Introducing Incursio

I have been busy writing my way into a more marketable book, which sits in the Space Opera genre while retaining traditional science fiction with elements of military SF.

Behold, I present you with the Incursio One Synopsis.

Having progressed over the last few weeks through a defined process, I have created copious amounts of written words (not all of it good) that links with this story. The synopsis is structured according to the 3 Act literary structure and is supported by mind maps of plots and subplots, tables of characters wants and motives, as well as scene summaries that themselves are pages long.

I have learnt how to manipulate objects and rituals with the building of believable characters. The characterisation I have specifically focused on in this novel, as I have had frequent complaints that my characters are not as full as they could be.

Although the synopsis does not mention it specifically, the fact that it is numbered "One" should indicate that it is just the first of a series.

I have been working on this story for nearly 10 years, gathering the research, pulling in all the little details, thrashing out the chronology and the intents of the main actors, assessing where the pieces of humanity would fall when the end came. I have attempted to draft novels from this story, which spans about 100 years, without success - where do I start? which characters are special? where is a logical story that will fit in the pages of a book?

One of my early drafts started in World War 1, and I have entire chapters of various military scenarios against an alien invader matched with similar on the alien invaders parts, with different motivations, war gamed in my head until I found that in essence, humans are screwed if something comes after us... but I had to try to find something that was realistic enough for me to suspend my own disbelief while realistically finding a solution that might work.

Families will need to be involved to maintain cohesive and logical flow of story over long durations, perhaps even dynasties, companies, or organisations that become characterised, like the Weyland-Yutani corporation. There is certainly more story in this concept.

Take a look at the synopsis and let me know what you think.

Writing Engine - Part 1

Many years ago, slaving through a degree, a friend of mine endeavoured to build an artificial intelligence to create music. Surely a noble endeavour, I had yet to be sold on it being possible. It's all very well to toss concepts into the proverbial melting pot and "see what happens". But this is hardly the best way to get results. Like primitive alchemy, or some cultish belief that if they build it then it will do something, the AI musician never turned out a note that I heard as music.

It certainly turned out notes, but noise output is not music. Music has a structure, a logic, even an underlying beauty and symmetry.

It got me to thinking way back then about the early Apraphulians computer made of pulleys and knotted rope that unravelled to generate an automated play of cutouts, including scene changes and backdrop movement. Which led me to check the source.

I am appalled to admit this, but ... I have been duped by an April Fool (Apra-phul) joke. Oh, I feel so dirty in the scientific sense.

Regardless of the legitimacy of the history, the concept could be implemented with words!

I started then on my initial considerations back in about 1999 for what I am terming a Writing Engine. Some of the linguistic and computer science studies overlap into what is termed a Rational Engine.

One of my early writing engines coded in C++ used Generative Grammar and an artificial intelligence text mining approached to the network produced by words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs. It could generate words in appropriate grammatical structures, and using windows of varying types, strings of sentences. Context and real meaning remained out of reach, unless hard-coded using an ancient information technology skill called "smoke and mirrors".

Semantic networks were still mostly theoretical and completely impractical at the time.

This concept would likely have gone completely untouched if I had not had a brain fart a few months ago. I don't know what triggered it, but, as some of my friends can testify, I had to smash out stuff on a white board that still now sits with scrawl all over it and numbered boundary curves with a legend on it.

I now have a structure for a 21st century version of what I had been intending to build. I am also teaching myself how to code mobile applications in Android. There are several good bodies of work that has taken place over the last 12 years, advancing key areas I needed to make the idea work.

So, this blog will assist as a sounding board, and perhaps provide some impetus to other similar projects that MUST be out there.

Byron Bay Writers' Festival

Forcing through the aggressive traffic from 3pm onwards on Thursday from my side of Brisbane. Managed to hit the entrance traffic from the Gold Coast at 5pm. In for dinner at nearly 7pm. Damned cold, but the log fire is nice. Hit bed early at 10pm to wake and be refreshed for my first day at the Byron Bay Writers' Festival.

My program consisted of meeting some interesting characters, who were, indeed, playing themselves. My sessions were about things like new languages to explain new concepts, the crafting of short stories, and how various authors have brought history to life through their creations. I listened to crime fiction authors and memoir authors and could translate a lot of the material to assist me.

I took copious notes and have several stories generating for later putting onto page.

There was a discussion regarding how language can play a role in innovation of science and economy. There was some good discussion about the use of the Industrial Revolution model of economics in current day and age, that is, where resources and capital are (in effect) infinite and therefore the capitalist expansion can continue indefinitely.

I found it somewhat disturbing that there was so much talk about getting a global economy correct now there was an understanding of the finite resources we have on the planet. My only question was regarding the involvement of off-world mineral mining and its impact on this new limited-resources concept. My concern is that they will get a "finite resource" model working just when we open up the solar system to resource harvesting/mining.

Does this suggest we should keep the Industrial Revolution model of economy for when off-world resource mining is (in effect) infinite?

I got to talk to lots of authors, like Tom Keneally, Jessica Watson, Nick Earls, Shane Maloney, Kel Robertson (with a sex change), Sulari Gentill and spent ten minutes talking to Michael Kirby and Fran Kelly about various things.

Compared to many other writer festivals I have been at, this one seemed specifically political. It was good to be around left-wing thinkers again. They have been seriously lacking in Brisbane recently.

I was most inspired by Sulari Gentill, who (ashamedly) I had never heard of before I went to the festival. I accidentally managed to sit in on several of her sessions and found her humour and smile infectious. She spoke about becoming a writer and how it had changed her life. She was also happy to talk to someone like me and share some of her insights.

The common threads I could see were the knowledge of something lacking inside yourself - this hole can only be filled by telling stories for me (and sharing them with others). If you don't embrace this writer, you fill it by finding hobbies that take up your mind-space. My hobbies have been widespread, numerous, sometimes brief, but all focused on gaining experiences to write about.

My entire aerospace career was undertaken to learn more about the field I wanted to write in - Science Fiction.

Sulari Gentill convinced me I am doing the correct thing. One day I'll have to thank her for inspiring me.