Joseph Dooley Fiction: May 2018

In media res

I found as I was writing Tendrils to the Moon that the easiest way to write a scene is to start in the middle, or where the key action takes place, then to surround it with enough detail and prose, which act like connective tissues, keeping in contact with the rest of the story. This is useful for a handful of reasons:

It helps me avoid writing about stuff that doesn't matter. Unnecessary exposition can kill the flow. Early in the book, I had to force myself to not explain everything. If a scene has no point, and I don't realize it until I'm 500 words in, then I just wasted time.
By writing the beginning of the scene after I write the middle, I know exactly what I'm building up to, and I can properly lay the groundwork for the action. Imagine the crux of a scene as the narrowest part of an hourglass. By identifying that narrowest part, you can then expertly move the sand--or reader, rather--toward the middle, so that the sequence of events feels natural and logical.
It reads better. If I start at the beginning of the scene, I tend to ramble and add pointless exposition that has to be cut or corrected later. The key action ends up being put off and overshadowed by the rest of the scene.
It's more fun.

There are drawbacks to this method of scene writing. Every once in a while, I try to execute a big, dramatic scene, and it's when I try to build up to the crux that I realize it's just not going to work, usually because the characters would have to act unnatural to get to that point.

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First walk on the Moon

The following scene from Tendrils to the Moon shows the protagonist, Montgomery Ames, exploring the area around the landing site in Tsiolkovskiy Crater, the future location of the Moon colony. It was an important scene for me to get right, as it is Ames's and the reader's first exposure to the lunar surface. It's also a nice little character moment for Ames.

Ames’s breath fogged his faceplate as he topped a rise in the crater floor. He was running—or as close to running as he could get. At full speed, a single stride could cover 10 meters. The rebreather rig and oxygen cylinder made him top-heavy, making it difficult to keep his feet under him. He had to time his jumps just right to prevent sliding through the regolith. He felt the dirt crunch and compact under his boots, but of course he heard nothing due to the Moon’s lack of atmosphere.
He silently skidded to a stop on the downslope of the hill and flipped up his Sun visor. A shockingly bright, rolling plain spread out before him. He held a thumb-sized piece of basalt in his gloved hand. He had taken it from a hollow between an outcropping and the talus slope at the base of the mountain’s east shoulder. It was hard yet crumbly, like loose asphalt.
West of where he stood rose the summit pyramid, its east face rising imposingly from the crater floor, unlike anything Ames had seen before. Man could express the origins of terrestrial mountains in scientific terms, but they had not always been able to. None of the natural processes that shaped mountains on Earth were present here: no precipitation, no glaciers, no tectonic plates, no vegetation. Ames felt a strange kinship with pre-modern man, for whom the mountains of Earth held the same mystery as this mountain did for him now.
Ames giggled. He felt like a boy again, with a whole world at his fingertips waiting to be discovered, the rules yet to be written. A fresh start where anything was possible. That was Sheridan’s pitch when he hired him on. Now, he was starting to believe it.
I can’t wait for Jeremiah to see this, he thought.
Sheridan’s commanding voice came through the helmet speakers. “If you’re quite done, Mr. Ames. We have a lot of work to do.”
Ames glanced north. A group of six miniature, white figures milled in front of the Betelgeuse, moving in an out of cargo stacks, still bound by cord netting. One of the figures, Sheridan, spied him through the long lens on his camera. The Lunar Volatile Extractor looked like a miniature gable-roofed house. The device rode on a low, four-wheeled pull wagon next to a 2,000-liter aluminum tank.
The unreality of the setting astounded Ames. With no familiar points of reference, distance was impossible to gauge by sight. He held the rock piece at arm’s length. In his hand, it appeared to be half as tall as the ship. He reached out his other hand with his palm open, as if he could grasp the ship and his teammates like they were children’s toys. His hand closed over nothing.

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The big mistake I narrowly avoided

Less than 2 weeks into writing Tendrils to the Moon, I got nervous and entertained the idea of throwing a twist into the first act. The twist was this: The main characters intend on colonizing Mars, but detour to the Moon when they face hardship.

The reason for this had nothing to do with the story I wanted to tell, and everything to do with my loss of confidence in the Moon as the location for a colony. In real-world scenarios, Mars makes more sense for a colony because of its more abundant natural resources, and because it's a potential gateway to the outer solar system. And, from a writer's perspective, Mars is a titillating subject because of constant speculation about life and/or water on Mars, as well as the wildly successful novel The Martian by Andy Weir.

Fortunately, my research into orbit types and in situ resource utilization killed this idea. In so many words, a "detour" to the Moon makes no sense for a Mars mission. There's nothing you can gain on the Moon that you can't gain for less money in less time on Earth. Also, a lot of the stuff you would take to Mars would be no good on the Moon; they are completely different environments.

I'm sure there's a pretzel-like contrivance that could have made it work, but audiences can sense when artists try to justify or rationalize the direction their art is taking. It's a big turnoff. The Last Jedi proved that in spades.

In retrospect, keeping my sights solely on the Moon was the right decision. I lost about 3 days to this bad idea, but that's preferable to the disappointment of a contrived plot device.

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Hard sci-fi

One of subgenres of science fiction is "hard" science fiction, which connotes an attempt to constrain the fictional universe with real limitations. The opposite of this is space opera, which are basically heroic fantasy/adventure stories that happen to be set in space. For example, in a "hard" sci-fi novel, enabling gravity on a spaceship entails overcoming the natural weightlessness of space. A space opera wouldn't bother with this detail.

I would classify Tendrils to the Moon as hard science fiction (although it does not demand a lot of a priori knowledge from the reader). There are no aliens and no mystical or supernatural elements. The plot is bound by technology that either currently exists or at least seems feasible. In fact, a major plot point in the first act is premised on an activity that is not feasible without existing technology.

While I was writing, I researched a variety of topics related to the plot:

SCUBA diving equipment
rockclimbing
two-way radios
rocket engines
orbit types
in situ resource utilization
gas pressures, molar masses, and volumes
lunar geography
lunar soil properties
concrete foundation laying
hydroponic gardening
thermal expansion of metals and
concrete
conductivity of metals
centripetal/centrifugal force
health effects of weightlessness
health effects of hypoxia

...and probably more, but that's what I remember off the top of my head. The reason I do research is simple: worldbuilding. I want to be conversant in the characters' areas of expertise. I want to show them doing their jobs in order to immerse the reader in the physical possibilities and limitations of the setting. And since this is science fiction, I want to offset the unfamiliarity of the setting with concepts familiar to the reader.

That being said, I'm the first to admit there are parts of Tendrils to the Moon that do not hold up under close scrutiny. I'm fine with that, as long as the overall narrative is convincing.

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Writing without an outline

In my second post, I talked about the February 10, 2017 outline that I sat on for about a year before starting to write. That outline covers what became the first four chapters of Tendrils to the Moon. When you read the book, you may be able to spot where I had to grow past that outline to develop the setting, plot, and characters. The chapters become less internally structured and they run into each other more.

So, from the very beginning I had a plan for the first act, and I always had a vague notion of what I wanted to see happen in the climax (big explosions, dramatic deaths, epic twists, etc.). The hard part was the middle. The plan for this 80,000-word novel was to basically forgo the middle--get it out of the way as quickly as possible--to get to the climax. But when I reached the middle, I identified a few more things that I wanted to achieve. Quickly my 80,000-word novel swelled to 110,000 words.

A couple of things I learned from this:

It became more important for me to deliver on the promises inherent in the novel's premise than it was to keep to the word count I originally had in mind. Believe it or not, for a while I didn't think this story had 80,000 words in it. Then the second act happened, and the opportunities that the novel's setting presented were too exciting to pass up.
Outlining is super important. Having a clearly developed plot and character arcs before you start writing is so, so important. Had I outlined better, I would have saved myself a lot of trouble working out story kinks on the fly and retconning previous chapters to bring them in line with what needed to happen later.

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Ames and Sheridan

The following scene from chapter 1 of Tendrils to the Moon is where I started to distinguish and develop the two main characters, Montgomery Ames and Wayne Sheridan. It foretells the nature of the conflict that propels the book's action. It starts with Ames talking to Sheridan.

"We have to have the mindset that crews of other ships are going to be loyal primarily to each other and to their families. They'll surely make the same assumptions about us."
"I've known the leaders on this expedition for most of my career, Mr. Ames. We've been working together for years to make this happen. We have the same goal. All of us."
Ames nodded slowly. "I'm asking you to prepare for the possibility that, in unforeseeable circumstances, that may not be the case all of the time."
Sheridan pinched the bridge of his nose, an idiosyncrasy that was triggered when something upset or frustrated him. On any given day that could be a number of things, so Ames didn't worry himself about it.
"I hired you for your expertise in these matters, for my strengths lie elsewhere," Sheridan said, his voice measured. "Request granted."
"Thank you."
"Two minutes," Reuben announced. But for the constant hum of the electronics, the flight deck was quiet. Nothing to do for the moment but wait.
"When we're free of our connections to Earth, hopefully we'll dispose of that part of our nature," Sheridan said pensively.
"Which part?" Ames asked.
"The fighting, Mr. Ames. The conflict. We've watched it play out our entire lives. Nations, tribes, religions, ethnic groups." He jabbed a finger emphatically into his armrest. "History has been the same wars repeated by different players since the beginning of time. To leave all the mundane things behind, to evolve into something better, that would be a welcome change."
It was the kind of sentiment Ames expected to hear from someone whose parents raised their child internationally, who understood only one, all-encompassing humanity. "You're talking about the survival instinct, Mr. Sheridan. I don't see how we evolve past that without dying out."
"That's because you lack vision." Sheridan smiled ruefully. "But I don't blame you for that."
Ames bit his tongue. Sheridan had spent his whole life chasing after his dreams, failing and succeeding--mostly succeeding--achieving what so many couldn't do, things that were supposed to be impossible. Despite being similar in age, in that moment he felt much younger than his employer. Or was it older? Sheridan retained much of the youthful idealism that Ames had lost in 22 years in the Service.

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Mailing list

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How I started writing

The idea for Tendrils to the Moon came to me on February 10, 2017. I remember the date because I wrote it at the top of the handwritten outline that I made at the time. When I finished writing the outline, I folded it up, stuck it in my wallet, and basically didn't think about it for a year.

My wife Deborah is a wonderful woman and very supportive of me. She knows what my dreams are and she wants to help me achieve them. In 2017, it came up a few times in our discussions when--and how--I was going to get serious about writing. As I look back on those discussions, I can't recall them leading to any big decisions or revelations, but they put me in the frame of mind to write--and not just when it suited me--but like a professional.

I also discovered a YouTuber and self-published author named David V. Stewart. This thoughtful man, through his vlogs about writing and his reviews of books and movies, really encouraged me to engage the creative process of writing a novel. (I recommend both fantasy books of his that I've read, Needle Ash and Water of Awakening.)

What really put the fire in my belly, though, was looking at that outline again. There I was, on January 30, 2018, looking over the outline that I had written a year ago, with nothing to show for it since. I became furious with myself for doing nothing with it, and I dread that I would end up as one of those countless "aspiring writers" with lots of ideas for books that he never writes. That same day I sat down and started writing the first scene in chapter 1. I do not recommend dread as a state of mind, but in some people it can be an effective motivator.

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First post

I am days away from completing the first draft of my debut science fiction novel, Tendrils to the Moon. Over the next few weeks, as I put the finishing touches on the first draft and edit the book, I'll post here regularly about the book, how I wrote it, as well as about literary topics that relate to books and entertainment. But first, some more about myself.

I've known since I was 10 years old that I wanted to be a writer. I first became a big fan of Michael Crichton and I gobbled up his techno-thrillers voraciously. Then I moved on to Tom Clancy's Ryanverse. I wrote my first book in the summer between 5th and 6th grades that one of my teachers put in the school library. Years later, my family still teases me about that silly, silly book.

Crichton's Sphere and Andromeda Strain, plus Dune by Frank Herbert, solidified my love for science fiction. Four of the six books I wrote between ages 16 and 25 are in the sci-fi genre. In 2012, I took a long break from fiction writing. I moved to San Antonio, was baptized, and started a family.

Tendrils to the Moon is the first book I've written with the intent of self-publishing. Since I'm more interested in getting this book into the hands of as many people as possible and building a readership base, I'm going to start a mailing list. If you join the mailing list, you will receive a free digital copy of Tendrils to the Moon when it becomes available. I'll post in the blog when I get the mailing list up and running. If you don't like mailing lists, you can buy the Kindle book for 99 cents on Amazon. My goal is to publish by July 1.

Here's a back-cover summary of Tendrils to the Moon:

All Colonel Montgomery Ames (WAAF retired) wants is a better life for his family. His distinguished military career, much of it spent in the harsh environment of space, earns him a coveted spot on the crew of the spacecraft Betelgeuse, commissioned by eccentric billionaire Wayne Sheridan.
Sheridan has grown weary of life on war-torn Earth, and he'll brook no interference in fulfilling his dream of establishing a permanent Moon colony. When he makes questionable decisions that put lives in danger, Ames must find a way to protect his family and his crew while leading them into the great unknown.

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