Brass Cannon Posted May 1, 2020 Report Share Posted May 1, 2020 So with my extra time between filling out job Applications during the Crisis I am getting back to finishing a book a started last November. So I was wanting to run the concept by some Science Fiction fans. So the concept is that in 2036 a probe we are sending to Titan(This is real) arrives and it discovers life, methane based life to be exact. This is completely reshapes all the space programs of the world overnight. They form a loose coalition to send a manned mission to Titan. Our protagonist is a team member, eventually the commander, of one of the crews that is competing to be selected to man the first trip to Titan. The story will be part engineering fun ala The Martian, part horror with the trope of diminishing survivors, and part what I would call Endurance survival something akin to 127 Hours maybe. Also some elements of Apollo 13 especially the first act First Act Takes place on the Moon, where final training and team selection occurs. We spend some time on earth where we learn about Protagonists life and use a world press tour for exposition. Act concludes with their trip to Titan then a disastrous landing attempt. Leaving them 1000 Kilometers from their Escape Rocket. Second Act The crew is piecing together a plan to cross the vast distance to their escape rocket. Rover can't cross rivers which will stop them about halfway. They will have to walk. On their way to the rocket they have to problem solve quite a bit. They eventually depart their crash site, on their way they take a bit of time to fulfill the promise of the premise and interact with some of the animals. Then when they arrive at the methane river they have to wade across. Eventually various disasters take their toll until Protagonist is by herself. You get your mentor moment when an older crew member that has supported her strongly is the last go. Hes not dead but with a broken spine he makes her "Let him go" and convinces her "She did everything right" Third Act Shes alone, shes cold because her suit was low on energy so she conserving it. Shes starting to get dehydrated, not eaten or drank anything in days. No sleep, She starts to hallucinate helping her along on her personal journey. She eventually gets to the escape ship, theres a a problem with the rocket, that has a Gary Sinise type character B Plot, She has to repair it, but eventually is able to get it half fixed. Before she leaves she sees the sun coming up over the horizon. Shes the first person to see a sunrise over titan. Before she leaves she leaves a plaque that they were supposed to place. Will carve a meaningful message into it. She takes off, some stuff goes wrong but then she makes it off. Any Feedback? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IUFLA Posted May 1, 2020 Report Share Posted May 1, 2020 The premise sounds good to me. The first act sounds kinda like a 21st century "The Right Stuff." If you're going to have a woman as the main protagonist it'll be interesting how you handle that. The rest sounds like a solid foundation as well. The 2 things that a book will lose me on are being too "preachy" on social issues (Lord knows what those will even be in 16 years). You can certainly brooch them but some authors lose the plot to them. The other is having multiple climaxes (steady there, old fellas!). There's a huge difference to me of using obstacles to build to the main climax, and trying to top every previous event with something even more spectacular. Build to that one memorable moment. That's my 2¢...Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brass Cannon Posted May 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2020 5 hours ago, IUFLA said: The premise sounds good to me. The first act sounds kinda like a 21st century "The Right Stuff." If you're going to have a woman as the main protagonist it'll be interesting how you handle that. The rest sounds like a solid foundation as well. The 2 things that a book will lose me on are being too "preachy" on social issues (Lord knows what those will even be in 16 years). You can certainly brooch them but some authors lose the plot to them. The other is having multiple climaxes (steady there, old fellas!). There's a huge difference to me of using obstacles to build to the main climax, and trying to top every previous event with something even more spectacular. Build to that one memorable moment. That's my 2¢...Good luck. Thanks. And don’t worry not really dealing with any social issues. And I probably didn’t do it justice it’s a pretty standard put your protagonist in a tree and throw rocks at them. The main thing that I want people to take away from this book is not to get to focused on a goal. And that you need to continually assess if what you are working towards is still what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rico Posted May 2, 2020 Report Share Posted May 2, 2020 "May the Force be with you." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonialcrester Posted May 2, 2020 Report Share Posted May 2, 2020 Who's your target audience? Traditional SF readers? Sad Puppies? New wave? I think that would determine some of what you are doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brass Cannon Posted May 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2020 16 minutes ago, Colonialcrester said: Who's your target audience? Traditional SF readers? Sad Puppies? New wave? I think that would determine some of what you are doing. New wave, but trying to give it a human element combined with some drama to give something for anybody. That said I am avoiding a love story arc like it’s the plague. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonialcrester Posted May 2, 2020 Report Share Posted May 2, 2020 Are you trying to get it published? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brass Cannon Posted May 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2020 1 hour ago, Colonialcrester said: Are you trying to get it published? Not the goal. But will try to get it published. But if I can’t won’t consider the effort a failure. More of a bucket list item. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IUFLA Posted May 2, 2020 Report Share Posted May 2, 2020 3 minutes ago, Brass Cannon said: Not the goal. But will try to get it published. But if I can’t won’t consider the effort a failure. More of a bucket list item. Will there be an HSN discount? 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brass Cannon Posted May 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2020 2 hours ago, IUFLA said: Will there be an HSN discount? 😁 Well I will be asking for beta readers. A complicated term for test readers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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