For the Galaxy: Update #1

It’s been 8 days since “FOR THE GALAXY – STALL TACTICS” post. For anyone paying attention, here’s the latest.

Fortunately, the stalling I expressed in that post was temporary. I installed Microsoft One Note, and have made good use of it so far. I have 3 tabs: Characters, Objects and Outline.

“Characters” has some of the major characters that I know I need, but I’m sure I’ll add a lot more as I go. Naming characters is a real pain. I have 3 human names that I’m considering temporary. I’ve settled on the names of 3 bad guys (aliens) and 1 good guy (also an alien).

“Objects” covers things like planet names, ship names, etc. One of the planet names is a good name, but I’m misusing it. I need to save that name for something grander. I’m using it as a placeholder for this lesser planet until I come up with a name for the lesser planet. The objects tab also has the name of two space ships, both of which I’m perfectly content with.

“Outline” isn’t nearly as thorough as it should be. I usually just start writing, but that hasn’t worked out, so I’m trying to be more structured. I really should document the entire story in advance in the outline tab, but I’m not. I outlined 3 major sections originally conceived as “Prologue i, Prologue ii and Chapter 1. The point of Prologue i and Prologue ii were to kick off the major story line from two perspectives. Now that I’m actually writing it, though, they’re going to cover quite a bit. It feels like they should just be chapters, which means I’ll have chapter 1 through 3. If I need a prologue, it’s not yet obvious what it will be.

So, I haven’t outlined the whole story, but I know how it begins. It’s not the right way to do it, but it’s better than what I used to do. I’ll get through chapter’s 1 through 3, then return to the outline process to work out the details of the rest of it.

As for the actual writing, I have completed the first section of chapter 1. I may end up editing it a thousand times or rewriting it a thousand times, but it’s “done” for this stage of the game.

I’m trying to write it as comes naturally to me. The first section introduces two major characters and a space ship (which won’t be around long). When I think about some of the books I’ve read, it seems that I should be describing the ship and the characters in great detail. That might be something I have to go back and fill in later, but trying to do it now would distract me from the story. It may lead to frustration which would lead to a delay, or halt, of progress. So, I’m focusing my energy on writing the parts that I want to write, not the parts that I should write. I’m working on the jokes, the story, and the personality of the characters. As for their appearance: You can imagine them any way you like.