look, i can't think of a title, right?
Slow development
Posted 29th May 2010 at 09:56 AM by chopper
Tags empire dance, structure, writing
Vol.2 of the Empire Dance is proceeding apace - but I've had to make the decision (not easy) that after this I will need to put the project on the back-burner for a while so that the Curse does not suffer. Getting my head out of space-opera mode and back into epic fantasyland will be a bit of a wrench.
But, on the plus side, I'm rather happy with the way ED has been developing, both in my head and on (virtual) paper. When I first resurrected the idea and decided to break it into manageable, cliffhangery chunks (a la the old Flash Gordon series, or any episodic SF TV in fact) I didn't have anything more than bare bones to hang a story on, and the universe was almost too big for the very militaristic guns-ablazin'-mega-star-fleets-explodin' plot that I had originally thought of. Now, some of the other character POVs, that I had feared would be very difficult and boring to write, have actually become more interesting than the whole intergalactic warfare thing that weaves through the story. I've realised that two of the threads have similar themes, and that these can be linked in some way to create another problem for the Empire. And someone who started out as a bit-part cameo character (A bio-genetic engineer called Gail Anstiss) has become an important character in her own right.
There's still a bloody big space battle to write though....
But, on the plus side, I'm rather happy with the way ED has been developing, both in my head and on (virtual) paper. When I first resurrected the idea and decided to break it into manageable, cliffhangery chunks (a la the old Flash Gordon series, or any episodic SF TV in fact) I didn't have anything more than bare bones to hang a story on, and the universe was almost too big for the very militaristic guns-ablazin'-mega-star-fleets-explodin' plot that I had originally thought of. Now, some of the other character POVs, that I had feared would be very difficult and boring to write, have actually become more interesting than the whole intergalactic warfare thing that weaves through the story. I've realised that two of the threads have similar themes, and that these can be linked in some way to create another problem for the Empire. And someone who started out as a bit-part cameo character (A bio-genetic engineer called Gail Anstiss) has become an important character in her own right.
There's still a bloody big space battle to write though....
Total Comments 12
Comments
-
Would you want me to read the first one and comment?Posted 29th May 2010 at 08:40 PM by ctg
-
well you can, but it's actually already out on Lulu because i was a bit impatient with myself. Empire Dance is meant to be "light relief" (and keeping in the discipline of writing a page a day) from writing heavy epic fantasy, but its turning into something a bit more serious now. i'll sling a copy of the PDF through email to you though if you want - not necessarily for critique, but for yr own enjoyment?Posted 29th May 2010 at 09:26 PM by chopper - Appreciated. And don't worry about Lulu. It's better to do it that way because the industry aren't interest on us. I'll read it and send you back my thoughts.Posted 29th May 2010 at 10:13 PM by ctg
- Bless. You put my name up there. Thank you.Posted 30th May 2010 at 12:34 AM by ctg
-
I find space battles really daunting to write. Good to read someone enjoys doing them.Posted 30th May 2010 at 09:14 AM by J-WO - the two main problems with space battles (as i see 'em)are detail and scale. too much detail bogs everything down (David Weber) as does opening out to include too many ships in a massive engagement. as a more successful example, check the attack on the first Death Star. there's a lot going on at the edge of the picture, but the narrative focuses tightly on Red 4 and the fight to get to the exhaust port.
and as far as detail goes, i game out a lot of my battles with Megatraveller (and someone just gave me a set of Alternity rules so i might try that too), but a heck of a lot of that never makes it into the battles as written. just not necessary.
space battles are especially fun to write when you've spent 18 months writing detailed epic fantasy where just 5 people die in roughly 80000 words.Posted 30th May 2010 at 07:22 PM by chopper - Old Banksy can knock out a good space battle (I'm thinking of Excession here) but with all that super-tech its more poetic than gritty.
Your right about Star Wars, BTW. Though I do have to wonder if it would transpose into writing.
Is Megatraveller the same game as Traveller, but bigger, I take it?Posted 31st May 2010 at 08:55 AM by J-WO - call it "second edition" and you're there or thereabouts. it's the version i have to hand right now. and i have a very nice "Ships For Windows" generator that takes all the mathematical hassle out of building the beasts in the first place....Posted 31st May 2010 at 07:25 PM by chopper
- There's a wargame called Full Thrust that's great for larger fleet engagements. You can download all the rules for free off the Ground Zero Games website.
Its about my level, to be honest--quick and fun. I could never get my head around Traveller, its ships or people. Call me thicko.
Where'd you get the Ships for Windows generator?Posted 1st June 2010 at 12:16 AM by J-WO - Software Downloads
along with a nifty character generator. It's all Traveller though i'm afraid. somewhere or other i also got hold of a program called Heaven & Earth that will build a whole subsector if you have a spare month or two.....Posted 1st June 2010 at 11:53 PM by chopper - Wow. Runequest. Forgot about that.
Cheers for the link.Posted 2nd June 2010 at 01:56 AM by J-WO - Spam removed.Posted 10th November 2011 at 12:59 AM by vhean143
Updated 11th November 2011 at 03:29 PM by Ursa major
