Archive through August 03, 2022
Star Fleet Universe Discussion Board: Captain's Log: New Fiction:
Advice to authors:
Archive through August 03, 2022
Sounds like you're stuck between a rock and a hard place?
--Mike
Have you seen the Tholian deck plans in CL-33?? Nick Bland did a wonderful job on those.
Garth L. Getgen
Those same deck plans are part of the compilation of Captain's Log articles in Away Team Log.
I might also suggest the Tholian Master Starship Book for SFB. Plus the Fight Fire with Fire story fiction in Captain's Log #22 (which is also in the For the Glory of the Empire compilation file).
And if you are interested in M81 as a setting, there is a sub-section of the BBS with the home galaxy in mind - to include sub-threads for the Nebuline and the M81 Pirates.
Oh yes, lots of good input. Super awesome.
If I could make a fast lane change, I was planning to pick up the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition. this weekend. Being perfect isn't easy, there may even be room for improvement.
I know, crazy talk.
Any thoughts on the CMS?
Better or alternative options?
I wonder if ADB has any style guide materials out there to assist budding authors?
--Mike
http://www.starfleetgames.com/input-guide/index.shtml
Style Guides are located here
CL#36 (plug plug) Web of Deceit. Referencing CL#33 was very handy.
So I hit the bookstore yesterday. They didn't have the Chicago Manual of Style in stock.
Don't fret, there was other stuff.
One book I simply must recommend is by Sean Williams.
English Grammar: 100 Tragically Common Mistakes.
A perfect title for a guy like me.
Already I better understand the usage of the comma, vocative comma, and the semi-colon.
Mistake #75 was something that I was simply unaware of previously.
Very helpful.
I must also give honorable mention to the many Captain's Log: Input Guides. They also have some priceless advice on the use of commas (and so much more).
On a side note, if you're reading this (wink), I proofread this comment before posting it and eliminated 4 uses of the word: but. Is there an AA for guys like me? Clearly I need help.
Thanks for listening. Have a nice day, folks.
Thx Ryan!
--Mike
Strunk & White. I am pretty sure Jean sleeps with a copy under her pillow.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Style
I took a writing course and had to buy The Little, Brown Handbook. You can get the previous version for under $20.
Garth L. Getgen
Considering the volume of rules necessary to master the SFU, the cost of picking up a supply of writing aids and learning materials seems ... insignificant.
I jest, of course. Arguably you could spend a decade or more mastering the SFU. Similarly, the art of good writing/story telling could take a long time to master.
Hopefully, with a modicum of talent, and an eagerness to improve, one can attain a sufficient level of proficiency in both to offer up a contribution to the cause.
Individual results may vary.
Take heed of the words of the Dalai Lama: "Have no fear of perfection. You shall never achieve it."
STRONGLY suggest taking a course in creative writing. There are certain standards for crafting any good story, regardless of your genre, and you need to know them ("Dilemma - Action - Clock," for example). The architecture of a fiction story is more important that the grammar and style issues. Grammar and style can be fixed, but if the story architecture is not engaging then you are guaranteed to spin your wheels.
To placate Jean, don't get me wrong - grammar, style, and all the little details are IMPORTANT and they have to be as right as you can make them before anything is ready for professional publication. But you can have a story that is grammatically and stylistically perfect that is also a boring, confused mess.
Anyway, take the time for a few classes in creative writing. I did, and it changed my life. I'm in the middle of my first novel now and hope to be done by Winter 2023 with a signing party in June 2023.
I'm already fairly good at grammar, style, etc. simply because I write for a living as a lawyer. I had been wanting to write it for a long time, but it just wasn't coming together. Then I took three courses from professor Brian W. Smith (https://authorbrianwsmith.com/) at Collin College here in Plano TX and EVERYTHING coalesced in terms of structure.
I doubt many of you are in North Texas, but professor Smith is AWESOME if you ever get a chance to take his courses. I simply can't have enough gratitude towards him.
YMMV
I never had a creative writing course, but would have taken one if available. I did attend a two-hour creative writing seminar but it instantly degenerated into a two-hour argument between the two people running it.
One thought that you should never use any word but "said" when someone say something.
"Put a comma there," Jean said.
The other thought you should use lots of words for that situation to show what emotions are going on in the conversation.
"Put a comma there," Jean commanded.
"Put a comma there," Jean directed.
"Put a comma there," Jean laughed.
"Put a comma there," Jean snapped.
"Put a comma there," Jean sneered.
I tend to do the second one, for what it's worth.
When things settle down I might actually check the local community college. They are always doing courses on everything you can imagine for non-students.
I think it was in Steven King's book, On Writing, he talked about this issue.
He came down middle of the fence, half and half. As I recall, I'll have to dust off my copy and make sure I got my source right.
My opinion? Use of words helps explain emotions. Think about this exchange...
"Once we've fired off all our Type-H drones, the Klingons won't see this station as much of a threat, sir," drawled the wizened sergeant. "Their attention will be focussed elsewhere."
"I hope your right," fidgeted the nervous lieutenant, "But what happens when they start beaming down Marines?"
"Odds are we'll have gotten stand-down orders before they start dropping them here, sir," the veteran soldier reassured his superior. "If not, these corridors are set up as natural traps and we've got the emergency escape slide down to the caves right over there, sir," the older man pointed out to his companion.
Now, compare that to...
"Once we've fired off the Type-H drones, the Klingons won't see this station as much of a threat, sir," said the sergeant. "Their attention will be focussed elsewhere."
"I hope you're right," said the lieutenant, "But what happens when they start beaming down the Marines?"
"Odds are we'll have gotten the stand-down orders before they start dropping them here, sir," said the sergeant. "If not, these corridors are set up as natural traps and we've got the emergency escape slide down to the caves right over there, sir."
Identical dialogue (bad as it was ), but choices of words gave feeling to what the characters were saying.
Anyhow, that's just my 0.02 Quatloos worth.
I think that too much variety in the "said" alternatives can make dialog seem like a thesaurus demonstration. But, chosen wisely and used judiciously, "said" alternatives can make dialog much more expressive.
On the flip side, my pet peeve in long dialog sections is when an author dispenses with "said" or alternatives altogether and just has line after line of unattributed dialog. That's fine if it is relatively short, but in longer passages please include attribution phrases periodically to help the reader keep track of who is saying what!
--Mike
I tend to not use "said", or I'll usually give it some sort of adverb (said softly, said defensively, said sadly) or I'll attach some action to it (said as he left the room, said with a smile, she looked away and said). I just don't like repetitive word usage if I can avoid it.
Garth L. Getgen
My advice, Joseph, is to get some words on paper. Write the story, then come back and revise it as much as needed. You can spend a year preparing, especially with real life throwing in its issues, and never get to writing. If you have a question about a rule interaction, make a note of the rule location, and answer your question asap, so you can get on with the business of writing. As a general rule of thumb, a thousand words will get you one page of Captain's Log fiction. Outlines are good. They help you get started and keep you on track. And don't be afraid to add scenes to the outline as you go. That has invariably happened to me as I write. I'll come across a hook in the SFU timeline, start fleshing out an outline for it, and then while researching or writing for it, find another interesting point to include. Prep is good, and helps the words flow smoother, but in the end, you have to buckle down and write!
And one final bit of advice. Stay in the General War settings with the major protagonists, and your story will be more likely to be used. That's my humble opinion anyway.
But most of all, write!
Quote:And one final bit of advice. Stay in the General War settings with the major protagonists, and your story will be more likely to be used. That's my humble opinion anyway.
I should note that as recently as Captain's Log #54, the "cover fiction" was set during the Andromedan War...
In any event, while General War-era stories featuring one or more of the "TV empires" would be considered to tick the most boxes marketing-wise, I might hope that there yet remain venues for stories set in other places and/or in other eras, even if they don't necessarily get to grace the cover of a future issue of Captain's Log.
A humor book I had as a kid had a page of "Tom Swifties," based on the legend that the house style of the Tom Swift adventure books was to use ANY word other than "said," or at least modify "said," and the word would inadvertently comment on the speech. Something like: "Write each sale in this column." Tom instructed. "And total them up at the end of the day," he added. No, I can't do it advertently. The only given example I remember was the outrageous "I dropped the toothpaste," Tom said, crestfallen. Overall, they weren't as funny as the Spoonerisms.
I'm guessing any character has a base way to say, or walk, or anything, that mostly does not reveal anything new about the character, or situation, or such. Report of the action just sort of fades into the background, so any new description draws our attention to something different, like a change in the situation, or character, or just our perception of them.
Oh, hey! Here's a Swifty!
"A scatterpack has released three drones." Tom announced.
"Coming in range of gatlings--the first one down, now the second." he reported rapid-fire.
"Only damage to the third," Tom noted, heavily, "I'll try for a kinetic kill." he added.
Quote:"I'll try for a kinetic kill." he added.
Rated the best inside joke in this issue.
Actually, the whole three lines of the ending example made me laugh.
"That was very well done," I chortled admiringly.
General War is more likely to be used. Andro War is workable. Middle Years less so. I have a Middle Years story here that (might be) usable but I know my sales base would rather have GW or at least AW.
Feds, Klingons, Romulans are best most sellable but we have made stories with other empires work.
FWIW, Gary, I do agree with you, on hopefully there will remain other venues for less mainstream SFB fiction. That was just my opinion, especially for 1st-time authors.
"Brrrrttt," Tom deadpanned.