Gurps Space

I was talking to my brother - the one I play Skyrim with and watch movies - about my story, NO REST, an NA scifi. He's pretty smart in the science department, and since I'm not he had a lot of great suggestions. In fact, he got so excited by my idea that he went and bought this, just so I could borrow it:

 And let me tell you, I started reading this, and I got pretty excited by my story, too! I could not believe how much information was packed into this slim volume (under 200 pages). Whether you're writing or gaming this book has everything you need to plan an adventure or write your scifi tale. For example, one of the things I found was a whole section on the type of society I had in my book. I didn't have a name for it but Gurps did. It's called the Corporate State, more specifically, a Cartel. In a cartel, "member corporations maintain private fleets, fight among each other militarily and economically, and spy on one another to obtain commercial secrets."*

Then there's a chapter on gadgets, like communications, contragav gear, and tools. There was even a bit on sensor and vision equipment, which I was just asking my CP for help with. Other chapters include Space Combat, Starships, and Civilizations.

Bottom line, this is a very cool reference manual and I'm not sure I want to give it back to my brother. If you write or play scifi, are you familiar with Gurps?

*Gurps Space 3rd ed. p. 14

critical factors

I was reading my Writer's Digest Magazine last night, and once again came across a superb article about why some novels become successful and others don't. Culprit number one, according to Donald Maass, is timid voices. "A snappy premise and meaty plot can hook us and keep us reading but cannot by themselves work that magic. It takes something extra: voice." Further, "voice in a novel is not the author's thoughts or vocabulary but the sum total of what her characters observe, think, feel and express in their own unique ways."

The fix is easy. Write your characters with strong voices. Let them speak in their own words and tell the story.

(Which is exactly what I've been doing with my latest wip! I know, great minds think alike, right? Me and Don? We are so on the same page when it comes to characters. It's scary.)

Anyway. Moving on. Culprit number two, according to Maass, is untested characters. If they don't do anything then what was the point? How compelling is it to read about a character who doesn't react? The best characters act bravely even though they're scared, jump to defend their principles and rise to face their deepest fears. They come out the other side, changed different, and so do we for reading about them.

But the last and best is culprit number three (Overly Interior or Exterior stories), which really hit home: "Certain story patterns are pretty much guaranteed to lead to fiction of underwhelming force," especially novels heavy with "delay, suffering, and being stuck." Fiction of underwhelming force is, of course, the last thing we want. The way to rectify this, Maass says, is to give interior stories "more dramatic outward events; by the same token, dramatic outward events need to create a more devastating interior impact."

Yeah. I had to underline that last part. Brilliant, right? Especially the devastating part.

And if that doesn't get you all fired up to write something then I'll give you a last gem I found, a question to ponder. Ask yourself, what's the biggest thing your protagonist could possibly do, but can't? By the end of the story, have her do it.

Hmm. I think I might.

Eureka!

This month from Writer's Digest Magazine:

"You must think up those plot events that will affect your character enough for them to react with genuine change." According to W. Somerset Maugham, that's the secret to writing. And while I happen to believe there are many secrets to writing, this one illustrates why I love some books. It's because the character changes in some way, usually for the better. I guess I like to think (hope) that we're all trying to evolve and so I root for those characters who are trying.

The other gem I found was this: "Always keep firmly in mind that people read any novel, no matter the genre, to find out what is going to happen to a fascinating set of characters. And no, throwing something like magic into an otherwise dull-as-dirt character won't make her fascinating. She needs to be a fascinating person on her own."

To make your character fascinating enough Writer's Digest suggests starting with a set of questions, some of which I've listed below. I do something similar, but more involved, beginning with a complete character sketch that covers my character's entire personal history. One of my favorite books on this particular aspect of writing is THE WEEKEND NOVELIST by Robert J. Ray. He makes sketching your character fun. Plus he outlines how to write a novel in a year while only writing on weekends.

After that, I use K.M. Weiland's CRAFTING UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTERS, which is free to download. That gets to the meat of your character, asking questions like how ordinary she is, what she collects, and what was the worst thing she ever did. I love this tool and K.M is awesome for offering it for free.   

Anyway. Here a few you might want to answer while writing your character's biography:

Birth Circumstances (that just brings forth all sorts of delicious ideas, doesn't it?)
Romance (secret crush? long time lover?)
Family/Friends (does she have any or is she a loner?)
Recurring dreams (I like this one because it's a good way to illustrate character AND let the reader know if the character is a little stressed without telling) Oh! Oh! I thought of one! It'll be about her family finding her or her finding them, a reunion of sorts - except of course she'll have no idea what they should look like or whether they want her back.

Care to share the answer to the above question for one of your characters?

Here are mine for Kai, the star of my new toy, which is still in development stages (and may never make it out - we'll see...).
1. she was bought in a market by Master Po, parentage unknown
2. none yet but she will...
3. No family, but she does have one friend, Jane
4. I haven't yet thought of a recurring dream but now that I've reminded myself I think I will :)

Your turn.

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Have a fabulous weekend :)