The Protected Lore
So let me start by saying that I had a conversation on Substack recently about protecting the lore, and I want to share what my thoughts are on that.
I’ve spent the last 26 years developing characters, writing stories, and living in a land that wasn’t my own, one that I wasn’t born in, one that I never knew was actually a fake world that I created. There is a part of me that is inside every single thing that I have written, and that part of me lives within every inch of my characters, my books, and my world. So to say the least, I’d love to maintain the lore and the integrity of that specific world that I have created.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am all for new ideas, new ways to look at things, and new perceptions. But if it comes down to the reason why my story exists in the first place, why on Earth would I change something like that?
That’s the question a lot of us must ask when we are faced with decisions to sign up for a paycheck from one of these places that will come in and try to change our book, our world, and our very thoughts just for a quick buck. It’s a very difficult decision, yes, because on one hand, you can walk away with the money that you need for your life (and a lot of us need the money, we really do). But there is a greater need for the integrity of our stories. The stories that we wrote should keep the integrity that we intended for them, the lore that we built into them, because it’s the sole reason why they exist in the first place.
Now, mind you, I’ve never been faced with a decision that could give me a lot of money on the off chance that my story does well with the new changes they make. But honestly, I spent the last 26 years developing my world, and those changes could be critical to the way the story is. I’ve had a lot of time to think about how my story is going to be perceived by people. I’ve also had a lot of time understanding each and every decision that is going to be made on the off chance that my IP actually gets out there.
There are some core things that I make sure to always keep in my mind:
- There’s a reason why these stories exist.
- Without one part of the story, another story that I have later on down the line may not exist because of that single change, so I could potentially end my career before it even gets started.
- Last, but not least, I don’t want to lose the characters and the soul that those characters have.
We have to look at our characters as if they have a soul of their own, which they do. When we create them, they live, breathe, and die in the world that we give them, and they deserve the respect of keeping them the same.
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If you’re just writing to get a quick buck and chase trends, I’m not going to say that you’re wrong in what you’re doing. If that’s what you want to do, that’s what you want to do. But I don’t believe any kind of good book can come from that. If you’re going to write something, be passionate about it. Be fully in it. Otherwise, you’ll have a small slice of something that only has a tiny bit of who you are. If that’s what you want out of life, that’s fine and I’m not going to judge. But I do believe for the greatest stories of all time, if you want to be that, you have to put your heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears into it, because otherwise, it won’t amount to anything.
And now that I’ve deliberately pissed off a lot of people, I want to say that your stories do matter, as long as they keep the heart and soul that they were written with.
For those of you looking at me as a new creator or a new person to Substack: I am, and that is true. I’m not very big on social media. I try to be, but it just doesn’t work out too well. My profile is under Vördr Studios, not under my written name (my written name is E. Crout or Eric Crout). I built Vördr Studios for one purpose and one purpose alone: to protect the lore that is in my IP.
I believed that I needed something to protect my IP because of how big it is. I know this is a lot for people who don’t have the big picture yet, but in order to create something that lives beyond you, you have to look at the future of where your book is now and where it’s going to end up.
So protect yourself when it comes to these decisions on what you do if you are trying to build a legitimate future for whatever IP that you are currently holding and working on. Build yourself a team. I’m currently trying to do this. It’s very difficult, but it’s a necessity in order to keep your lore protected.
Originally published at https://vordrstudios.substack.com on October 28, 2026.
