Can someone please tell me what the advantage is of publishing a novel for free on Booksie? Is it just an alternate way of temporarily promoting your ebook for free (similar to a Kindle promotion)? If not, then what is its purpose? Does anyone here use it?
Thanks
Dirk
Is the following enough of an explanation to explain starfighter motion? I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible without being total crap. I assume the thrusters at the back of the ship are not in a fixed position, pointing straight out the back of the ship, but can be directed by the ship's AI across a wide range of degrees.
"Dogfights is a bit of a misnomer. We can’t bank in space, but the AI uses flight control stick inputs to activate maneuvering jets to spin the ship around on its axes, then applies thrusters as needed to get the ship moving in the right direction. It requires overcoming the ship’s previous momentum, so the thrusters don’t necessarily align with where you’re pointing the nose of the ship."
Thanks
Dirk
I agree with that. Thanks.
Thanks. I think I'm already applying the wrestling-style approach. The three ships I kill off (disable) all happen right at the beginning (they knock each other out), leaving the required five.
I assume you're still not a fan of combining the call sign with the character name as a means of identifying which team someone is on (e.g., "This is Homo Four," Stephanie said over the intercom.)? It worked for Star Wars IV (e.g., "This is Red Five," Luke said, "I'm going in."), although there were fewer call signs (about six).
Help please. I'm in the process of rewriting my mock Starfighter Battle chapter, and there are lots of issues:
1. All eight delegates from Joseph's table are currently involved in this chapter. Don said he couldn't separate so many pilots. Problem is, I need at least five for the chapter to work (plus one to even the initial odds, yielding three per team). That being said, I figured there wasn't much difference between six and eight pilots, as long as I knock out three right away, leaving the required five. All eight contribute to the chapter, even those I kill off quickly.
2. I have no good way to help the reader keep track of which of the eight delegates are on which of the two teams. The v2 draft references them all by name, but there are too many of them. I could use call signs for the two teams (e.g., Robo One for Caligula, Homo One for Joseph, etc.), but, as K noted, that doubles the number of names from eight to sixteen. What if I always combine the call sign with the character name (e.g., "This is Homo Four," Stephanie said over the intercom)? The advantage of this approach is that I always remind the reader which team (Robo or Homo) each delegate is on as they read through the battle. Robo team is led by the Caligula, who has the cyborg face, and Homo team is led by Joseph, who gave another male delegate a very public kiss the night before, so it should be easy to remember who the team leaders are on.
3. Can I get rid of the explanation of how it's possible for starfighters to engage in dogfights in space even though there is no atmosphere? I had an explanation, but it's total crap, and Amy says it brings the chapter to a screeching halt. Star Wars never explained why dogfights work, unless they came up with some bogus physics in one of the later books.
4. Since this is meant to be mock combat, shields are always at maximum and novas (lasers) at minimum in each ship. This requires an explanation that the builtin combat simulator gives false readings (e.g., shields are down to 50% even though they're not). Technically, this works since the simulator can decide that a ship with 50% simulated shields can sustain more simulated damage (e.g., thrusters go dead) from additional nova blasts than if the ship had 100% simulated shields. Explaining this and picturing adds complexity, though, to the chapter. Not sure how to get around this.
Thanks
Dirk
I'm coming into the home stretch with my first novel and am wondering when to publish. It is book one in a series (The Galaxy Tales) and leaves a key question unanswered that will be addressed later in the series (book two or three). The problem is I don't write full-time and I have another unrelated book that I want to write before continuing with the Galaxy Tales. If I publish as soon as book one is written, it could take 6-8 years before book two in the series is ready. I'm inclined not to publish until I've at least resumed writing the Galaxy Tales, so as not to leave book buyers stuck indefinitely without an ending.
Thoughts?
Thanks
Dirk
Seabrass's v3 edits are done and posted.
Were you trying for pleaze, the Canadian spelling for please? 
I however, am not. Time to write and read Norm's progress.
Give me a few days to update all of the latest chapters with Seabrass's v3 edits.
My next chapter, No Turning Back, is up. This includes numerous edits from v2 and an expanded epigraph.
Quick, go read!
Thanks
Dirk
Sol, would it be possible to add the content summary (e.g., book summary) for each piece of work as a tooltip on our home pages? Specifically, as we hover over the image of one of the works (e.g., a chapter) on the home page, the site could display the work's content summary. That would allow us to quickly scan through the list of latest works on the home page and decide if we want to read the work in question. You do this elsewhere on the site (e.g., on the author's public profile), but not on our own home pages, which is where I spend most of my time.
Thanks
Dirk
Mariana, that limitation of the site has been addressed. I just published three chapters for the same book and only the last one shows up. If someone clicks on it, they're taken to the posting view where they can select any of the chapters to review.
I saw on the news that animals have the good sense not to look. When it gets dark, they don't look up at the sun and wonder why it's covered. Nevertheless, if you can bring your animals inside, why not do so? Avoids any unintended glances.
My next chapter, Why Prophets Shouldn't Drink, is up. Lots of minor edits compared to v2.
Three chapters in one week! Woohoo! One more quick one, then I have to rewrite the starfighter battle. Ugh.
Quick, go read!
Thanks.
Dirk
Welcome, Aly. At last, some fresh meat ... er, fresh writers in the forum. Most of us create a dedicated forum thread (e.g., The Galaxy Tales - Norm d'Plume) for our work(s) in progress as a place to hash out story ideas with others in the group.
How are you feeling, Amy?
My next chapter, Young Leaders Conference, is up. This is a redo of the same chapter from v2. The epigraph is new, as is the ending. Both are intended to reflect greater animosity between Joseph and Apollo. The rest is minor cleanup.
Quick, go read!
Thanks
Dirk
I used BOOM! in one of my chapters in a paragraph by itself. It was a deliberately slow-moving, thought-filled church setting, and I wanted to startle the character and reader.
I also created spluck! as the sound someone's body makes as the character goes flying into mud. I explain it once, then use it several times thereafter for humorous effect. It's kind of a cross between splash and muck. I'm open to suggestions on that one because it doesn't really convey the great force with which the character hits the mud, in my opinion.
I also use um and er when a character is struggling for something to say.
My next chapter, The Christian Heresy Begins, is up. It includes numerous minor changes compared to v2. This is the chapter where Joseph rewrites the Ten Commandments and first meets Apollo. There's a lot of description of setting in this chapter. Please let me know if you can picture it.
Quick, go read!
Thanks
Dirk
Yes. Go to your menu at the top of the screen and select Reviews.
Maybe Sol should hold a contest to submit synopses to Fiery Seas Publishing to see who can get the fastest rejection. My out-of-office auto-reply takes almost as long. :-)
I disagree with your reviewers.
For issue 1, consider this sentence: His eyes were an even darker brown than mine. You've just told the reader that your POV character has brown eyes, although not as dark as the other character. Or: My black dress made my alabaster skin really stand out. You've just told the reader what the character's skin color is and what she's wearing. Neither case required a peek in the mirror, although I use that (e.g., my character adjusts his uniform in the mirror and thinks his emerald-green eyes and auburn hair give him a dreamy look). Also: I could feel the heat rise into my face, I was so embarrassed. That tells the reader the POV character is blushing.
Don Chambers here on this site writes in first person quite a bit. He frequently alternates between characters (usually two), but generally puts the name of the POV character at the beginning of the scene, so you know whose POV you're in.
It should really (also) show at the bottom of the chapter on the posting view page, where all the other reviews for that chapter are located. That way, you could just go back to the chapter, scroll to the bottom, and pick up where you left off. Naturally, the incomplete review should only show for the reviewer, since it hasn't been submitted yet.
I think I'll go with generic "headsets" for the guards without describing what they look like or how they work. There's no reason for them to be hidden since the guards are always in uniform and would be exptected to have one. I'll let readers picture the devices for themselves. The wisewatch, used by the main characters, is the real electronic workhorse of the story, and was only used by Apollo, Joseph, and Paul, if I remember v2 correctly.
Thanks
Dirk
Chaqpter 17, Assassination Attempt, is up. I've eliminated the question of whether the attempt is an actual (successful) assassination right from the outset, since I wanted to focus the historical epigraph on whether Apollo is the one responsible and hint at his future ruthlessness (mostly book two), the same way that I'm setting up Joseph as the Antichrist. The other alternative would be to change the title and epigraph to something different and leave the outcome of the attack a surprise. Thoughts?
Quick, go read!
Dirk
