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  1. ShaperV

    Forging Ahead (GURPS Interstellar Wars/Celestial Forge)

    Heck, I still struggle with that and I've published half a dozen books. For me it was a matter of trying different things until I figured out what my comfort zone is, and then staying inside it when I'm trying to write something for publication. But I still do a lot of experimental writing...
  2. ShaperV

    Forging Ahead (GURPS Interstellar Wars/Celestial Forge)

    I think Light of the Forge got a big boost from the fact that the MC was living in a chaotic environment full of random danger and adventure. When your protagonist and his group are basically an adventuring party who do a little science on the side, that makes it a lot easier to write their...
  3. ShaperV

    Forging Ahead (GURPS Interstellar Wars/Celestial Forge)

    I had a similar thought. I mean, I'm certainly not going to complain if cliffc999 wants to turn this into an adventure story. He's pretty good at those, and I'm sure it would be interesting. But it's already been noted that Traveler is not the kind of setting where it makes sense for a...
  4. ShaperV

    Forging Ahead (GURPS Interstellar Wars/Celestial Forge)

    That's the fundamental problem with the Cosmic Forge in any story. It isn't just a collection of cool tech from lots of settings. It's also a collection of overblown fanwank abilities that have no connection to any of the settings it draws on, and are designed in a way that destroys storytelling...
  5. ShaperV

    Forging Ahead (GURPS Interstellar Wars/Celestial Forge)

    Taking a step back to look at the larger issues here, I think two of the major concerns Sophia keeps worrying about are a lot worse in her own head than in reality. Which is completely reasonable and in character, and I'm pretty sure this is intentional. But it's something for readers to keep in...
  6. ShaperV

    Forging Ahead (GURPS Interstellar Wars/Celestial Forge)

    The belief that you can just 'screen out' corruption, personal ambition and other such human foibles is one of the surest tells that someone doesn't actually know much about how large organizations work. Everyone who is energetic enough to actually get themselves into a position of influence has...
  7. ShaperV

    Forging Ahead (GURPS Interstellar Wars/Celestial Forge)

    On the topic of Sofia's assignment, the part I found most interesting doesn't seem to have been pointed out yet. I can dream up all sorts of reasons why the GP might have drafted her and put her on a navy ship, but none of them seem consistent with the group's supposed mission. Consider a RL...
  8. ShaperV

    Forging Ahead (GURPS Interstellar Wars/Celestial Forge)

    "We're actually the bad guys" is a meme that has become so deeply ingrained in modern culture that young people tend to assume it must apply to any story that touches on war or politics. So when you show the protagonist's homeland being the good guys it takes heroic efforts to convince them that...
  9. ShaperV

    Forging Ahead (GURPS Interstellar Wars/Celestial Forge)

    A Traveler story? Well, it's certainly underused, and there's plenty of potential. This should be interesting. Traveler has the flavor of classic science fiction from the mid-20th century, when AIs were giant calculating machines that gave oracular answers via teletype machines, robots were...
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