help with a book.

--- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, "terrierkeeper" wrote:
>
> "What books have you read already?"...

The list would be too long to list. save for possibly "mining the sky" and the farming one, Ive read the ones youve list. as the sun of a farmer, I have a fairly good idea how people would feed themself there.

..."Strange question but it is realistic in that we don't know where you're coming from so how can we help you go where you want. In addition to which do you really know where you are going? ...

Thats not so strange. I want to put out a thought that might help others to build, so I want the story to be as close to science as it can be without being too science.

The basic primise is that a group got together and decide that the government wasnt going to get a project into space, since it had too many irons in the fire and too many people demanding they take care of other needs first. for the motivation for the group, some of them believe that the ice age is going to be happening soon, and dont believe that man will survive on the earth, while others are fed up with the governments corruption and the constant threat of war.

for these reasons and others they are working more or less quietly, building the rails higher in the mountains as near the equator as possible (yes, i was aware that the altitude would be one of the things to work on).

...But I would suggest, for starters, you think yourself in their whole world, that means you have to build everything about them in model in your mind...

That is good suggestion, and one other writers have said.

..What are your people like? What about their families? How will they live in your world?..

much as you would expect these run the whole gauntlet. Ive got one character that is much of a loner, having lost his family very young, and another one that is from a large family that doesnt accept her decision to alienate from the rest of the world during the time they are working on the building of the rails.

some of the people (ive currently got 12-14 characters partially worked out already (some might split into two or two might combined as I havent got far enough to have it set yet) that are from poorer areas, but have good skills, where as others are from richer backgrounds. They all share a belief that for one reason or another, man must get off the planet.

...I suggest you go find earth technologies that might be adapted to what you want. For example have you seen the tunnel digging machines they used to build the Chunnel and other tunnels? I have always thought they would make great means for mining the asteroids in space as well as the moon not to mention on the moon they would be very good for digging out a lunar base....

good thought there, but the problem of doing it on asteriods is that they have low gravity, and there would be constant risk of the the digger splitting the remains apart as the asteroid cracks along a fault line no one had seen.

...Most space planners figure it will be easier and cheaper for people in space to grow their own food rather than have it processed and shipped to them from earth....

I had envisioned them actually sending food back to earth and "waste" being sent up. this would be their main source of money at one point.

...You should also go do some net surfing for what you might be able to find...

Ive been doing that for some time, and have gotten a lot of ideas, but nothing definate.

...Also, note of advice, no novel is ever completed as planned, don't resist any urge to change or rework your material into a better story....

Dont i know. lol. Ive actually gotten two books written (none published), and niether went as i planned.:) I found one passage i thought would be in the middle ending up at the very end of that book.:)