The Glory Star Project: Archived

Outlines are Only Guidelines

Though I have said it before, it bears repeating: Outlines are only Guidelines. They are not set in stone, and can and should be modified as you create your book.
However, having a tentative order of events written concisely, with no unnecessary frills, is quite helpful toward keeping the writer focused on the main goal. It is a very useful tool. Here's one for Glory Star, which is subject to change often. I may make commentary as I go explaining what I have changed and why so you can get a feel for the whole process.

2 July 2018

Tentative foray into the beginning of the story...

I. Unwanted Discussion
A. Discussion at dinner
1. Plenty of jobs nearby to choose from.
2. She should be more like her brother.
B. Wants time off first
1. Minx's job as miner is guaranteed.
2. Want to visit moon for few days with Lacey and Venus
3. Unbelievably, parents actually agree.

II. Packing her bags
A. Only able to bring a few things
1. Grabs her gold medal (plot item for later)
2. Brings along six outfits, plenty of socks and undies etc
B. Meets Lacey and Venus
1. Can't believe it was so easy
2. excited to finally leave the planet
3. hoping she will get the job.

III. The lunar base
A. approach and landing described
1. tall, lighted black spire numerous openings
2. ships approaching from all sides as they land
B. check out base while looking for the right office
1. clear glass lifts so they can see everything on way down
2. check into rooms first, then search.
3. discover the room she will need to return to tomorrow.

10 July 2018

NEW LINE-UP

I have a great tendency to build a bit of outline, then actually write a few chapters before I continue to another segment, done arbitrarily based on my mood and my 'feel for the work'. In this case, I have just brought Glory up to the point where she's going to meet Richards in the next segment. That means, since I'm going to alternate the POV between them, I need to now bring Richards up to that same point. Thing is, I could easily go back in and stagger these two stories, like: his assistant informs him of his decision to marry and he therefore acquires a temporary office; switch to Glory with her friends learning about the job while at unemployment office or whatever equivalent I see for that, followed by her going home and enduring bossy parents trying to insist she work on the planet etc, followed by the scene in which they meet. In either case, the information of Richards setting up the interview ought to happen before the dinner, so here is my first "change" for you...

In I, the first scene is the girls watching the job feed at the Community Center, where job searches are among the things available. Glory insists her parents won't let her go apply, want her to stay on planet. They tell her to pretend she is out on a joy ride with them to the moon. Then she goes home and the rest progresses. The words might go over if we mention the brother in here, we will place a scene where he is being a jerk to her at the beginning of the "second" chapter, where he brags that his job is already waiting for him, and that's what she gets for being so technical. She will point out that he couldn't be tech if he wanted to, after getting such a low score. Wanting to insert Richards into the story sooner, the SECOND chapter will be about him coming back up after the wedding and obtaining the office, maybe sighing about losing his friend and drinking a little alcohol, but not enough to give him a hangover or anything. This might also be a great way to introduce a few other members of his flagship, like a female pilot or something, and inform us that he is working for GalactiCorp, tell about the company a little, etc.

I. All Her Options
A. job feed scene
1. Community Center, with Lacey and Venus
2. They figure a way to get her to an interview on the moon
B. Dinnertime angst
1. Discuss jobs on planet she could apply to
2. She convinces them to let her take a joy ride to the moon.

II. Richards contemplates things
A. He and pilot (give her a name) return to Luna One
1. She drops him off and says she is headed off to rejoin her husband
2. He goes to inquire about the available offices, told one will be open for him throughout the week.
B. Goes to have a look at the place
1. Seeing that it's unfurnished he makes a few calls to get it ready
2. sits alone with his thoughts and some well-aged brandy for the evening.

III. Glory very ready to go
A. packing, etc
1. packs gold medal for (swimming? running? debate team first place...decide later)
2. brother bragging about mining job and "that's what you get for being tech"
3. Counters that he tested too low and couldn't be tech if he tried.
B. to the moon
1. brings suitcase and meets friends
2. father drops her off at port using the family "car" (self-contained atmosphere tank-like all-terrain, name later)
3. describe trip to moon.

IV. Girls in lunar base
A. check into rooms
1. clear glass so they can see view all the way down
2. Examine their rooms and talk about fun, but Glory wants to find office first.
B. explore base in search of the correct office for tomorrow's interview.
1. Long hall with lots of numbers, locates his after major search
2. girls decide to go to the club for some fun.

So here you see that by a little tweaking we managed to get a look at Richards, and also set a better tone between Glory and her friends, before launching into the serious business of getting hired. At this point, I would probably insert another Richards POV where he actually sees the girls having fun, but probably not interact with them at that time... he's going to remember Glory when she steps into his office though. Then before she does that, we'd switch back to Glory getting ready to go, entering the waiting room, and interacting with fellow hopefuls until it's her turn....That's what is up next, but I don't have time to outline it right now. Back to ghosting work I go!!!

17 July 2018

Next Section

Well, it's been a productive week for me. Not to scare anybody who is not ready to do the same, but I wrote about 30,000 words collectively on some of my ghostwriting stuff-- two different stories, actually. I like to alternate, which I understand is a practice many writers find difficult, but because I am 'differently brained' (Asperger's) I find it difficult to do it any other way.

In any case, here is the promised next little bit of outline, and then I am going to actually start writing the beginning of the tale. Doing this now, rather than attempting to outline the whole thing beforehand, sometimes sparks new ideas for scenes and such, and since my beginning is solidly in place, it is also a good idea to throw it down on the page before I forget what I was going to say!

RECAP: Glory and her friends learned of a job off-planet she would like, but her parents want her to remain on Regulus Prime. Under the guise of wanting some fun before finding a job, the girls went to the lunar base so she can apply. Meanwhile, Captain Richards grew sentimental over the loss of one assistant and is now preparing to select another...

V. Richards visits the lounge
A. the lounge never closes here, and the girls, having graduated, hold the identicards required to enter, so he sees them dancing together as he steps inside.
B. The band calls for extra singers, and the three go up, proving to be exceptional performers as well as hot, though he thinks the one on the end is hottest... great place to describe Glory's appearance better (and need to see if I described her already somewhere since I can't remember...). This scene could use further expansion, may need Richards to engage in dialogue, probably with members of his crew about the interviews the next day or something.

VI. Glory prepares for interview.
A. Cleans up and dresses nice, tells friends she feels like hell after having one too many cocktails.
B. Goes to office, sees about twenty applicants, all older than her or more experienced, but reminds herself that she was at the top of her class. She has as much right to be there as any of them. When her name is called, she heads toward the door on wobbly legs...

25 August 2018

OUTLINE WITH DETAILS UPDATED

As you may well have guessed by the gap, I've been busy on more assignments and such, but also I was doing some world building to set up my ability to create the scene on Regulus Prime. Some of those details include the appearances of the main characters, Richards' first name, Xavier, and most importantly the setting in which Glory first finds herself so the scenes on the planet can be created.

Rather than continue to outline the next steps right now, this is more of a check-in to tell you where to look for the contents I've added during the month. First, I improved the overview page for those who may not have seen that. I also did work on the scene plotter, rewriting the explanation and adding words into the list. And most importantly, did the first portion of the 'creating details' area.

The chapters that take place on Regulus Prime will be the next thing I create based on the world built. Note that many people think it is best to outline the whole book before starting, but I am not one of them. The general story details are a good enough indicator of which direction I need to take, and it isn't like I can't go back in and change something about the beginning to match the middle or the end whenever I wish anyway.

To facilitate writing, put your details onto the top of the outline page. Admittedly, I've added new details that I will later need to transfer to the details page, but I'm doing this on the fly, remember?

Glory Star, black hair, green eyes, tan skin, teens, average height, very light weight, lithe, uniform, likes salty snacks, dislikes gaming, went to tech school, highly logical, hobby is needlecrafts, salary, luxury vehicle, lives in dome quarters, machines specialist.

Xavier Richards: blond, deep brown eyes, bronzed skin, thirties, tall, average weight, muscular, space-age clothing, likes trivia, dislikes poetry, non-trad education, skill is mathematics, hobby is photography, spare time: clubbing.

Family vehicle is a self-contained atmosphere, tank-like all-terrain, known as an ATR unit. It runs on batteries and solar power.

The shuttle they take to the moon is capable of take-off with an electromagnetic pulse. It is pulled to the lunar station with a tractor beam as soon as it comes within range, orbiting the planet briefly until it does so. This enables most of the battery to be used for its take-off, and then it recharges before returning.

The outer base: dark metal spires, which are landing bays, jut up from the rocky lunar surface like jagged teeth. There are several levels of landing bays, with the very top level for highest level personal, royalty, and starship captains. Glory's ship, as a mere citizen transport, will land much closer to the bottom.

From the docking bay, they take a glass elevator down to the subterranean inner base. The reception bay is a stark white with gleaming chrome accents. First stop, mandatory, is a decontaminating zone directly connected to the lifts. No one gets inside without getting zapped first. Beyond that is a tall glass desk with five steps up to get to it, when each person looks into a scanner for retinal identification. If they cannot be identified a detention cube would drop down onto them, could work in one of the characters witnessing that? If you clear, the whole scanner unit darts upward to let you inside. There is a long hallway going left or right, with a display that asks if you know where you are going, then directs you with arrows along the walls and also on the floor, which is otherwise clear so you can see the similar hallway below. Most folks probably ask for room check-in, to the left. The offices and activities would be to the right from there. Rooms, suites, etc, are all on the left. Recreation is on the back half of the righthand side, so from their quarters, they would go left for fun, right for business. This would be the case regardless of the level they are staying on.

I. All Glory Star's Options
A. job feed scene
1. Community Center, with Lacey and Venus
2. They figure a way to get her to an interview on the moon
B. Dinnertime angst
1. Discuss jobs on planet she could apply to
2. She convinces them to let her take a joy ride to the moon.

II. Xavier Richards contemplates things
A. He and pilot Kurana Storm return to Luna One
1. She drops him off and says she is headed off to rejoin her husband, Reagan.
2. He goes to inquire about the available offices, told one will be open for him throughout the week.
B. Goes to have a look at the place
1. Seeing that it's unfurnished he makes a few calls to get it ready
2. sits alone with his thoughts and some well-aged brandy for the evening.";

III. Glory very ready to go
A. packing, etc
1. packs gold medal for gymnastics.
2. brother bragging about mining job and "that's what you get for being tech"
3. Counters that he tested too low and couldn't be tech if he tried.
B. to the moon
1. brings suitcase and meets friends
2. father drops her off at port using the family "car", a self-contained atmosphere tank-like all-terrain, known as an ATR unit.
3. describe trip to moon.

IV. Girls in lunar base
A. check into rooms
1. clear glass so they can see view all the way down
2. Examine their rooms and talk about fun, but Glory wants to find office first.
B. explore base in search of the correct office for tomorrow's interview.
1. Long hall with lots of numbers, locates his after major search
2. girls decide to go to the club for some fun.

V. Richards visits the lounge
A. the lounge never closes here, and the girls, having graduated, hold the identicards required to enter, so he sees them dancing together as he steps inside.
B. The band calls for extra singers, and the three go up, proving to be exceptional performers as well as hot, though he thinks the one on the end is hottest...great place to describe Glory's appearance better (and need to see if I described her already somewhere since I can't remember...). This scene could use further expansion, may need Richards to engage in dialogue, probably with members of his crew about the interviews the next day or something.

VI. Glory prepares for interview.
A. Cleans up and dresses nice, tells friends she feels like hell after having one too many cocktails.
B. Goes to office, sees about twenty applicants, all older than her or more experienced, but reminds herself that she was at the top of her class. She has as much right to be there as any of them. When her name is called, she heads toward the door on wobbly legs...

30 January 2019

FINALLY, A CHANCE TO UPDATE!!

Sorry it's been so long since I updated Glory. I know it looks abandoned, but please do keep in mind that since August I reworked two of my old books, and also wrote four books for one client and a 30k story for another one, as well as doing a couple of plots for someone else. Plus, all the holidays were in the way! Anyway, as I come back in here with the thought of writing a chapter, I don't like the way I've set up the outline. It isn't necessary to show the girls settling in at all, and also chapter four is meant to belong to Xav.

With this in mind, I have chopped out the "settling in" and determined to go straight to the lounge scene. One of the main reasons for this is because in a romance, you want to have your two characters begin to interact as soon as possible. Now that we have a connection to each character, an idea of their motives and their current worlds we must shake things up so we can see how the characters put them back together again.

IV. The lounge
A. Kurana and Reagan go with Xav and they discuss the plan for the next day
1. Conversation involves Kurana serving as secretary for the hiring event
2. Reagan observes that Xav looks like something the garagnar dragged in (huge catlike animal on their homeworld) that would have eaten him while dragging.
B. Band sees "three hot babes" dancing together in the audience
1. Asks them if they can sing as well as they can dance, calls them up
2. They sing extremely well, and admit afterwards that they'd been in choir together
3. Whole time they are up there, Xav is staring at Glory and drooling over her, friends tease him.
C. Kurana points out that Xav has had little rest and a big day tomorrow, and the girl looks young enough to land him in a holding cell
D. He agrees that he really should return to his room, but that night the dark-haired beauty joins him in his dreams.

V. Glory goes to her interview.
A. While dressing up nice, Glory shares her thoughts that the lunar station is awesome
1. loves how easy it is to find things because all recreational stuff is one direction and all business is another, no matter what floor you are on
2. mentions she had a lot of fun at lounge but feels like hell after imbibing one too many cocktails.
B. Goes to office, sees about twenty applicants
1. All of them are older than her or more experienced, she is nervous
2. Reminds herself that she was at the top of her class. She has as much right to be there as any of them. When her name is called, she heads toward the door on wobbly legs...

VI. The interview
A. Xav just as bored and unimpressed as he expected
1. Twelfth applicant so far, and the worst candidate ever. Tells him thanks but no thanks and sends him packing.
2. Straightening out the papers on his desk when the dark-haired beauty steps through the door
B. Mouth drops open, but he quickly closes it again
1. Looking over her application, he is amazed by her skillset and questions her to be sure it's legit
2. Realizing she knows what she claims, all he can think of is claiming her.
3. Knows if he doesn't hire her he'll never see her again and hires her on the spot, which stuns her greatly
4. "Sweetheart, life in space moves pretty fast. I'd be a fool to let you walk out that door without hiring you, or you might just disappear and leave me stuck with one of the others."

30 June 2021

Finally caught up enough to write that sixth chapter...

I've been abominably busy with other things but wanted to at least come back and do something for this project after such a huge break, so I just wrote the next chapter.

This action, of course, has caught up with the outline, and I think one of the sticking points that was holding me back...how to extract Glory from her parents' place. I decided to mostly gloss over it by saying Xav went with her, her mother said she's proud she got a job, and her dad said it would suck not having her around, and then she flies back to the moon again.

This means that I can now plot the next little bit. Remember that I want them to have dinner together, then have that scene where they board the transport, then he welcomes her to his ship, then the whole cryotank thing. I think I'll plot those and then leave the rest hanging at this point...

VII. The dinner
A. They get back to the moon and he invites her to dinner
1. They ate together once before, but with Venus and Lacey and only talked about how they'd deal with her family, so this somehow feels different.
2. Xav tells Glory a bit about his own family and how he'd taken his leave of them when he first set out into space
B. After dinner they each return to their rooms for some sleep
1. "We'll be taking a shuttle back out to my ship since they took it on a cargo run while I was busy with the hiring event. I'll expect to see you there in ten hours. Get some rest, okay? You've had a really busy day."
2. Glory tries to rest but too excited. Not just about the job, but about Captain Hotstuff as well. Wonders how easy it will be to work with the guy when he tends to send her libido into overdrive [this is a potential spot to include some masturbation if desired].

VIII. Xav meets with Kuran and Reagan
A.Calls Kuran
1."You know that girl you were on about. I guess you were right about her willingness to leave home..."
2."I'm gonna need you to help train her up. Both of you. You know I've got too much on my plate to teach her everything she'll need by myself.
B. Tells Reagan and Kuran they'll be taking the shuttle soon
1. Asks Kuran to make sure that Glory finds their flight since he's sure she's never had to deal with a terminal before.
2. "I'd go help her myself, but you know I have to meet with Ross before the flight." (Ross is going to turn out to be the captain of a second ship that will be traveling with theirs).
(NOTE: 8-5-21 changed what he said to 'need to get on holo' etc. Ross is now waiting near wormhole to collect five smaller ships into the Nautilus II, and Nautilus I is also there with him.)

IX. Shuttle scene
A. Kuran shows Glory which shuttle is theirs
1. "Listen, I have to go find my husband and get settled in my own seat...will you be okay to find your seat on your own?"
2. Glory has the trouble with the storage space
B. Xav shows her how to work the thing
1. settles in seat, he gets her a headset etc
2. Glory watches the stars go by and drifts off, certain her life will never be the same again.

X. Xav welcomes Glory to his ship
A. She's sleeping when they dock and he watches her a moment before he wakes her, leading her through the hatchway into his ship.
1. "Here we are, your home until we reach Gamlin. And probably sometimes after, too. It's not my primary ship, but I do use it when we travel."
2. Shows her around, leads her into her quarters where there's a cake and the crew is waiting for them. They celebrate her arrival as the newest crew member
B. Xav is the last to leave and is reluctant to do so
1. "So, I should...get out of here, huh? If you want to clean up before bed you'll have to use a solar shower. Do you know how to work those controls?"
2. "I think I can figure it out."

XI. the whole cryotank thing
A. two weeks of traveling later they reach the wormhole, have a look at it, and then the crew must all tank up while they pass through it over the next six months.
1. "It's beautiful...I've longed for a look at one"
2. "You'll love your first look at Gamlin galaxy too. But now it's time to go."
B. Admits to never being in a real cryotank before
1. "When we simulated getting into a tank at school we never had to take off our clothes."
2. "Don't worry, after you do it a time or two getting naked will seem pretty natural. But most of the crew is already frozen, I made sure of it so you could feel comfortable.
3. "That's so thoughtful, but what about you?" she asks in teasing tone.
4. Grins, saying, "You know this is your first time. I can't let you tank yourself." Vibes, but he doesn't touch her, she's still smiling up at him when she passes out.

FIXED...Aug 22 2021

After I started to write chapter eight I realized there won't be enough going on in that so decided to fix it by blending the talk with Kurana and Reagan in as part of dinner in seven. So, nine becomes 8 etc, but not going to bother to fix that right now.

OUTLINES ETC. PART TWO

At this point, we just left off with the couple arriving on Xav's ship, having a little welcome party, and then everyone prepping and getting into the cryotanks to head for Gamlin. I'm placing the correctly numbered, pertinent part here:

January 23, 2022

XIII. Shuttle scene
A. Kuran shows Glory which shuttle is theirs
1. "Listen, I have to go find my husband and get settled in my own seat...will you be okay to find your seat on your own?"
2. Glory has the trouble with the storage space
B. Xav shows her how to work the thing
1. settles in seat, he gets her a headset etc
2. Glory watches the stars go by and drifts off, certain her life will never be the same again.

IX. Xav welcomes Glory to his ship
A. She's sleeping when they dock and he watches her a moment before he wakes her, leading her through the hatchway into his ship.
1. "Here we are, your home until we reach Gamlin. And probably sometimes after, too. It's not my primary ship, but I do use it when we travel."
2. Shows her around, leads her into her quarters where there's a cake and the crew is waiting for them. They celebrate her arrival as the newest crew member
B. Xav is the last to leave and is reluctant to do so
1. "So, I should...get out of here, huh? If you want to clean up before bed you'll have to use a solar shower. Do you know how to work those controls?"
2. "I think I can figure it out."

X. the whole cryotank thing
A. two weeks of traveling later they reach the wormhole, have a look at it, and then the crew must all tank up while they pass through it over the next six months.
1. "It's beautiful...I've longed for a look at one"
2. "You'll love your first look at Gamlin galaxy too. But now it's time to go."
B. Admits to never being in a real cryotank before
1. "When we simulated getting into a tank at school we never had to take off our clothes."
2. "Don't worry, after you do it a time or two getting naked will seem pretty natural. But most of the crew is already frozen, I made sure of it so you could feel comfortable.
3. "That's so thoughtful, but what about you?" she asks in teasing tone.
4. Grins, saying, "You know this is your first time. I can't let you tank yourself." Vibes, but he doesn't touch her, she's still smiling up at him when she passes out.

July 18, 2022 note

I was just thinking that some sort of two week skip thing ought to be in here as chapter ten instead of jumping that time entirely...

X. solor shower scene
A. wishing it was water, starts fantasizing about what it would be like to shower with water on a world with breathable air etc, maybe even swim in a real lake.
B. break to time skip sort of thing...
1. the arrival of the captains of the other two ships means Glory goes to her first meeting, meant to watch quietly as per Xav's instructions. She will comply
2. prepping of the ships etc all of this is mostly her recall of the two weeks but maybe show her checking all the cryotanks to make sure they're sound for the six months and have Xav show up day before they'll tank for some kind of a flirty thing.

Need to figure out what system she might need to repair/examine that would be vital to entering the wormhole. They won't be using lightspeed during that since a wormhole folds space, but most likely she should be checking functionality of all the cryotanks to ensure the safety of the crew. We need to make sure if the number of all crew members has yet been mentioned. It ought to be about 80 people per ship. I'm also realizing there ought to be a number for the senior crew too... I mentioned twenty people coming to her party, so that must be how many it is moving forward. Good thing to write down. I'm also thinking I should list their jobs in that prep file so we know who they are and what they do, and stat the ship and jobs of the other crew members as well...Best way to have some idea how things will progress from here.
Also, I noted while looking for that intel that there were some typos or missing stuff or whatever so there are slight updates to the 'finished' files now...

XI. the whole cryotank thing but without the two weeks involved...
A. Have a look at wormhole, then crew must tank up.
B. Admits to never being tanked before
this chapter is pretty much same as explained above...

XII. waking up after six months in cryo
A. Glory's experiences with body and mind as she emerges.
B. Xav is there waiting for her, hands her clothes (probably space suit or jump suit or combo) and invites her to have a very light lunch
1. shyly takes outfit while he explains it's a bad idea to eat much until one cycle has passed, but a good idea to stretch legs and put something in tummy to start the digestive process
2. "There's not much to see outside except a view of the wormhole from the Gamlin side, and even that is about a week away since the ship doesn't start to thaw us out until we're nearing the Gamlin Space Station." C. in mess hall they eat clear soup and not enough crackers to count, but even that feels almost like to much once she's done.

NOTE: I'm not going to outline it out, but after this meal the pair go to the ready room where the whole crew has gathered and Xav introduces Glory officially to the "techos" she'll be supervising. Then they'll dock with the station and Glory will get her first look at it. It's filled with all manner of stores, restaurants, and activity areas like libraries, music rooms, a ball room, sports courts, and even a huge zoo at the center. She'll just be learning about those when they first arrive, but any or all of them are fair game for scene or scenes while they take a week there while she and Xav go through all the back orders from the last three years placed while he was gone.

These are all the outlines that went into Part One...

You need credit, but you can't seem to build it up. Maybe you just don't buy stuff, or maybe you had some trouble paying something off...

A credit builder loan helps because you are giving the loan to yourself. You put a little money each month in there and it gets reported to the bureaus.

After a couple of years, your loan 'matures' and you are able to receive a lump sum of your funds minus a fee. Self will also report this success.

As long as you pay each month and finish what you started, it will increase your credit score. Along the way, they have other products you also might like.

If you want to give it a try, please consider getting it using this link so I'll get credit...literally...lol!

https://self.inc/refer/13651697

TOP