Help With Writing a Story

[Curios_Gelatin]

Hello! I'm going to be writing a fan fiction series based on a Galaxy-class ship exploring the Gamma quadrant after the events of DS9 and Voyager. I haven't watched Voyager, and don't really have any plans to since my fic won't be taking place anywhere near the Delta Quadrant so I'm not quite sure what the relevancy there would be.

If there is anything relevant to anything to do with exploration of the Gamma Q. from Voyager please tell me. Otherwise, moving on.

My real purpose for making this thread is making sure the elements of my story aren't too implausible given the circumstances as of 2380.

This is the document I have set up up with the crew and traits so far, for easy access viewing! https://docs.google.com/document/d/10uVTFmvL2RONfAp56cDpXR04MUdGPvareCMfqjskaHM/edit?usp=sharing

Please comment and critique. Also any advice people have for important crew elements would be welcome.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Other than Voyager docking at DS9 in the pilot and a brief mention of the Dominion in "Message in a Bottle" I don't recall VOY every saying anything about the GQ, though I'm not an expert in the field.

Check Memory Alpha just to be sure though.

Good luck to you

 

[HIjol]

Perhaps the experiences and knowledge gained by Voyager and her crew would be valuable to you in an "overview" or "background reference" way to the Mission(s) of your Galaxy in the Gamma Quadrant. Your premise sounds promising and if you need a proofreader down the road, please do not hesitate to hail me.

 

[Curios_Gelatin]

Thanks for the advice guys. And thank you for offering to proof read Darklight, I may take you up on that!

Is there a recommended amount post at a time? I'm writing this on an 'episodic' premise which I'm projecting to be around 10-20 page short stories, but I don't want to overwhelm anyone with walls of text.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Write something engaging and entertaining and you'll get people who'll want to read it no matter what the length.

 

[Curios_Gelatin]

I see, thank you for the advice. I was also wondering where I can post my story, other than here? I believe Ao3 is a popular site but I'm not familiar with many other popular fan fiction sites.

 

[Sgt_G]

I'd say here is probably best. I don't know about Ao3 as I've never been there. You'll get lost in the flood of drek over on Fan-Fic; perhaps one-in-ten authors are worth reading.

 

[CeJay]

Looking at your notes, I'm not sure if Gibraltar is the name you have chosen for your hero ship or if it was just the name of your captain's previous command. If it is your hero ship's name I would strongly consider renaming the ship as there already is an excellent fan fiction series by that name.

I know there is no such thing as trademarks in fan fiction but you don't want to tread familiar ground or needlessly confuse your readers.

It never hurts to familiarize yourself with what the fan fiction community has put out there over the years, particularly in the original starship/characters genre to keep your stuff truly original. And of course I highly recommend you read bit of Sam Redfeather's Star Trek: Gibraltar if you haven't already. Nothing wrong to learn from a master.

You can find his stories and many other original character stories at UnitedTrek.org and Star Trek Expanded Universe wiki is a great resource as well.

I'm always eager to read new original character stories, so looking forward to your work.

 

[Curios_Gelatin]

Ah, there is? That's kind of a shame aha, I was actually born and raised in Gibraltar so it was sort of a personal nudge wink. I don't want to confuse peoples expectations though so I'll see about a different name. Thanks for all the suggestions and resources CeJay!

 

[Esirprus]

I see, thank you for the advice. I was also wondering where I can post my story, other than here? I believe Ao3 is a popular site but I'm not familiar with many other popular fan fiction sites.

I do a lot with the Gamma quadrant in my own fan fic, creating much history of that quadrant and creating 20 races roughly. Not trying to discourage you. Just trying to keep us working along similar tracks. Episode format is about 1 minute a page, given my research. I'd like to know how close your ideas for the quadrant and mine are. I'd rather not be competing since we both seem serious about this.

 

[Esirprus]

I opened your lilink. Dry. Write more, then write the personality files. I had plans for my characters but they didn't like them so threw them out.

 

[Curios_Gelatin]

I see, thank you for the advice. I was also wondering where I can post my story, other than here? I believe Ao3 is a popular site but I'm not familiar with many other popular fan fiction sites.

I do a lot with the Gamma quadrant in my own fan fic, creating much history of that quadrant and creating 20 races roughly. Not trying to discourage you. Just trying to keep us working along similar tracks. Episode format is about 1 minute a page, given my research. I'd like to know how close your ideas for the quadrant and mine are. I'd rather not be competing since we both seem serious about this.

When I say episode format I don't mean strictly for TV. I mean sort of like, a similar structure in which each 'episode' is a self contained story with a recurring cast of characters.
And I wouldn't worry too much about whether our ideas are similar or not, the galaxy is a big place and there's lots of room for everyone's ideas.
Even in the canon series there are a lot of 'similar but slightly different' concepts. When it comes down to it we have to accept that what we are doing are derivative works and there are going to be many people writing about their own interpretations and opinions about things not fully explained or left otherwise up to interpretation in the show.

 

[Curios_Gelatin]

I opened your lilink. Dry. Write more, then write the personality files. I had plans for my characters but they didn't like them so threw them out.

Thanks for the advice but I feel like a lot of what makes up a character's personality is their actions and experiences. I don't want to expand on each one too much at the very start because the way a person feels and acts changes over time.

Mapping out their character too much would restrict my writing and I think this is an adequate starting point.
Over time I'll add more to their personal files but I'll be keeping those private.

 

[Esirprus]

I opened your lilink. Dry. Write more, then write the personality files. I had plans for my characters but they didn't like them so threw them out.

Thanks for the advice but I feel like a lot of what makes up a character's personality is their actions and experiences. I don't want to expand on each one too much at the very start because the way a person feels and acts changes over time.

Mapping out their character too much would restrict my writing and I think this is an adequate starting point.
Over time I'll add more to their personal files but I'll be keeping those private.

I don't think you understood. When I said I had to go back and fix, I meant change a character's species 'cause it was easier than re-writing totally that charaxter's dialogue. Be comfortable with going back and re-writing. I admit, I just skimmed your profiles, so maybe you've already done this and that's what their profiles are based on. But the character interaction between my characters in my early work improved drastically when I decided to write out portions of back story that established a lot more clearly in my mind where they were coming from and the dialogue improved as a result. Hope this helps. If you want to get in contact with me, prior to the two week limit for PMs, I updated my profile. Look for Renaissance Man.

 

[Tarek71]

Species 8472 and of course the Borg are two species covered in Voyager that I can see appearing in the Gamma Quadrant. We never hear onscreen about any Borg invasions of the Dominion, but presumably they have been to the Gamma Quadrant, at least on a reconnaissance basis.

Species 8472 has had no further onscreen appearances, and I have no idea if they have made any further appearances in the novelverse. They can certainly appear.

If the stories take place after Voyagers return, then information and technology from their exploits can appear. If I were at Starfleet command I would put 7 of 9 to work with research teams to develop the technology of the Borg and other species encountered.

Also, we.might hear more about transphasic torpedoes, from Endgame.

It's more a matter of picking up on some story telling opportunities from Voyager.

 

[Curios_Gelatin]

I see what you mean Tarek, and I suppose I will eventually be seeing those developments myself soon. After the first few responses on this thread I started watching Voyager.

And I think I will be changing the Chief Medical Officer to be Vulcan instead of Kobali. Originally the idea of having a Kobali aboard the ship was interesting to me but I doubt they'd be even plausibly near the Alpha Quadrant or have had that much contact with the Federation by 2380.

Plus I think it would be an interesting dynamic with the captain, who I'm thinking of changing to be half-Vulcan but with a greater emphasis on a human lifestyle. They may butt heads over their personal philosophies and such.

 

[Sgt_G]

I opened your lilink. Dry. Write more, then write the personality files. I had plans for my characters but they didn't like them so threw them out.

Thanks for the advice but I feel like a lot of what makes up a character's personality is their actions and experiences. I don't want to expand on each one too much at the very start because the way a person feels and acts changes over time.

Mapping out their character too much would restrict my writing and I think this is an adequate starting point.
Over time I'll add more to their personal files but I'll be keeping those private.

I don't think you understood. When I said I had to go back and fix, I meant change a character's species 'cause it was easier than re-writing totally that charaxter's dialogue. Be comfortable with going back and re-writing. I admit, I just skimmed your profiles, so maybe you've already done this and that's what their profiles are based on. But the character interaction between my characters in my early work improved drastically when I decided to write out portions of back story that established a lot more clearly in my mind where they were coming from and the dialogue improved as a result. Hope this helps. If you want to get in contact with me, prior to the two week limit for PMs, I updated my profile. Look for Renaissance Man.

I don't get this.

First, it's not really fair to say his writing is "dry" based on character profiles, which are usually written in bullet format. It's not a real sampling of the writing style.

But more over, it seems backwards to me to write the story and then write the character profiles. I want the profiles done first to keep the characters consistent when writing the story. It's fine to go back and add to the profile as things happen, so you'll have that change in mind when writing later stories.

Perhaps when writing the first story or two, you might decide to go back and change a character's background data, but I wouldn't want to do that too much. For me, I need to know where the character comes from before I can begin to tell the story of where he/she is going. I've got a hundred characters running around inside my head (yes, it's very crowded in there), so I can't be changing the backstories a lot without confusing myself.

 

[Curios_Gelatin]

Thanks for the advice but I feel like a lot of what makes up a character's personality is their actions and experiences. I don't want to expand on each one too much at the very start because the way a person feels and acts changes over time.

Mapping out their character too much would restrict my writing and I think this is an adequate starting point.
Over time I'll add more to their personal files but I'll be keeping those private.

I don't think you understood. When I said I had to go back and fix, I meant change a character's species 'cause it was easier than re-writing totally that charaxter's dialogue. Be comfortable with going back and re-writing. I admit, I just skimmed your profiles, so maybe you've already done this and that's what their profiles are based on. But the character interaction between my characters in my early work improved drastically when I decided to write out portions of back story that established a lot more clearly in my mind where they were coming from and the dialogue improved as a result. Hope this helps. If you want to get in contact with me, prior to the two week limit for PMs, I updated my profile. Look for Renaissance Man.

I don't get this.

First, it's not really fair to say his writing is "dry" based on character profiles, which are usually written in bullet format. It's not a real sampling of the writing style.

But more over, it seems backwards to me to write the story and then write the character profiles. I want the profiles done first to keep the characters consistent when writing the story. It's fine to go back and add to the profile as things happen, so you'll have that change in mind when writing later stories.

Perhaps when writing the first story or two, you might decide to go back and change a character's background data, but I wouldn't want to do that too much. For me, I need to know where the character comes from before I can begin to tell the story of where he/she is going. I've got a hundred characters running around inside my head (yes, it's very crowded in there), so I can't be changing the backstories a lot without confusing myself.

I can see where you're coming from. For the introductory chapter it seems fairly adequate to me not to reveal too much about each character.

I've never written anything this long before, they always tended to be short stories, so I'll experiment and if I start running into trouble with my current method I'll see about working up full character histories.

I was actually going with this method because I've read in the canon series character backgrounds were not usually planned for and instead worked out along the way. It seemed to work for those writers, most of the time, so I decided not to worry too much for the time being.

 

[Sgt_G]

For the introductory chapter it seems fairly adequate to me not to reveal too much about each character.

Well, yeah, duh, of course!

I'll admit, most of my writings was done off the cuff, so what background info I have is either still in my head or already mentioned in the story. I suppose most non-professional authors do the same.

On the flip side, it is very hard to come up with backgrounds (or even just names!) for a ship's full crew of characters. I tried to "crowd source" just such a project over on the Federation Commander (game) discussion forum, but thus far no-one has offered any characters. Here's an example of my character sheets:

Name: Yvonne Elsa Christensen
Rank: LT (O-3)
Duty Title: Intelligence Officer
Character created by: (me)

Height: 5'11" / 180cm
Weight: 130 Lbs / 60 kg
Age: 26
Species/Race: Human (Scandinavian)
Gender: Female
Appearance: Tall and slender, blonde hair and blue eyes, soft soprano voice, very pretty
Languages: Swedish (native), English (fluent), Klingon (tourist/conversational), Orion (tourist/conversational)

Career history:
Time in service: 4 years
Time in grade: Newly promoted
Y148-Y152: Star Fleet Academy; transferred to Police Service during final year.
Y152-Y154: Shuttle Pilot, then Weapons Officer, on Police Cutter Sam Franklin
Y154-Y156: Staff Officer / Commander's Executive Assistant, Police Station Cygnus
Y156-: Intelligence Officer on Police Cutter WPC Fletcher
Decorations: One medal for heroic lifesaving action, two for meritorious service

Family status: Parents both alive, living in Sweden; second of four siblings. Married (Wilhelm Muller), one eight-month-old son, planning to have three or four more children. Yvonne was diagnosed as unable to carry a child to full term (second attempt almost killed her), so her husband became a "seahorse" -- that is, he had an artificial womb implanted into which the baby was transferred within the first four to six week after conception. Wilhelm was a professional rugby player and gave that up to join Star Fleet. He suffered a career-ending injury his six months into his first tour of duty, and now works for a local high school on planet Cygnus.

Personality / mannerisms: Likeable, good sense of humor. Maintains a professional work environment but allows a modest amount of lighthearted camaraderie. Rarely swears or loses temper; when angry, she will clamp down her emotions and will listen to a reasoned argument, but is known to "unleash with both barrels" if pushed too far.

Hobbies/Interests: Plays tennis and racquetball, avid team-sports fan (soccer/rugby/football/etc.), occasionally attends church services (Revised Lutheran Orthodox).

Background: While Yvonne was at academy, her younger sister Ashley (then 16 years old) ran away with her much-older boyfriend. They intended to go to Sherman's Planet, but the ship they were on was run by smugglers and was captured well into Klingon territory. The Federation diplomatic service arraigned for a prisoner swap to recover the crew of the ship, but did nothing for the passengers. Christensen tried all official channels to rescue her sister, but Star Fleet Command refused to get involved in the touchy political situation. Yvonne's roommate, a prior-enlisted cadet who had served on a police boat, had a contact within the Klingon Internal Security Service and was able to call in a favor to have the passengers released. Yvonne was already enamored by the many war-stories her roommate told of her time attached to the police force, and this incident prompted her to transfer services. Naturally, Christensen has little love for Klingons, Orion smugglers, diplomats, or bureaucrats. Her first assignment was on the Police Cutter Sam Franklin, where she impressed Senior Chief Rinehart, a man known for making-or-breaking junior officers. The captain also recognized Ensign Christensen's potential and advanced her from Shuttle Pilot to Weapons Officer well ahead of schedule. He arranged for her assignment to Cygnus Station, a move that put her on the fast-track for future promotions.

 

[Curios_Gelatin]

Oh I see! That's quite a neat way to put things, and not at all what I was imagining when it was first explained to me. I think I'll try out making character sheets something like those actually, it seems very useful.