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Help needed again.

I seem to have written myself into a corner. I have starfighters with thrusters that give off visible exhaust. One way Joseph can tell if the fighters in his squadron are functioning optimally or have been damaged is by noticing the amount of visible exhaust coming from the fighters. For example, if a fighter is hit by weapons fire and its exhaust drops off considerably, then it's sustained significant damage. Doing this avoids all of the fighter pilots having to constantly give their operational status in the middle of the battle. Now, if there is visible exhaust, then there has to be a propellant being burned. So far so good.

The problem arises when Joseph wants to speed up his fighter beyond ordinary limits by diverting power from his shields to increase thrust, leaving his ship unshielded and exposed to serious damage, which is a must for the scene to work. Thing is, as far as I understand this, he doesn't really need more power, but more thrust, which means burning more propellant. I don't really see a need for a great deal of diverted power just to burn more propellant.

Thoughts?

Thanks
Dirk

Frank Herbert wrote Dune in 1965, the best-selling science fiction book of all time, in omniscient POV. He had to publish through Chilton Books, best known at the time for auto repair guides. Personally, I think most publishers don't have a clue when they have a hit on their hands. Harry Potter was rejected twelve times, yet J.K. Rowling is now the richest woman in England, second only to the Queen.

Here's an amazing list of famous rejection tales:
www.litrejections.com/best-sellers-initially-rejected

My 20-page prologue is probably going to send my book directly to the slush pile.

My story includes mindspeech and a planet full of Mayans.

Thanks, Bill.

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

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).

Were you trying for pleaze, the Canadian spelling for please?

My next chapter, No Turning Back, is up. This includes numerous edits from v2 and an expanded epigraph.

Quick, go read!

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.

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

How are you feeling, Amy?