Month: August 2011

Dragon’s Kin Outlines

Dragon’s Kin Outlines

A lot of people want to know what an outline looks like.

With Mum’s permission, I’ve uploaded the “original” outline for Nuella’s Dragon (which became Dragon’s Kin and one of the “working” outlines.

The idea for the story came when Mum was thinking that she could include stories from myself and my sister, Georgeanne Kennedy, in the anthology that became A Gift of Dragons. She asked me to write about young Piemur.

The “original” outline, here is a revision of the email response.

When Mum realized that the contract was only for original Anne McCaffrey works, we spent some time back and forth before I realized that Piemur would have been too young for the original story to work but that the story was ideal for young Kindan (whom I’d already introduced as an adult in Dragonsblood).

Here is the working version of the revised outline. As you can see, in []’s we’ve included Kindan’s age so that we remembered to keep track.

You may notice that in both versions, Harper Zist is supposed to die. When it came time to write the book, he refused to be killed!

Remember that outlines, like the Pirates Code, are “more like guidelines.” Mum and I both tend to think that it’s a healthy thing when our characters refuse to follow our lead and do what they think is right.

DARPA and the 100-year starship

DARPA and the 100-year starship

Wow! Finally!

For those of us who read (and re-read, re-read, re-read, dog-eared, bought multiple copies as each wore out) “Time For the Stars” by Robert A. Heinlein, DARPA has now decided to fund a very special version of the Long Range Foundation.

Really, on its own and for very many things, (D)ARPA has been the United States’ own Long Range Foundation (we should be dumping a bunch more money into it and the NSF).

Anyway… if you go here you’ll get all the news about their first symposium to be held (sadly) in Orlando, Florida.

I say “sadly” because Orlando, FL is just a tad far from Los Angeles, CA. However, among the many science fiction writers present, Rob Sawyer will be there and as I’m going to be seeing him at Dragon*con, I’ll make sure to impart any requests, thoughts, whimpers, and murmurs of pure green envy in such a way as they might possibly be useful.

Those of you living in Florida or nearby who are interested in colonizing other stars and building starships might want to seriously consider going! (And then I’ll be green with envy for you, too!)

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