Announcing: Deep Space Nine Season 10!

[Enterprise1981]

A lot of times I'll have a general idea of conflict, climax, and resolution and the major characters in that individual story, but something is still missing when the writing is slow going. For example, in addition to making Crell Moset a major antagonist, it occured to me to have the Obsidian Order operative turned double agent betray the protagonist, and it all clicked.

 

[Elias Vaughn]

Perhaps to try and stimulate some more discussion, I'll talk about an aspect of writing that really hit me in creating this episode more than it has previously - synchronicity. Maybe the other writers among you can relate?

For example, in episode 5 here, I initially mentioned the Kressari in the first scene in the Infirmary, purely as something that Bashir could have forgotten about, to demonstrate his failing mental faculties. I wanted a race we'd seen before on DS9. There was no greater intention to it than that.

It was only once it was already written that I realised what else I could do with it. How Kressari work with flowers, and flowers have been seen to have poisonous effects before (Garak used them on Romulus, for example), and that could be one of the things somebody could choose as a possible culprit for the dreams.

And then it was only after that, that I realised how the Kressari tied in even further through the already established character of Shing-Kur (from Fearful Symmetry and The Soul Key), who worked on messing with Taran'atar's head using dreams. And I could use that as a reason Cenn would distrust him - he was the one who interrogated Shing-Kur.

All of it just fell into place of its own accord, like the plot was writing itself. I love when that happens - when the stuff just works itself out if as it was meant to happen that way. It makes me feel like I'm really on the right track with things.

Does anyone else have a similar experience from their own writing?

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Some friends and I were cowriting a Power Rangers fanseason (mock me if you must, but I loves me some cheesy sci fi/fantasy action). About halfway through, we had the main villain team up with a bit character and leave the main cast for a while. We fully planned on bringing him back, so one of us had the genius idea of having the hard-traveling duo star in the teasers for each upcoming episode. Like the teasers for Batman: The Brave and the Bold that were for the most part unrelated to the episode's overplot.

Later in the series, maybe four or five episodes later, I wanted to do an episode based around the traveling duo. However, we hadn't planned anything about their adventures other than making them funny, so I needed to find a way to tie them all together into a coherent narrative to feed into my new installment's plot.

The teasers involved things like aliens, mythological creatures, war diplomacy, and space travel. Just the most OUT THERE things we could think of.

Then came my episode.

I reread all the teasers, and completely randomly, there WAS a thread that tied them all together. Aliens, merfolk, space travel; even within the context of Power Rangers, this was all stuff that blurred the line between fiction and reality. So I made the episode's MacGuffin a mystical artifact which also blurred the lines between fiction and reality, and I used it to put a bunch of fanwanky stuff in the background in a way that was more organic than just doing it because it was fanfic and who cares.

And it WORKED.

I love synchronicity.

 

[DS9Continuing]

Here cometh episode 6.

But first, a repost of the links in case someone wants to catch up...

10x01 - Emancipation
10x02 - Brave New World
10x03 - Steppin' Out
10x04 - Easy Come, Easy Go
10x05 - Deep Down

and now...

10x06 - The Dream Box

No, it's not the stage play as written by Andrew J Robinson. I've never read that or seen it. But I decided to use the title because my episode does incorporate what I assume must have happened in that story, along with a few other bits and pieces from here and there. In some cases I specifically referenced other works to craft my story; in others I actually came up with the idea independently but then discovered after the fact that someone else had already done a similar idea. I've made sure to credit where credit is due.

Hope you like it. I'm quite pleased with this one myself.

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[Wally]

Wow, what a bloodbath! Granted the pieces were already known from future novels- but it was really quite shocking to see how it enfolded. After the fall of the Dominion, Cardassia Prime really has been changed from being the equivalent of Nazi Germany, to the embattled Middle East.

I really do like where this series is going. I can also tell there is some pipe being laid with that camera shocking Nog and itching Shar, and this whole Vinculum thing. Can start to see more seeds being planted for the Ascendant arc, and I am amped.

Maybe just a suggestion to call it something other than 'Vinculum' since it's an obscure word that most trekkers will just associate with a piece of Borg technology anyways

 

[DS9Continuing]

Maybe just a suggestion to call it something other than 'Vinculum' since it's an obscure word that most trekkers will just associate with a piece of Borg technology anyways

Not my place - the concept was already introduced and named in Andrew J Robinson's short story "The Calling," published in the DS9: Prophecy and Change collection from 2003.

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[Wally]

Not my place - the concept was already introduced and named in Andrew J Robinson's short story "The Calling," published in the DS9: Prophecy and Change collection from 2003.

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Forgot about that, I stand corrected.

That just shows the level of detail going on here in staying faithful to the show/novels. It's nice seeing the blanks filled in and the characters acting 'in character'. Love showing the fact that also while Garak has become 'warm and fuzzier' over time, now that he is on Cardassia he is more free to act on his darker capabilities as well

 

[DS9Continuing]

I loved writing that aspect of Garak, yes. It was a bit of a roller coaster for him - being part of the family, staying for dinner, playing with the kids at the beginning, political and religious machinations in the middle... and stone cold killer at the end.

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[doobington]

I'm really interested in reading these, I'll download them tomorrow.

 

[Enterprise1981]

I knew that Jartek was up to something the second Garak voiced his suspicions of him. That does seem like a stereotypically Cardassian way of thinking, seeking to create a martyr for the good of the Reunion Project. But someone like Jartek could end up betraying the cause he claims to believe in.

 

[DS9Continuing]

That's kind of the irony behind it - supposedly supporting the cause of Democracy, by using the most undemocratic methods possible.

I like the Pandora's Box element this story takes on. It all starts when they open the "dream box" - the hidden Hebitian city - and all these horrors come flying out of it: disease, riots, murder. They take their toll on the world, but at the end, Garak goes back to the box, and finds the last thing in it: hope, in the form of information about the disease and the confidence to do something about it. Again, that in my original plan, and I only saw that once I'd already written it. It kind of gives a whole new flavour to the "Dream Box" title.

As an aside, Enterprise1981, I see you have a presence on Ad Astra. Do you advise me to set up on there too? Or is it mostly the same people who come here? And how does it work exactly? Thanks in advance.

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[Gul Re'jal]

Ok, I finally found time to read the last episode.

And a question. Wasn't Oralius a she? That's how the deity is referred in Treklit--at least in the books that I'e read. I didn't read Glories of the Hebitians and Well of Souls, so I wonder if she isn't a "he" in these books.

Garak...Somehow it feels strange seeing him so soft and friendly. It's certainly him when he kills Jatrek, but having dinner with the O'Briens? The O'Briens inviting him for dinner?

It always bothered me to see that Garak in Treklit was considered such a nice, good, pro-democracy fellow, while in the show he was a supporter of oppressive Cardassia. For God's sake, he used to be an Obsidian Order agent and he enjoyed that job! I wonder if facing near genocide of his race changed him, but I never saw in the show any signs that Garak was able to change.

Interesting details about Ghemor's assassination and the details of Cardassian political situation.

I'm not Enterprise1981, but I'd say that if you'd like to post your stories at AdAstra--go ahead. Some people are present here and there, but there many people who are not on this forum and the would have a chance to read your stories.

 

[DS9Continuing]

And a question. Wasn't Oralius a she? That's how the deity is referred in Treklit--at least in the books that I'e read. I didn't read Glories of the Hebitians and Well of Souls, so I wonder if she isn't a "he" in these books.

I got the impression that Oralius itself was seen as genderless, but that each person channeling it at any one time referred to it by their own gender. I'm sure there was a scene somewhere - A Stitch in Time? The Lotus Flower? - where there's both a male and a female Guide, and the male refers to Oralius as he, and the female refers to it as she. So that the gender issue is less about what they're channeling as it is about who is doing the channeling.

But then the Guide in the Terok Nor trilogy is always a female called Astraea, so maybe you're right.

Garak...Somehow it feels strange seeing him so soft and friendly. It's certainly him when he kills Jatrek, but having dinner with the O'Briens? The O'Briens inviting him for dinner?

Garak himself is horrified at the thought. But people have been growing more comfortable with him for years now, and trusting him. I don't think any of them have any illusions about what he can do or has done, but they're willing to see the good in him too.

But as you say, it doesn't change what Garak is deep down.

It always bothered me to see that Garak in Treklit was considered such a nice, good, pro-democracy fellow, while in the show he was a supporter of oppressive Cardassia. For God's sake, he used to be an Obsidian Order agent and he enjoyed that job! I wonder if facing near genocide of his race changed him, but I never saw in the show any signs that Garak was able to change.

Here I'm not sure I agree. Even on the TV show, Garak was pretty clearly on the Federation's side by the end of season 5 - he served openly on the Defiant and gave them intelligence against his fellow Cardassians. I don't think there's any doubt that he did that not out of any greater loyalty to the Federation but out of his own love for Cardassia. But that's the thing - he loved Cardassia and its people more than he loved any one political system on Cardassia.

I'll grant that the Lit has pushed harder in that direction than TV did, what with pushing him closer to the Oralian Way and giving him a background of sentimentalism and having been "forced" into the Order without a say in the matter. But I don't know that it's an unbelievable or unlikely development. I still think that Garak would support whatever system he thinks holds the best chances for a safe and happy Cardassia. If that's anti-Federation one day and pro-Federation the next, so be it.

I also had my little nod here to the short story "The Slow Knife" from the Seven Deadly Sins collection. That story established that Garak was involved in making the Setlik Massacre happen (without naming names, but it was pretty clearly him). It gives a whole new element to Garak's teasing O'Brien about that in "Empok Nor." And I wondered if, in the ruined emotional state Garak is in by "The Calling," he might be driven to apologise to O'Brien for that. But then I thought that no, Garak would never let a secret like that out. So I settled for another middle ground - apologising without actually saying what he's apologising for.

In that way, I think Garak and O'Brien have as interesting a relationship as Garak and Bashir, or Bashir and O'Brien.

I'm not Enterprise1981, but I'd say that if you'd like to post your stories at AdAstra--go ahead. Some people are present here and there, but there many people who are not on this forum and the would have a chance to read your stories.

I'd like that. But how does it work exactly? I've had a quick look round, but it doesn't seem to be a bulletin board in the same way TrekBBS is. There's categories and judgings and all sorts going on - I'm a bit intimidated.

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[Gul Re'jal]

I'd like that. But how does it work exactly? I've had a quick look round, but it doesn't seem to be a bulletin board in the same way TrekBBS is. There's categories and judgings and all sorts going on - I'm a bit intimidated.

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AdAstra is an archive. http://www.adastrafanfic.com/ Here you post your stories and people read and review them.

There is also AdAstra forum. http://forums.adastrafanfic.com/ You don't post your stories here, but you interact with other writers from AdAstra. Some sections are not available for non-registered, but you can take a look to see what the forum is about and how different from the archive.

As for judging, it's only about technical matters: grammar, spelling, etc. The content is not judged, because the owner wants the archive to be open to all sorts of stories, so that everyone can find something interesting to read.

I say give it a try

 

[Enterprise1981]

As an aside, Enterprise1981, I see you have a presence on Ad Astra. Do you advise me to set up on there too? Or is it mostly the same people who come here? And how does it work exactly? Thanks in advance.

It's up to you. I, personally, haven't seen any works in screenplay format, but that approach is certainly is welcome there. As someone who writes a lot stories divided like hour-long episodes, I would suggest dividing each act in different chapters should you choose to open a user account there. Once you've mastered the eccentricities involved in posting your works the way you want them, it should be a snap.

 

[DS9Continuing]

Morning all!

So I went ahead and set up an account on Ad Astra - it's at http://www.adastrafanfic.com/viewuser.php?uid=285.

I'm behind on the schedule there, obviously, I'm only just in the process of uploading episode 2. But over there I've been uploading the text right onto the page, rather than just posting a link.

Which frankly I could have been doing over here all along too. Would you prefer me to do that?

Anyway, in the meantime here's episode 7 - 10x07 - "Instinct"

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[Wally]

Which frankly I could have been doing over here all along too. Would you prefer me to do that? .

I think you'll get more readers that way. Casual readers probably aren't too keen on navigating away from the BBS and downloading a file.

 

[Wally]

Another great. I'm always a sucker for any story with Miles having something to do. Even if he isn't suffering . I can realize empathize what's going on with Nog, since basically the same thing is going on with me at my own job. How strangely coincidental.

I'm very curious what is going on with Kira. It's looking more and more like being Captain is not where her heart it, and I'm glad it's being setup this way. It was so jaring learning what happened to her in the post-Destiny novels when no arc had been previously established that showed her on that path. Luckily, that seems to be happening here.

I'm on the fence with what is happening with Taran'atar, though. Villain or no, he's starting to turn into Superman in the sense that he seems to be getting manipulated and mind controlled an awful lot. Too soon to tell though.

 

[DS9Continuing]

I'm glad you liked the Nog story - it was one that seemed to take up the least amount of space in the episode, but it doesn't have to be big to resonate with someone. I'm always wary that Nog seems to get ignored as a character among the other larger than life people in the DS9 crew - the only "episodes" that were his to carry in seasons 8 and 9 were the crossovers with SCE. So I'm trying to give him a definite arc in this season, about growing up and gaining the respect of others.

The Taran'atar storyline seemed to be something that would keep pushing itself forwards at me. It kept trying to overwhelm the other stories, especially the Kira stuff which I had intended as the A-plot. The same thing happened in episode 5, "Deep Down," which was supposed to be a Bashir episode. I seem to like writing for Taran'atar and Ro more than other people. I also had a hell of a time writing the conference scene - I actually gave up at one point and wrote the entire next episode before coming back to it.

You're also kind of right about both the Kira and Taran'atar stories - I guess we'll see where that goes...

The first two episodes of the season are now up on Ad Astra as on-screen text insitead of just a link, so anyone who's been avoiding because of the PDFs can go there. I'll upload a new one each week until the two schedules syncronise. The link is at http://www.adastrafanfic.com/viewseries.php?seriesid=83

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[Gul Re'jal]

So, it got to Kira how much she misses Yoshi, now that he is on the station. I'm not surprised at all. He might not be genetically hers, but there's no doubt that her connection to him is strong. And Yoshi playing the the shuttle all the time is just cute!

Nog. I think he showed a lot of patience; I would have lost mine much earlier. O'Brien has good intentions, but criticising everything was not a good approach to offer his help. I'm glad that they clarified it in the end and no hard feelings hang over them.

As to Cardassia. The reason for their isolation is completely different, but I find it an interesting coincidence that we both decided to lock their borders and made them reject all help. I always felt they were proud people and endlessly taking stuff from others made them uncomfortable. The virus might be one of reasons why they want to be left alone and lick their wounds undisturbed.
I am concerned, though, that a former Obsidian Order agent is having such an important function. She should be held responsible for her past, just like Garak, not made a part of ruling people. That is the first step to turning back to an oppressive regime the Cardassians had before the Dominion War.

I wonder if Taran'atar is losing his mind. Dreams are one thing, hallucinations and talking to non-existing people another. I wonder where this is going (not fishing for spoilers, just thinking aloud ).

 

[DS9Continuing]

I think one of the saddest things about Kira is that she has, literally, no family left. Her mother, father and both her brothers are dead. Her fake father and fake little sister are dead. All her resistance cell-mates are dead. Two of her ex lovers are dead, the other living on the other side of the galaxy. Even her fake child got taken back to the other side of the Federation. So when Yoshi shows up again, even briefly, I think it's understandable that she would fixate on him a little.

I was looking for a Kira story, because I didn't think I had focused enough on her yet considering she's supposed to be the lead character of the show. So I had to look for something that hadn't already been done with her as a character - which turned out to be the mother thing. As I had her say in episode 2, she may have given birth, but she never really got the chance to be a mother. So I took a little look at that here.

And it all tied in perfectly with bringing the O'Briens back from Cardassia. It deepened the sense of the crisis there if it was so bad that one of our Starfleet heroes had to literally run away to save his and his family's lives. It gave me the chance to do the Kira story with Yoshi, and the Nog story with Miles, as I noted above. It also gave me the chance to give Kasidy something to do that didn't revolve purely around being Sisko's wife, which I think is something she's been saddled with ever since the Maquis business.

And yes, the Taran'atar thing is definitely going somewhere.

I've also uploaded episode 3 to Ad Astra now in on-screen text, if anyone wants to read it that way - it's at http://www.adastrafanfic.com/viewuser.php?uid=285.

And thanks for still reading, everyone. I think for the next episode, number 8, I'll create a new thread and post it as text right into the board, like I've been doing at As Astra. Would that be alright with everyone? Don't know why I didn't do that in the first place really. Ah well, live and learn.

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