I’m trying two things differently this time with Renegade, Records of the Argos, and Book 4. The first you know about. I am incorporating a mystery approach into the book. Call it a mystery/science fiction mix. That is a challenge and one I want to attempt because it creates a broader understanding of writing in general. The second thing is that I have actually created an outline for this book. It may surprise you to know that all the previous books had a general sense of direction, however, I just let the characters lead the way. In Renegade, I drafted a simple but broad-reaching outline with a beginning, a middle, and an end. I know what will happen, who will be the main character, and what the end will be. How novel of me (no pun intended). Each section had some basic known details upfront. But I’ll admit I am still slogging through the finer points. And I have to do a lot more research on this book than most of the rest. For example, if I asked how many space stations were aloft today, would you know? Hint: it is more than one. Also, do you know why the space stations (all of them) are not in geosynchronous orbits? Because today, we do not have spacecraft with the ability to reach and resupply the stations beyond approximately 250 to 280 miles above Earth. Geosynchronous orbit is about 22,000 miles. Maybe Elon Musk will solve that in the future.
Another area that keeps me learning is character development and scene construction. My former editor often reminded me that character development has not been my strong suit. I have tried to improve on that with each succeeding book. This one is no different. Along with character development, scene development, and detail are also things I think most writers find a challenge. In this book, I am taking some extra time on scene detail. As a person with an engineering background, my tendency is to be an unintended minimalist. No extraneous words. Not the best approach in novel writing.
Finally, like many people, I guess, I lean toward doing the easiest things first. In this case, that means the cover. So, I have a cover now before hitting the seven-thousand-word mark in the book. In my defense, I struggled just a little to come up with something I liked before sending a concept to the designer. I also had my Beta readers review several options before picking the one to use. What do you think of it?
Oh yes. There are only two space stations above Earth today: The International Space Station and the Chinese Tiangong space station. India is thinking about one.
