General Discussion Thread

[Wolfman]

And the Soviets promptly sank the ones that they got their hands on…

[jemhouston]

Since the USN have Strike Cruisers with an 8" gun, does the Army have 270mm weapons? I'm hoping they're smart using the same ammo.

[Wolfman]

OOC: You mean 203mm, right?

[jemhouston]

OOC: You mean 203mm, right?

Oops.

[Poohbah]

Vacationing in Northport, WA, trying to figure out What I Want to do When I Grow Up.

It turns out there's two groups at SAC HQ. One wants me taking over the A-5 slot at 20th Air Force (responsible for all plans, including the missile community inputs to the SIOP), another faction wants me at March as the Cyber Plans Guy for all of SAC. (There's probably a third that would like nothing better than for me to go either IRR or take an AFRES two-star slot and kindly leave SAC alone.)

And now Roberta and I are trying to figure out which option to take.

[jemhouston]

Both places are where you can do good. So, which is the place where you can tick of the most people by trying to improve things and have fun doing it?

[Wolfman]

That’s a pickle, Poohbah. What’s your gut telling you?

[Poohbah]

That’s a pickle, Poohbah. What’s your gut telling you?

Nothing, yet. That's half the problem.

[Wolfman]

That’s a pickle, Poohbah. What’s your gut telling you?

Nothing, yet. That's half the problem.

What does Sophie suggest you do?

[Poohbah]

That’s a pickle, Poohbah. What’s your gut telling you?

Nothing, yet. That's half the problem.

What does Sophie suggest you do?

She just advised me to call CINCSAC Actual and ask him what he thinks I should do.

[Wolfman]

Nothing, yet. That's half the problem.

What does Sophie suggest you do?

She just advised me to call CINCSAC Actual and ask him what he thinks I should do.

Then perhaps you should listen to her and do that.

[jemhouston]

Poohbah whatever you pick, you need to stay busy. You're too frigging dangerous to have idle hands.

Speaking of which, how is the novel coming?

[Wolfman]

Poohbah whatever you pick, you need to stay busy. You're too frigging dangerous to have idle hands.

Speaking of which, how is the novel coming?

That’s a good question.

[Poohbah]

Poohbah whatever you pick, you need to stay busy. You're too frigging dangerous to have idle hands.

Speaking of which, how is the novel coming?

That’s a good question.

Stare at screen. Type "The," erase it because it's a cliche. The blinking cursor mocks me.

I jest, I jest! I'm making slow but steady progress. 3 pages of manuscript per day, roughly. Across a week, that's 5,000 or so words. I've targeted 80,000 as the length for each book in the trilogy, and I've managed to complete the first drafts of Fateful Lightning and A Fiery Gospel. The final piece of the trilogy, Never Call Retreat , is taking a bit longer to come together than I like, but that's because I have to fully pay off the themes developed in the first two books.

[Matt Wiser]

Good luck with the writing! It took several drafts before Wings of the Phantom was ready to be sent off-and the editor sent it back-twice.

[Poohbah]

Good luck with the writing! It took several drafts before Wings of the Phantom was ready to be sent off-and the editor sent it back-twice.

Part of the problem is that I have in mind a definite . . . not really a message, more of a theme.

How did a collection of preppies, nerds, stoners, jocks, misfits, and just plain middling young men and women from middle and upper class families, of no great political or national passion, become willing to give the last full measure of devotion for America?

I don't want to club the reader to death with my answer.

[Johnnie Lyle]

Good luck with the writing! It took several drafts before Wings of the Phantom was ready to be sent off-and the editor sent it back-twice.

Part of the problem is that I have in mind a definite . . . not really a message, more of a theme.

How did a collection of preppies, nerds, stoners, jocks, misfits, and just plain middling young men and women from middle and upper class families, of no great political or national passion, become willing to give the last full measure of devotion for America?

I don't want to club the reader to death with my answer.

Too much M*A*S*H as kids.

Less snarkily, the usual ways. Some were needed. Some for the guy or gal next to them. Some for friends and family. Some for vengeance. Some for spite. Some for pride. Some cause they’d rather die than let someone down. Some cause they were trusted. Some to prove they could be trusted. Some out of sheer Goddamned stubbornness. Some cause it was a good day to die. Some cause dying - or worse - was the price of being able to look at themselves in the mirror. Some for lovers. Some because they refused to kneel. Some so they could stand tall. Some because someone asked. Some to be worthy of asking. Some because this little piece of Hell was worth it. Some because they had no choice.

And some because you needed fifteen minutes and they were going to buy it for you.

[jemhouston]

The cliche is people rise to the occasion, the normal reality is you default to your training. In this case, the cliche was the reality.

It didn't always happen (Phase Line Patriot), but when it went extraordinarily, the enemy knew they were in trouble.

[Poohbah]

Speak of the Devil...

My editor has just got back to me. She suggested minor revisions to Fateful Lightning.

She then told me that, for various reasons, I need to split the second book (Fiery Gospel) in two, and recommended where to make the split and how to reshuffle the thematic elements between the two, and what will need to be added. The new book, we have agreed, will be titled Burnished Rows of Steel, and will allow me to better develop the themes needed to support Never Call Retreat.

Oddly enough, Fiery Gospel originally had to be trimmed down some because I was putting too much stuff in. Fortunately, I still have that draft material.

[jemhouston]

Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle had a battle to open Mote's in God's Eye. They had to cut it since it interrupted the novel's flow. In one of Jerry Pournelle

Military Sfi-Fi collections it was published. The rebel ship spotted it and they kept calling out what kind of vessel it was. First they thought it was roughly equal to them, which since the rebel ship didn't have Hyperlight Drive was to their advantage since they had more fuel / Weapons.

The Oh Crap moment came when they found out it was a cruiser, but a General Class Battle Cruiser, which could out run, out gun, and had better shields.

It was interesting. Hope you can do the same.