Feeling a little Lost In (Fen)Space

[Shinkaze]

I don't have a lot of time, but I wanted to do this before I leave, so here I go. I've finally redone all the stuff I lost last time and I should
actually have time to devote to this for a while, but I'm feeling a little lost. I haven't been keeping up with this forum as much as I'd like
and, while I've read most of the threads I missed, it seems like there's some information that's not here or on the wiki. For example, from the
conversations I see around here, it seems like the events both during the boskone war and afterword have been planned out significantly, but I can't find
anything about it, could someone fill me in? It also seems like the extent of what can be done with handwavium has been greatly increased, could someone
maybe provide me with some general guidelines?. Is there even still room for characters that could be significant within the setting? Sorry to be asking so
many questions, but I'm finally near a point where I might be able to start writing soon, so I needed to ask.




Also, Bob, is the offer to let me use the ship from this snippet still there? because I think it would work
with what(little) I've got planned.

[robkelk]

Honestly, everything other than what individual writers have planned for their characters is available somewhere in the stories themselves or on the http://fnord.sandwich.net/fenwiki/doku.php]FenWiki. We don't have that much plotted in advance. (By "we", I mean the major currently-active writers (currently Mal, blackaeronaut, Cobalt, and myself - this list changes as seasons come and go) and the keeper of the forums (Bob).) For example, while I know that La Mariposa won't be captured until the end of Operation Great Justice, I have no idea where or how she'll be nabbed, and only the vaguest idea of what happens to her organization afterward.

The rules of Handwavium are still http://fnord.sandwich.net/fenwiki/doku. ... art#rule_1]what they were at the beginning; we've just been aggressive at exploring what can be done within those rules. AI is perennially popular, and we're beginning to experiment with man-portable forcefield technology as a basis for simulating some metahuman powers.

And there's plenty of room for significant characters. We've barely glanced at Mars and the Jovian subsystem, and haven't even looked at five of the six http://fnord.sandwich.net/fenwiki/doku. ... r_factions]major factions yet. Excepting the Earth-Moon-L5 subsystem, Venus, and the Senshi faction, all the really big parts of Fenspace are still wide-open - roll up your sleeves and grab a big chunk of what's left, and we'll cheer you on and offer help if you ask for it.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Bob Schroeck]

And don't forget, there's a lot of room out there. If you decide to claim, say, a 5-degree arc of the asteroid belt as your playground, that still leaves the volume of several quadrillion earths for everyone else to pick from. We are not short on real estate.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Shinkaze]

Robkelk: I thought that the shaped forcefield tech was pretty much Feinan's thing?

Bob: No word about the Wayword Son?

I think I need to be more specific on the significant character thing. I had originally planned to have my main character Alex end up a fairly well known
person in fenspace, but I'm really starting to doubt I'm good enough, creatively, to pull it off. I have a basic plot outline for my characters, but
I'm beginning to think it's a dead end because after the boskone war, while I basically know where my characters will be, I'm not sure where to
take them(maybe I'm looking to far ahead, but that's about where everybody else seems to be). Most of my ideas end up being stuff that's been done
before (for example I doubt you need another generic mad scientist, but I can't seem to come up with enough to make Alex unique). I'm not really
explaining this very well, but I guess I'm saying I'm not sure I'm creative enough, compared to you guys, to tell the story I want to tell. I think
I'm probably just putting to much thought into this(that's what I get for posting so late), I should probably finish something and post it before I
make these kind of judgements. Feel free to ignore this part if you want, though any advice on plotting these things out would be appreciated.

[robkelk]

Robkelk: I thought that the shaped forcefield tech was pretty much Feinan's thing?

It was, but he decided to share. (Just like my character's not the only one with a large staff of android assistants any more, and Jon's character isn't the only information-gatherer, and Acyl's characters aren't the only ones who lifted something huge into Fenspace.) Niche protection is somewhat weaker now than it was in the beginning of Fenspace.

Bob: No word about the Wayword Son?

I thought that was one of Mal's...

but I'm beginning to think it's a dead end because after the boskone war, while I basically know where my characters will be, I'm not sure where to take them(maybe I'm looking to far ahead, but that's about where everybody else seems to be).

I'm still writing a huge story set in the middle of the Boskone War, and I just recently wrote the pre-war origin stories for some of my characters.

If you'd rather set your stories during or before Operation Great Justice, go for it!

Most of my ideas end up being stuff that's been done before (for example I doubt you need another generic mad scientist, but I can't seem to come up with enough to make Alex unique).

It isn't what you come up with that's important, it's what you do with it.

but I guess I'm saying I'm not sure I'm creative enough, compared to you guys, to tell the story I want to tell.

That's something we can't tell until after you've posted a story... or at least a few scenes. And even if that is true (it seems everybody thinks he isn't as creative as the other writers), it can be worked around.

any advice on plotting these things out would be appreciated.

"'Begin at the beginning,' the King said gravely, 'and go on till you come to the end: then stop.'" - from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll. It's amazing how many writers forget to begin at the point where the reader gets all the information necessary to understand (and thus enjoy) the story, or end where the story has come to a conclusion.

Anything more specific will have to wait until we know what you're doing right and what you're doing wrong...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Bob Schroeck]

I thought that was one of Mal's...

It certainly isn't one of mine, so I can't give or deny permission on it.

It's amazing how many writers forget to begin at the point where the reader gets all the information necessary to understand (and thus enjoy) the story

Note, however, that you can start in the middle, as long as you provide the beginning and its information relatively quickly afterwards -- in media res, the technique is called. You can also give just enough information to keep the reader interested at first, and make revealing how things started part of the plot, providing drips and drabs along the way.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Shinkaze]

You're right of course, that was Mal's, though in my defense I was running on four hours of sleep and I'd been up for more than twenty hours
straight by then (which doesn't excuse me making the same mistake in my initial post, but as I mentioned there I was running late and I didn't have the
time to double check my post like I normally would). So, How about it Mal?

Lack of sleep is also responsible for most of that last paragraph, I'm actually fairly optimistic about how it'll go now that I've started
working on this again, at the very least I'll be able to practice my writing skills. I've been using writing the character profiles as a method to try
to get a handle on my character's personalities and I'm about 80-90% done with them, so if I keep up my recent pace I should have something to post
soon at least( and about time to, it's been more than two years!).

Thanks for the advice Rob! I've actually been meaning to start with an "origin story" since the beginning.

[ECSNorway]

Also, don't let worry about your writing skill get you down. I've barely written anything about my avatar there, and yet he's as much one of the
wealthy and influential as Mal. (Speaking of which, I really should start nagging my muse about Carcharadon Astrodontis...)
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Rod.H]

(Speaking of which, I really should start nagging my muse about Carcharadon Astrodontis...)

*wanders in, boggles*
That better just be a code name for something, and not what I'm thinking it truly is, or every Australian, Kiwi & South African will be fitting a stack of these all over their craft. For pest control purposes.

And that pic just turned out massive.....

[ECSNorway]

Wow, big pic.

And yes, it's a code name. Let's just say that some folks will be Following The Eagles....
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.