Finally!! FINALLY!!! I finished my BioShock "fanfic" which is really more a story of a character inserted into the world of Rapture.

This journal entry will serve as a "Making of The Audio Diaries of Albert Clayton." But first some news.

I love my Nikon D40x. I'm getting a remote control for it, and a damn nice flash soon. Can't wait to do some nature shots or some portraits over the summer. [[i'm looking at you friends]]

Now comes the part where I explain my short story from it's creation to it's long awaited (by me) completion. So if you haven't read the story...GO NOW! It's here: [link] because spoilers will be in this explanation.

-Origins

From the moment I laid eyes on Rapture I was captivated by it, and how much storytelling could be told in the city alone. The sheer dystopian society was just a perfect canvas for any kind of storytelling on any medium.

After I beat the game the first time (around mid September 2007) I started thinking of ideas for a piece of fanfiction to write, I knew I would not want to write anything about main characters (hate that) and I wouldn't want to write a story involving an OC that heavily influences a main character (hate that even more). Basically I just wanted to keep the wheels of Rapture turning, and make it be the catalyst in someone's life, henceforth the idea for a "Fall from Grace" story was created in my mind.

-Planning

I decided that I would want it to be in the form of Audio Diary transcripts, as that was how the backstory of Rapture was revealed in the game, that was how I wanted my character to evolve.

I began researching (yes researching) the history of Rapture, I must have read the script and audio diary transcripts at least 3 times each. I researched popular names of people born in the 1920's (when the two characters I created were born) and it was then that Albert and Doris Clayton were officially created.

I wanted to show in the story how a man with so much, has so much to lose. And all because of his pride and ignorance. Unfortunately for Albert Clayton, he was that man.

-Production

Actual writing began in early October 2007 and this was a great relief to me. Because for more than a year I had found it increasingly difficult to write anything, so a fresh idea excited me very much so.

So as my roommate [Matt] continued to play BioShock, I would write while watching him play. Work was fast at first, but then schooling became very rough and the story took a back seat to school (and a second playthrough of the game haha)

By the time I returned to the story. My writing style had evolved, and I found myself rewriting entire transcripts, until at one point I had completely rewritten the story. The original concept was still there, but it had evolved into a much better [in my opinion] version than it was before.

About 2/3 of the way through the story, I hit a road block, and getting around that road block required a lot of slow tedious writing, but finally I figured out a way to do it...so another rewrite was initiated.

This was to be the final rewrite but the production was still very slow. It wasn't until I started reading post-apocalyptic fiction did I finally find the inspiration to finish.

-The Finish Line

Finally I reached the finish line this afternoon. With absolute joy I typed the final words and saved it. But even as I was on the final transcript, I scrapped the original ending [sort of]. I wanted Albert Clayton to die in the end, but in the original story, he died a boastful bastard like he entered Rapture. In the final ending, he went insane [thank you Drew for that ((I literally asked him "Death or Insanity" and he said "I wouldn't know if I went insane" which is awesome character development, and allows "normal" life to go on))] before his inevitable death at the riot of Kashmir Restaurant.

Albert Clayton died around midnight New Years Eve 1958-1959 in Kashmir Restaurant. Henceforth he does not ever interfere with the game, and is only another victim of a collapse of a utopia.

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There you have it, the full behind the scenes story of The Audio Diaries of Albert Clayton. Thanks for reading, look forward to my next piece of fiction, a test story of sorts.