more complex it's probably not a good method.
Turn members of other species to their kind, like vampires do with humans?
Or do they in fact have both genders in one person, like many plants and some more primitive animals?
Maybe their society is built like that of ants or bees. And you usually only meet the neuter workers?
Or they're a society of Frankensteins. And if the thunderstorm-season won't come for some years they go extinct...  

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@Bloodywolf: I'll get to your question in a little bit; it asks very important questions that are making me think more about it.

On the Tauj reproduction:

I knew someone was going to question that sooner or later. As it stands right now, I've determined that the Tauj reproduce through a form of sexual androgenesis (the male version of parthenogenesis).

How I have it set up right now is that the Tauj a have a sort of womb-like structure built into their right or left thigh (usually the opposite of whichever handedness they are). The womb-like structure is not like the womb or extra parts of the human female sex organs. It contains an orifice that opens when a certain arousal takes place (at other times, it is completely closed off). It contains a short canal where the phallus enters and then does its business there, while the semen like fluid travels further into the "incubation" area where the one being impregnated has a tube that pumps his own semenel fluid into it so the two can fluids can mingle and produce a child.

However, it should be noted that Tauj semenel fluids are very different than human ones. For the most part, Tauj fluid has half of the components of what would be considered male genetic material, while the other half contains a very different, exclusively Tauj set of reproductive fluid.

The inside of the womb structure is also highly concentrated in a testosterone like fluid which becomes even more abundant during the pregnancy. The one being impregnated becomes very aggressive during the pregnancy.

Tauj chromosomal structure is also very different from human chromosomal structure. Their genetics use a chromosomal structure I've called the "AA" chromosomes (taken after the prefix 'andros-' which means male).

It would also be of note to say that the Tauj don't understand gender distinction in humans or other species that have genders. They aren't fascinated by opposite (if you are looking at them as males) gendered species. It's actually repulsive to many of them but they aren't rude enough or ignorant enough (most of them) to not interact with those of other genders. Interspecies relationships are extremely rare in my world (as rare as it is for someone to have inappropriate feelings for a dog), so don't expect to see them hooking up with males of other species. They're not a slutty blue alien species (though they are blue themselves).


It should also be noted that 'Tauj' is more of a catch-all term. 'Tauj' in fact only refers to one race of an entire species from the planet Aruuga. Many of them chafe at being called Tauj because they simply aren't. The Tauj themselves are the most successful race of their species from their planet, so they view simply as them being the best, though they find it odd for all of the species to be called Tauj. Members of other races will sometimes call the Tauj the 'True Tauj' or 'First Tauj', which doesn't lessen the awkwardness when talking about the species.

I took some inspiration for the whole birthing thing from True_History which has an all male alien species that lives on the moon.

In actual nature, there are monogendered species.

I was also beginning to write a post about how the Tauj see gender and what it means to them, but my fucking browser closed on me and I'm not about to write that whole thing again tonight.

The asari do not see gender like humans do. It's humans who assigned a gender to the asari since they resemble human females the most.

Tbh the asari seemed like a rip off of the Delvians to me so I wouldn't get too hung up on them. What will make your own species seem less like a photocopy is looking at different cultures and cherry picking ideals, philosophies and cultural norms etc.