Hey guys. I am getting ready to attempt my first fan-fiction, this will be a long project for me, as a keen writer I want this to be a REAL test of my writing abilities, and so I am hoping to come up with a novel-length piece for you. I am playing with ideas now, but what I would like to hear from you all is what exactly you would like to read about? Now while I am hoping to come up with a story, that can stand alongside canonical material, you don't need to restrict your ideas. Give me characters, places, time periods etc, basically anything you want in a trek book, and I will do my best to include your requests. Thanks a lot guys
Infern0 - First, I commend your desire to write a full-length novel. That will require a great deal of discipline and time. As to suggestions, I would simply suggest that you write what interests YOU. If you are not passionate about the characters, plot, setting, etc., you will find it difficult to write a long story, much less a novel. Personally, I like any era of Star Trek, whether using canon characters or not. When I'm reading, I'm looking for stories with: Interesting characters / well-written dialogue A story-line that flows without being predictable Good imagery but with limited techno-babble Proper grammar / spelling / etc. As an observation there have not been too many stories written from the TOS era, so you might consider that when planning. Good luck!
To add to this - I'd suggest starting small, with a short story. Say, less than 20,000 words or so, give or take. When trying to build a readership, if you're a thoroughly unknown quantity, a lot people are willing to take a chance on a shorter story but a 100,000+ word novel is a big time commitment to ask of people who have never seen your work before.
I'd have to agree with what's already been said, go for a setting you'd like to see, a ship/station that interests you, and characters whose voice you create--that way you'll really get into what makes them tick and really enjoy playing with them. As for length, don't get too hung up on that. There are really two ways to write: [a] have everything structured and planned out so you know what happens in what chapter, etc; or sit down at the keyboard and just write what comes into mind. The former may lend itself to having an idea in mind about the number of words, but that can change as you start having your characters interact and find new dynamics that you hadn't previously intended but which just work. The latter allows you to write as much or as little as you feel is needed--there is something to be said about being sharp and concise with your work, rather than dragging things out just because you want to hit a word count. Lastly, it should always be fun and enjoyable for you to do. Things in life will come up that will take precedence, or you might suffer a block, or get caught up in another story idea, just take it as it comes. PS - Once you start, get your work posted somewhere (for example, right on this very board), that way you can get advice, support and ideas from readers as you work on it--such as several people might say they really like a certain character, or if you have a cliff-hanger they may postulate ideas (some you may never have considered that might work out well for your story).