Author Archives: falsebill

Music & Writing – A reply

Well hailing frequencies are open again,

Well Admiral Jespah in her bunny suit, it’s apparently it’s in the new admirals uniform code, has issue new orders and wants answer to these questions, The orders can be reviewed here: –

http://boldlyreading.com/2013/08/19/blog-prompt-7-music-and-writing/

So without further a do here we go, be warned thou you not in danger of entering the chaotic space region of my music taste, so set your deflectors and shields to full intensity. However thanks to the admiral I’m going to add some pretty pictures to this blog to try and liven it up, fingers crossed then.

startrekintodarkness_hd_36

There is no need for that face yet Carol!

Q1 Does music inspire you in your writing?

A1. Yes, I regularly have music on when I write, or when I’ve got writers block, I find it helps when I’m seeking for the clue to seek the way forward or the feel the heart of the moment of the current scene. Indeed I’ve music on now and *laughs* at self currently up on Itunes DJ is “The way I feel” by Mary Chapin Carpenter. This can be found for listening to on you-tube here: –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzn6ATwp3m8

Q2 Do any characters have a song that just clicks for you?

Q2. So far the only character that has a song that does clicks for me is Lily Fitzroy. When I want to write her personnel down period during her punishment time teaching at the academy after the Centauran prime minister incident, I make a point of listening to Doug Supernaw singing ‘Carousel’ which can be heard on you-tube here: –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtYJ6KUEtQ0

Shall we leave the comments about a British person, who listens to county music to one side for the moment? I don’t quite know why this songs connect, other that the sad feeling that something of past glories is missing and it seems to match the tone of those stories.

Actually know that I think of it Captain Douglas Gorrim Bug hunt in the WFW had the unofficial theme of Dougie MacLean Marching Mystery for the early part, which can be heard on you-tube here: –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTn4GOTl7tA

(Apologizes this was the best clip I could find and the first 30 seconds or so on this youtube clip is a news article on the Lewis chessman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_chessmen) that inspired the song). Again I can’t quite draw the direct link but that my eccentrics mind for you.

Q3 Do any character relationships have songs (e. g. they’re playing our song)?

A3. Not yet, but somehow I feel when I get to review and write the key relationship in more depth, they will gain a song. Actually I’ve the feeling that Emmylou and Scott song will be Perfect 10 by the Beautiful South, which can be heard on youtube here: –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rofbZaSsaTU

Though I know somehow that Scott did a very bad karaoke version of Dr. Hook & the medicine Men ‘When she cries” to Emmylou, yes it is also findable at you-tube here, well the proper version at any rate: –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsMW8Uss_a8

charliex054

Though as you can see I’ve got a top team work on a item relationship song.

Q4 Do lyrics inspire you?

A4. Yes, the Titan story in WFW #017, I was inspired by the lyrics from Queen the invisible me, you can find the story here: – http://forums.adastrafanfic.com/index.php?/topic/895-weekly-free-write-17-music-for-the-moment

For those who read that one, here’s Vic, showing even on DS9 songs matter!

baddabing_019

Q5 Do rhythm, beats and instruments inspire? Is one genre preferred to another?

A5. O yes, all music inspires me, if you’ve not guess already from the ecliptically music choices covers so far, it doesn’t need words it just needs to speak to me, so no one genre is my preferred dominant one, you should see the fit my itunes has trying to organize my music taste into categories for genius mixes, and I write to them all.

Q6 Do any of your characters sing or play instruments?

Um I don’t honestly know, I’ve not written any of them doing either, my laws of averages one of them must, but I guess sucking at both myself, it not something I ever thoughts about my characters doings, perhaps I should start a ships band on the Argonaut and see which characters turn up? That is one for me to think about.

Q7 Do any of your stories or characters have play lists?

Q7.  Not yet bar the songs mention above, however I get the feeling a play list will develop for them in time.

Bonus questions!

Q8 Have you ever used music to set a scene or a mood?

Strangely no, which does surprise me, perhaps as side effect of my eclectic music taste, I’ve kind of assume no-one would recognize the songs, I guess in the current multi-media age that going to changes, as you only every a you-tube link away from most songs.

Q9 Do you feel it was successful?

Q9. Not applicable yet.

Since I’ve got no answer here a picture of Picard trying to play his alien pipe.

theinnerlight175

Q10 Have you read others’ musical connections to fan fiction?

Q10. Yes I’ve read the music links that turn up on Ad Astra Forums for the Multiverse II round robin.

Q11 Did the music help in your enjoyment of the piece(s), or did it detract?

Q11. Usually yes but occasional no. When the music fits the piece then I believe it greatly add to the story, but when it doesn’t fit my mood mind-set for the piece it can be a little jarring, which can sadly distract but then I suppose that true of professionally written and musically scored TV episodes as well.

Well that’s all for now.

Thanks for reading, or at least enjoying the pretty pictures.
I hope you enjoy the ride; you may lower your shields and deflectors now.

Till next time.

3-4-All Blog Prompt #6 (Evil Characters)

Well it was Admiral Jespah who set the Ad Astra Blog question this time, clearly Miranda Fave is still in the B’Moth Sector looking for me after the last blog reply and it such a hum dinger that I’ve had to think for most of the week on my answers to her questions. You can view the original questions here: –

http://boldlyreading.com/2013/08/06/blog-prompt-6-writing-complex-evil-characters/

 

Well after the wait I hope that

a) that this blog is something someone wants to reads and

b) someone will like it on some level

c) don’t feel that I’ve reveal myself to be evil, well I do speak with a British accent which is a usually indication in Hollywood movies of a villain.

For once one out of three won’t cut it on this blog. So without further ado, as Admiral Jespah is of course reveal to be a Excalbian continuing their experiments to understand the human philosophies of “good” and “evil” as last seen in “The Savage Curtain,” [TOS].

I’ll try to answer the questions and not end up in a pool of lava.

 

Q1. How do you write evil characters that are not mere caricatures?

A1. In all honestly, to avoid creating mere caricatures is a task with great difficulty for me but I find that also apply to my good characters as well.

I think the key thing in writing character is to ensure that I try to bear in mind the following two quotes,

The first by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,

“If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility”.

The second by Aleksandra Solzhenitsyn,

“…the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”

In other words, just as my heroes and heroines need to have vices to break their all star good guy caricature so my villains and villainess need their virtues and reasons why they believe their actions are good, even if they’re perhaps a little warped.

To be honest this is still a work in progress with my writing but perhaps the other piece of good advice I’ve found for this one is from Decipher old Star Trek Role-play game narrator’s guide, “…focus on the character’s motivation. Why is the NPC doing what he does?”

After all Sela reasons for opposing the federation are different from Gul Dukat opposition to it, and the way they go about achieving there goal are thus different.

Q2. Do you find ways to garner sympathy, even for the wicked (or the devil, perhaps?)?

A2. I do try to ensure my regular villains garner sympathy and this is part of the reason that I put a dead Chilo in a MU Agony Booth for my Titan WFW bit story. Because from the round robins the Chilo are a great villain to write but I don’t think till Trekfan put one in a Hank disguise and expanded on their reason for hating everybody did they become a more than two dimensions monsters and became the great villains they are.  On the wider sympathy topic, I do want to try and to do little scenes with my antagonists to try and show their reasons for been in opposition to my ‘heroes’. I admit that my two stories in the archive aren’t the best example of this, but something else for me to work on for future stories, me thinks.

Q3. Do you surprise your readers by turning a character from good to evil, or evil to good?

A3. Not yet, as for the future, I’m going to keep you guessing. Insert evil laugh here.

Q4. How grey is the shading?

A4. Going back to the Solzhenitsyn quote, I do try to put a lot of grey in my shading for both my heroes and villains. By the same note, for me one of Trek greatest strengths is while they’re great shades of grey (not that novel) in Trek, especially DS9, the extremes of the rainbow are bolder at either end and thus the shades in between are bolder in their relief. To try and clarify that, since Kirk or Picard are such the undoubted good guys to their enemies like Kor or Borg Queen villains that when we get the Romulans or the Ferengi and the Cardassians with characters like Sela, Quark and Garak who to call them good or evil outright fails to do them or the actors playing them justice when cast in the light or darkness of the extremes of the Trek-verse.

 

Bonus questions!

Q5. Which evil characters have you enjoyed writing the most?

A5. The last one, whoever it might of being, there is a strange joy in writing characters who can broadly be classified as evil, as they can say and do things you would never do. It a good relief after a day of toying the line at work in putting a villain in a similar situation in space and let them doing ‘evil’.

Q6. Which evil character, created by another author, have you enjoyed reading the most?

A6. The Chilo. SLWalker had a genius idea and all the writers of Ad Astra over the two multiverse round robins have taken them from unbelievable monsters to a great villain with strange powers, ideas and strategies to achieve their objectives.

Q7. Which canon evil character do you enjoy watching or reading the most?

A7. Q, if he still counts as an evil character and not a strange and scary teacher in your mind. For he is to me the old saying ultimate powers corrupts ultimately personified. He has seemingly ultimate power and is yet so self serving and self justifying in his actions but his chasing Kathryn Janeway and mating with Lady Q, have put him in a different context, so I’m not 100% convinced calling him an evil cannon character is still fair now as it was during the TNG Era. Perhaps that just a sign, that the show writers making the comic trickster more sympatric as they found such joy to have him on the screen and in text of books.

 

Well those are my answer to this prompt, please comment, but apologises if I don’t seem to answer, for some strange reasons, I can’t see my Blog comments other than in the disquis summary, Must be doing something wrong but that just me, a real D’oh with technology.

 

Now if you wonder what started this topic, might I refer you to Jespah excellent story ‘Paving stones from good intentions’ which can be read here: –

http://www.adastrafanfic.com/viewstory.php?sid=1223&chapter=1

 

And the forum comments on that story, which I believe were the driver for this blog prompt.

http://forums.adastrafanfic.com/index.php?/topic/2069-boldly-reading-book-club-1-discussion-thread/

 

Well that me done for now, I hope you enjoy this or at least found something to philosophise over later in your own blog or stories.

Thou one question for you other Trek Bloggers, is that everybody else seems to be able to source great Trek pictures to liven their blog’s up, what is the secret source of these pictures?

Well bye for now. Thanks as always for reading.

3-4-All Blog – The Hard Self Sell

Well the next challenge ‘Prompt #5’ is in from Miranda Fave and it is “I think this next prompt is a little harder to do. I want you to sell yourself. Sell your story. Sell your character.

Just write about a story/series/character of yours you want to shine a light on.” =/\=

A ‘little harder’ blog challenge you say Admiral? Try a lot harder, tis a hard sell that the Admiral MF seeks. So sell my story or myself, which seems harsh, well here goes.

 

So I need to convince myself so that I can convince you my two stories in the archive, are some of the best work in the Ad Astra archive. that they are well worth your time and effort to go and see.  Umm argh, give me a moment, while I try to think of something…

Hang on, in the mean time while you wait for a compelling reason, some holding music for you: –

I am a lineman for the county


And I drive the main road


Searchin’ in the sun for another overload

I hear you singin’ in the wire

I can hear you through the whine


And the Wichita Lineman is still on the line

Right got it, It Read One Read the Other For Free, yes they’re both nice and short, I mean you’ve got Lily Fitzroy screwing up a first contact in a different way for 3511 words and then why there is an AOS Nausicaan in Starfleet back story for a mere 1381.

They can be viewed here: –

Um… O I know they’re both single story with no other link stories calling for you to spend the rest of the day reading if you like them. Well not yet anywhere, oh yes that another reason, if there is every a future part two you can say you were here at the start!

 

O, Oh, I know, I know it’s a rare attempt to see something written by me without any major grammatical errors in it, thank to Little Black Dog.

Pretty please with all the works on top. Okay now the attempt at guilt for a sale Kallachit doesn’t even have five reviews. He feeling unloved; go on for a quick read and a mere five words review you could make his day and mine. Go on make it your good deed for the day.

 

If you a real sucker for punishment further works by me, and some other actually good authors can be found on the Ad Astra Weekly Free Writes at: –

http://forums.adastrafanfic.com/index.php?/forum/17-the-weekly-prompts/

No sale? Okay I fully understand. O well Miranda Fave still wants a sale, hang on I should be able to sell bits of myself to that Vidiian physician for…

 

…Wait what do you mean the Phage has been cured by the Think Tank?

Okay how much for a one-way ticket to the B’Moth Sector, before Admiral MF gets back?

 

Anyway Thanks for Reading.

Settings (3-4-All Blog Prompt #4)

Free-for-All Blog Prompt #4 (should you choose to accept it) asked by Miranda Fave

“For your fourth blog prompt I am going to ask you to consider the setting.

So tell me,

Q1. How do you choose your settings – be it planet, ship, ship class, heck Trek era even?

Q2. How does the setting shape your story?

Q3. What world building lengths do you seek as a writer / as a reader?

Q4. Do you like descriptions and to paint the scene or do you leave it to the imagination of the reader?”

+++++

=/\=

Well I do choose to accept the challenge, so here’s at it!

Q1. How do you choose your settings?

How I chose my setting with difficulties, I all think picking the Trek Era has a lot of bearing on the other choices. For me I currently break trek into the nine following eras: –

1. Phoenix Rising Era (2151 to 2160)

NX-ENT to Coalition of worlds / Romulan War Era

2. Early Federation (2161 to 2252)

Foundation of the federation to the Federation / Axanar War

3. Cold war Era (2253 to 2293)

After the Axanar War to Khitomer Accords [TOS/TAS/AOS era]

4. The Dark Night (2253 to 2363)

Khitomer Accords aftermath to launch of Enterprise-D [between TOS and TNG]

5.Age of Diplomacy (2363 to 2370)

Enterprise D Launch to the destruction of the Odyssey by the Jem’Hadar [TNG/DS9]

6. Age of War (2370 via 2387)

From the destruction of the USS Odyssey by the Jem’Hadar up to the Hobus Supernova. [DS9/VOY/NEMESIS]

7. Typhon Pack/Age of Restoration (2387 to 2397)

From the Hobus Supernova till the start of the Third Klingon/Federation war.

8. STO ERA (2397-2409+)

From the start of the Third Federation/Klingon war into present Star Trek Online Era.

=/\=

So if I want to do a full out war story, I’m likely to stick in the Age of War or STO Era’s. If the story depends on the story as a fast or swashbuckling attitude to solve then story I’m likely to go to Early Fed or TOS era, while if I want to touch on a morale dilemma I go to the none war eras. Of course those rules aren’t hard and fast, for me the scene is depend upon the characters I want to write at the time.

 

As Captain’s Fitzroy, Pike, Ha’rris or Kirk I would expect to see in frontier settings opposite to Galayski, Trieres I see in more developed settings, While Gorrim and Riker would be into the unknown.

 

As for picking ships that is the hardest thing for me, but the Era does tend to drive that

As era one would be NX Cruiser while era nine I’ve got a pick of over seventeen federation ships. I go for a ship that a) fits the era and b) suits the Captain style. I.e. Emmylou commands Excelsior to reflect her tactical verity while her husband Scott commands a defiant class as he a fighter.

 

Q2. How does the setting shape your story?

The setting shapes and influences the type of story to a large extend, by determine what resources the commander has to call on. In a frontier town been raid by the Nausciaans the heroes can’t used technobabble to save the day as there not going to be any fancy equipment to spring on the pirates.

 

While if you on a starship or starbase, you going to have highly training individuals with access to top grade equipment and so you might be able to stop the raiders with some new equipment.

 

Q3. What world building lengths do you seek as a writer / as a reader?

I’m not sure if I fully understand this question. I build my world in metric or imperial lengths depending upon which I think suit the story audience. 😉

If you mean do I create the world first and plan every building and it contents before I start my stories then no I prefer to have a vague impression and build on it as the story progresses.

 

Q4. Do you like descriptions and to paint the scene or do you leave it to the imagination of the reader?

Well for me less is more. In descriptions I’m full paid up members that you should show not tell with stories but scenario is my exception, I think you should keep it simple, as people imagination can create more vivid scenes and less likely to break reader emersion. So unless there is a reason to describe the room in story then I prefer to keep to the minimum.

Take these two examples (written DEITDJW): –

 

Alpha.

Captain Lily Fitzroy kicked in the wooden cabin door her phase laser pistol drawn.

She quickly scanned the room; it was like something out of history. The walls were wood with no insulation, an old fashion stove in the corner and a family wooden table set for a meal with four chairs around it, as she entered the room to search for the missing colonists. She spotted a rag doll, and other stuff toys on the floor, she step carefully to avoid them as she went to the other door which lead to the corridor into the bedrooms.

 

Beta.

Captain Lily Fitzroy Kicked in the old wood door to the wooden cabin she had found in the woods away from the main colony. The sight that greeted her was a room about six by four feet. There was a large Plexiglas window on the west wall. The window allowed plenty of sunlight to light up the room. Now Lily could see the room was like something out of the history books. The walls were made up of a wooden tree trunk stacked vertically with no modern insulation between them. The centre of the room had an average height table, made of wood that looked like it was a normal flat back construction style. There were four places set out, each had a stainless steel knife and folk and spoon next to a plate, there was half-eaten cold food on each plate. As Lily enter further into the room with the pistol drawn to continue her search for the missing colonists, She notice that was a old charred black metal heater sat in the back right corner of the room, the dying ambers inside providing the rooms only heat and some extra light via the grill face. She saw that a worn rag doll lay on the floor under one of the chairs, it appear to wear a simple approximation of an old Starfleet uniform. She notice in the centre of the room there were more stuff toys, one was a faded green dinosaur which looked like it need re-stuffing, and a Orange Cat with a mass smile on it face, the eyes were two black beads that seem to catch the light and mock Lily, the Colonists had disappeared like the Cheshire Cat of Lewis tales. Lily had to step carefully to reach the light screen door that separates the room from the corridor to the two bedrooms.

 

So Alpha is 98 words while beta is 311 words but to me the image painted is very similar so which is the better one?

It all personal choice, but if it an action scene with Lily in hot pursuit then I say Alpha would be my choice, while If Lily is searching an abandon Colony for missing people unaware of any remaining danger beta might be better choice.

 

Well that MF Challenge four answer and in only one thousand and two hundred forty-two words.

Anyway thanks for reading, hope you like it.

Till next time.

Regards,

MeanderFave Homework on Characters

Well Miranda Fave set the Homework for the Ad Astras writers of: –

“What approaches do you take to writing and conceiving your characters? Do you have their milestones and the path that made them mapped out already? Do you perhaps also have their future map laid out? How do you go about realizing and bringing from conception to written reality your characters?”

See his original Blog at: – http://mirandafave.adastrafanfic.net/2013/07/31/character-delving/

=/\=

MeanderFaveHW

Does Random count as an answer? Then again why that might be true for me it not the whole truth. Perhaps chaotic would be a better word.

To explain that strange sentence further let look at my major character, I know you’ve only seen them mostly from my weekly Free writes on the forum, () as I don’t like putting story in the archive till their finished. While I’m happy to create and put Don’t Edit it to Death just write DEITDJW scene ideas straight from my brain here for comment.

So in time honored fashion ladies first,

  • Emmylou Galyaski

Emmylou start off as an idea to create a character with a story stretch from the end of the dominion war to the start of Star Trek Online Verse (now if only I had time to join and play STO),

Though I didn’t just want to create a Mary Sue character just re-visiting the events of destiny and STO history, so I decide she need to have a husband but I felt they need to stay separate, hence I made him another Starfleet Captain Scott Trieres, so they be force to communicate via video letters, but I want to ask the other questions of family life for a captain(s) in Starfleet and hence why the unexpected ‘joyful’ accident and introduction of their daughter Sophia.

During a medium flight I only had pen and paper, having forgotten anything else, so I try to write Emmylou story but I could remember any of the other characters name, so I move it forward to the end of her career when she is a vice/rear admiral (I did keeping mixing them when I wrote Emmylou on that flight). So I created her Admiral PA the delightful Ensign Jalke’I Palver and put them on a runabout heading to research station to investigate while the report quality was dropping off at that station.

Upon my return the Ad Astra Forums Weekly Free Writes,

I found 097 Sweetness was the current topic and as I just been writing Admiral Emmylou, I wrote the sweetness story, this is where she acquire a taste for sweet white wine when off-duty that I will retro add back to the USS Trireme time frame.
So that is how Emmylou came to be and the rest of her is been discovered as I write WFW, thou her MU counterpart, I’ve discovered by just placing her in the same verse and seeing where the inherit unfairness and greed of that universe took her. Turn out the Mozart facility.

  • Lily Fitzroy

Lily was an accidental creation as the Commodore who punched the Centuran Ambassador not mentioned in Emmylou and Jalke’I first meeting, when Emmylou used the Vulcan hand sign to greet Jalke’I rather than offer to shake her hand, in WFW 091 First berth.

So I need a Commodore, who was hot tempter enough to punch a Prime minister during first contact and yet her rank meant she need to be not some hothead.
Then watching a terrestrial repeat of AOS ST Move, I realize that the Kelvin era, had potential. The Kelvin class seen dark and very crowd going on crew numbers listed by Pike, something that would put pressure on the ship crew. It would also allow for me to place Centuarian characters in my TOS/AOS series later, so it seemed a perfect fit. Then for reasons know only to my subconscious mind it cast British actress Louise Jamieson (70’s Doctor Who Leela) in this role.

So I wrote the Prime minister incident and after some help from LBD and Cadetcowgirl1701 on Beta boards, I post the three-part story about Lily meeting with the Centaurans into the Archive. Strangely I then feel the need to continue her story now and again in the WFW. First in WFW 02 when Admiral Ineiri & Torquil stood up to the UFP President about her actions and the right level of punishment for that incident. It was during WFW Where I learnt her first posting was to the Daedalus class USS Tabard and she was on helm at the infamous battle of Ulirku.

Lily is still revealing herself to me but the more I write her the more I suspect she broken somehow in her childhood past and while her first best destiny might be starship captain, I’m starting to feel she someone who need to be busy running a starship to avoid the pain of the past, but what that is, I’m yet to discover the incident.

  • Ineiri

The Aenar Admiral was created as someone to have a reason to defend Lily from the annoyed UFP President, but she need a reason to care about Lily, then it hit me to get to that post, she had to have serve with Lily previously, then I had a rare brain wave. She was Lily first No.1 when she first took command of the Argonaut, since then Ineiri had proved herself as a captain on her own and became recently become an admiral, but she wouldn’t of done this if Lily had look past the blindness and give her a chance to shiny as an X/O when most other Captains look over her for the racial blindness of the Aenar.
I did write a story for Ineiri in WFW 016 to try and give her more back-story about why she loyal to Lily if she now out ranks her. Not a success of a story and won’t go to the archive without a major re-think and re-write.

Now to the Gentlemen,

  • Ha’rris and Kallachit of Nausicaan

Kallachit is the perfect example of my chaotic approach to character creation, I knew I want to write an AOS series and to use the bigger budget of my imagination to have more aliens in the crew mix, I suddenly envisage the need for an alien captain who was tough and then the Idea of using a Xindi-reptilian seem a nice fit, I could picture him on his bridge in the gold shirt, but while doing that I also pictured Schick the Xindi-insectoid in a mini-skirt at science and a Nausicaan at the front desk. So I need to know these two unexpected characters, Kallachit I knew had to be a renegade from Nausicaan society and need a reason to be in Starfleet, and his story became my first post to the Archive.

And back to the Ladies

  • Schick & Jolene Lallason

The Xindi-Insectoid in a mini-skirt remain a mystery on Ha’rris bridge as there are an Aphrodite specie according to memory alpha till WFW 099 when Schick a Xindi-insectoid with gender alignment issue and Jolene Lallason turn up for a very IDIC relationship, both characters stuck mainly as writing Schick in click is a fun challenge and have both characters have been added to my provisional but growing crew list for the forthcoming AOS Excalibur series.

And finally but not least

  • Douglas Gorrim

The Captain of the NX-04 Ariane, was never intend as a major character, he was just going to be another NX captain to turn up to meet with Archer, when I got round to writing more of that series, but seeing Jespah and other better Enterprise stories I kind of shy away from those stories, so when I had the idea of using WFW 09 ‘Backpfeifengesicht’ as a code word to attack a temporally enemy, I knew it required a Enterprise Era Captain that wasn’t Archer or Hernandez, so I gave Douglas the role, and he grabbed it with two hands and went on a eight WFW arc to defeat the alien ‘Chilo’ attempt to wipe out the federation by destroying the preserver race from ancient history. Douglas just came into been and leaped off the page with no planning and it via those WFW I’ meet the character and got to learn him.

Finally,

Well that an insight into my inner mind working, I’m not sure I can say I’ve got a fixed way to create a character, I have at time feel like I discover them rather than created them. Some are popular and some aren’t but like all writers I’m determine to treat them all the same and find the story that fit each of them and shows their good with their bad sides, to be full 3D characters.

So yes my answer teacher remains Chaotic.

Thanks for readings, sorry about the lack of pretty pictures, bar the one from Miranda Fave.

The Start

Well Hello Blog-a-sphere,

FalseBill has arrived, So many thanks to MDG for set up the blog so fast.

So the final piece of the jigsaw for Ad Astra – I can blog like a redshirt. Sorry no pretty picture, this time I will work on that one.

Well I think I’ve got disquis install now to answer those questions from the Ad Astra Forums. So to hit the road running here are the first three of Miranda Fave. Blog questions answered.

 

1 – What do I like to read?

I think I’ve read a lot of various things over the years including a lot of Star-Trek and other Sci-fi and Fantasy books.

The only Star trek books that I’ve failed to get to get into was the Enterprise books just after the series ended, the whole Trip didn’t really die arc thing just didn’t work for me. It was a poor call for the series end but once it was made they to accept it and move on and not try to re-con it out of existence.

Outside of Trek being British both Hitchhiker guide to the universe, Doctor Who and Red Dwarf are TV shows who books, I’ve read over the years. However I don’t rely on TV for ideas, I’ve gone through most of the late Ian M. Banks Culture Novels, as well as Ian Fleming’s James Bond books. Terry Pratchett Discworld series (now there be a crossover for Trek “Fascinating Captain Sensors report there appears to be a planet on the Back of a Giant turtle approaching us off the starboard bow,”

Plus things like HP Lovecraft works and the usually suspect of comics from Batman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman, and Judge Dredd even the G.U.R.P.’s sourcebooks, great ideas shame about the system.

2 – Reviews

2.1Q what do you like to see in a review of your work?

2.1A A review, even if it’s only five words long, the fact someone took the time after reading to comment, is always nice. Of course constructive criticism is a bonus.

2.2Q what do you comment upon yourself in a review?

2.2A I try to keep it simple, and focus on the two main things I look for in a story, was it easy to read and did I enjoy reading it? I occasional offer minor suggestion or queries on anything that broken me out of the story.

 

2.3Q has a received view changed your opinion on a story you wrote or were writing?

2.3A – Yes, constructive criticism can and has spark new ideas or a new character viewpoint. So good constructive criticism is always welcome.

 

2.4Q and finally, has a review sold or warned you off another author’s story?

2.4A Occasionally but I think it might of a couple of time that it might of being a mistake, In the end stories I do feel stories are a personnel thing and so reviews can only every be someone personnel view.

 

3 – pursuit of IDIC in our fanfics.

3.1Q So, of those who are doing it, what other shows/media (or even star trek eras) are people pulling into their fanfics as crossovers?

3.1A At the moment not applicable, but that might change or it might not, I’m still trying to full establish my Trek series before I think of any crossovers.

 

3.2Q What crossovers do some people wish we could see, or want to try and write themselves.

3.2A more TNG/DS9/VOY main characters to show it is the same universe, or Q with anything 😉 but when it comes to crossovers I do feel less is more, and I know cannon character aren’t my strongest suit. So I’m happy for others to write them but I think I’ll steer clear of any direct crossovers. I use to say Star Trek/ Doctor Who / Blake’s 7 crossovers but recent IDW comics have cooled me on that idea. Thou that Discworld idea has suddenly take hold, I’m getting a wick urge to write something.

 

3.3Q How do you feel about crossovers in star trek in general?

3.3A if it internal Trek series crossovers and the reason behind it solid enough, when it just an attempt to put all your favorite characters in one place, it seems to distract from the works in most cases for me.

Well that enough from me for now. I do hope there was something that made your visit to this blog worth your while.

Till next time