Sometimes writers run into a snag with the internal timeline of their story. Yep! So did I...
I'm trying to keep the timeline and action in Arizona State Guard: Target Terror very tight; one event flowing after another. Sadly, this time I did not plot out a detailed outline for the story and thus hangs the tale! In going back through the story doing my edits, I found gaps where the story bogged down. Not terminally, but enough to throw off the action.
Have no fear, dear readers! I've taken a step back and developed a timeline of events and action with has already proven very effective. I even had to write a brief chapter to plug a hole. I do have one piece of the story, about 3 pages worth, that I may yet move up earlier in the story. And, I have another bridge to write in another chapter. Again, no fears! These are easy fixes which make the story better!
It also means I intend to go back to Page 1 and start the edits over to get a true sense of the flow of the story. I still feel very good about e-publishing next month!
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On another topic:
After I finish ASG: Target Terror, I need to pay a short visit to Terra-Bravo and update the series "bible" to help Kyle with writing the next sequel. I'm hoping this won't take long as I really want to get back to the murder mystery in space.
Speaking of which:
It now has a tentative title...Seven Parsecs to Camadin!
Julie and I went to southern Arkansas a couple of weeks back to bring the youngest home soon from college. We spent the night at our daughter's home in Camden before driving to Arkadelphia to pick up Gary and his stuff. Along Route 7 between part of Camden and Arkadelphia there are seven bridges. When we lived in Arkansas, my duties involved a lot of travel and I drove Route 7 frequently. Driving home, I would count the bridges because I knew there were seven bridges to Camden...and my family!
So driving this route the other day, I thought 'seven bridges to Camden'...hmmm, there could be a book title in that. But what story??? Then I thought, 'what about the murder mystery in space?!?!' Okay...seven somethings to...Cam...a...din? So I kept running the idea through the old gray matter, trying to keep the idea fresh...and how for some insight.
So we get home and I'm thinking...distance, distance. The star I chose previously to be the destination for the starship was over 20 light years away, so light years was out. Then I thought of parsecs. Now, anyone with astronomy as their college science (me! me! me!) would know that in Star Wars: A New Hope, George Lucas used parsecs as a measure of time (ehn! WRONG!) instead as a measure of distance (ding, ding, ding! We got a WINNER!)
It turns out that a parsec equates to about 3.26 light years and, if I multiply that times 7 it equals 22.82 light years which is roughly the distance I chose for the star in the story!!! Serendipitous!!!
So, once ASG:TT is e-published, I'll take a quick detour to Terra-Bravo then return to the murder myst...er...Seven Parsecs to Camadin! And, I've thought of some interesting twists and turns for that story!!! Whee! It's gonna be fun!
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I hope everyone is taking the appropriate safety precautions during severe weather events this Spring. Be careful out there!
Jeffrey
© Jeffrey M. Fortney - 2015
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